| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1978 (Berkeley, California) |
| Headquarters | Emeryville, California, USA |
| Key people | Jerry Kline, Co-Founder and Chairman |
| Products | Library automation software |
| Website | www.iii.com |
Innovative Interfaces, Inc. is a provider of integrated library system software that is used in 2896 libraries (5654 library facilities) as of September 27, 2011.[1] The company's software is installed in various types of libraries including academic, public, consortia, school, special libraries, medical libraries and law libraries.[1] The Company was founded 1978 by Jerry Kline and Steve Silberstein in Berkeley California. The initial product was a system to interface OCLC data with a library's cataloging system.[2]
The name of the integrated library system software is Millennium, which is platform-independent and written in Java. The Millennium system can be used to manage all library operations. These include acquisitions of material for the library, cataloging, serials (or periodicals) control, circulation, interlibrary loan (a form of resource sharing), and management of electronic resources. In 2011, the company introduced Sierra, a new architecture for the libraries to manage their collections. Sierra will be released in 2012.[3]
The public interface most familiar to library users is the library catalog. The computerized form of the library catalog is known as the OPAC (or online public access catalog). In 2007 the company introduced Encore, a discovery platform that overlays the OPAC and displays search results in a way more similar to social media. This includes tag clouds, and facets to focus searches, tagging, rating and book reviews. Encore Synergy also allows the catalog to search subscribed databases.
Formed in 1991 as an independent organization, the Innovative Users Group serves the libraries who use the company's software. The Innovative Users Group organizes an annual conference, organizes ballots for user-submitted enhancements, and maintains the IUG Clearinghouse for users to share tutorials, scripts, guides, and other resources created to better use the software.