Our Story

The Quipu Group came out of the shared belief that libraries are fundamental to our democracy.

The Original Quipu Story and Original Partners

Having designed products and services for many years, together and individually, the original partners – Melissa, Robert and Scott – realized that by using our interpersonal and professional skills and experiences, we could support the mission of libraries by creating products to solve problems that library staff and library users face every day. 

After developing GoldRush, an early Electronic Resource Management system for the Colorado Alliance of Research Library members, we recognized the need for a good company that could develop high-quality, high-value custom library software and build strong partnerships with libraries. Robert, Quipu’s own “captain of industry,” brought the idea of forming a partnership to Melissa and Scott, his friends and colleagues, and together we created the Quipu Group, LLC.

Why is the company called Quipu®? A quipu (pronounced kee·poo) is the earliest form of a database: a system of cords and knots attached to a main cord, created by the early Inca people to gather, track and share numeric and social information.

Quipu is at the core of everything we help libraries to achieve. From collecting user data to storing and sharing information about museums and attractions, our searchable and secure databases ensure that libraries have confidence in our productuis and are able to connect with the information that is needed for each interaction.

Quipu is proud to bring to the market product solutions for managing library access and attracting and engaging new library users. We love receiving customer success stories from our libraries and sharing the happiness, satisfaction, and delight that our products enable. Our clients share their appreciation for “products that work” and the expert and responsive interactions they receive from the Quipu staff. These stories confirm that we are making a difference and this makes our lives joyful. Our customers’ success invigorates our dedication to providing exceptional service to our library partners.


Meet our team.

Robert Anderson

Robert Anderson, original Partner of Quipu Group completes product development and design for eCARD, eRENEW and ePASS. Since childhood, Robert always knew he would own his own business. He loved the idea of providing leadership and creativity to a company that could impact the world in a positive way. In 1995, he began developing software for Concord/EFS, a merchant bank credit and debit card processor. After a short while in banking, Robert joined The UnCover Company, where he initially focused on enhancing and streamlining their existing article delivery system software and moved on to redevelop this software for Y2K compatibility. The experience of supporting libraries through developing great software proved to be challenging and fulfilling, and aligned with Robert’s lifelong interest of making a difference through his professional contributions. Robert went on to work with LBT Technical Services and the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, implementing Prospector Resource Sharing technologies for the State of Colorado and developing a custom Prospector INN-Reach Connector that allowed more libraries to participate. He also developed the GoldRush ERM system, alongside his friends and colleagues, Melissa and Scott Stockton.

Melissa Stockton

Melissa Stockton, an original Partner currently has a part-time role as the chief librarian for The Quipu Group 

Scott Stockton

Scott Stockton was one of the original Quipu Partners and retired at the end of May, 2025.

Pat Crawford

Pat Crawford

Product Analyst Librarian