Bridgeall sells smartsm® to US Giant

Bridgeall Libraries, a spin-out of Bridgeall Ltd based at the Hillington Park Innovation Centre have recently sold the business to Baker and Taylor, the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products.

The agreement unites two companies that provide critical services to libraries: Baker & Taylor, the leading supplier of products and services for libraries worldwide; and Bridgeall Libraries, developer of innovative software that helps libraries manage their collections more efficiently. Together, the companies can help libraries provide the best and most appropriate content to the communities they serve.

Bridgeall Libraries' popular software, known as smartsm® in the U.K. and collectionHQ in the U.S. and the rest of the world, empowers libraries to more efficiently manage their holdings and allows them to assess and improve the performance of their collections. In just four years since it was introduced, more than half of the U.K. libraries have subscribed to the service. In the U.S. and Canada, many top library systems have subscribed since the software was introduced in 2010.

"As evidenced by the rapid growth of smartsm over the past four years, we are very proud to have delivered a tool that is hugely popular to libraries. Baker & Taylor has the global reach, vision and expertise to deliver smartsm - as well as new developments - to further benefit of libraries worldwide. We are very pleased that Baker & Taylor can take our very exciting technology to the next level," said Stephen Beer, Managing Director of Bridgeall Libraries Software development, sales and customer support will remain headquartered in the Hillington Park Innovation Centre, and the office there is poised to grow as Baker & Taylor helps introduce the technology to library systems in North America and around the world.

Bridgeall Ltd ( www.bridgeall.com ) will continue to drive forward as a Microsoft Sharepoint specialist and custom solutions development company focused on mid-market companies.