Library Systems: Ex Libris Announces Agreement to Acquire Innovative
From the Acquisition Announcement (Full Text):
Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to acquire Innovative, a leading provider of integrated library systems for public, academic, and specialty libraries. Innovative will become a business unit within Ex Libris. The Innovative products that customers have relied on for many years will continue to be supported and enhanced.
“I am excited to welcome Innovative’s experienced team and its customer community to Ex Libris and ProQuest,” said Bar Veinstein, president of Ex Libris. “We are pleased to continue investing in people and technology that support our customers’ initiatives to shape the future of libraries. Customers of both Ex Libris and Innovative will gain from the companies’ proven record of innovation, greater combined resources, and talent with decades of library domain expertise.”
“These are exciting times for Innovative and its customers. As we join the Ex Libris family, we will continue our history of providing advanced solutions and services to our customers that help them thrive in today’s changing library environment,” added Shaheen Javadizadeh, Innovative CEO. “As part of Ex Libris, we will give our customers more value through a complementary portfolio of solutions, an expanded knowledge-sharing community, and broader global reach.”
Ex Libris and Innovative have a long history of close collaboration with the user community and remain dedicated to working with their user groups—IUG, ELUNA, and IGeLU—in order to receive input and guidance for the enhancement of current solutions and the development of new ones. Both companies have a longstanding commitment to openness, and the joint organization will continue to work with partners in the library and academic ecosystem for the benefit of customers.
The acquisition is expected to close in early 2020.
How will Innovative be integrated into Ex Libris?
Innovative will become a business unit within Ex Libris, reporting to Ex Libris President Bar Veinstein. As part of Ex Libris, Innovative will continue to support and enhance its solutions and deliver innovation to the market. The combined organization will have the vision and resources to increase investment in cutting-edge services and accelerate the development of academic and public library solutions.
Will products or services change as a result of the acquisition?
No. Innovative customers will continue to benefit from the products and services that they know, trust, and have used for many years. Over time, we intend to enhance products and services, leveraging our joint assets and expertise.
Will Innovative user groups continue to operate?
Yes. Innovative has strong, active user groups that have been key contributors to its success over the years. Ex Libris and Innovative plan to continue this important partnership with user groups and customer communities.
Read the Complete Acquisition FAQ
See Also: Blog Post by Bar Veinstein , President, Ex Libris
Innovative’s Product List Includes
According to Marshall Breeding’s LibraryTechnology.org site/database, 4237 libraries use Innovative ILS products (Sierra, Polaris, Millennium, and Virtua). Approx. two-thirds of these customers are from public libraries.
Learn More About Innovative Interfaces ((History, Leadership, Customer
Base, etc.) via Marshall Breeding/LibaryTechnology.org
See Also: What Are the Larger Implications of Ex Libris Buying Innovative? (via Roger Schonfeld, ITHAKA)
Filed under: Ex Libris, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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