I think it all depends on how many links you want to exchange sites with. If you believe that you're going to reciprocate with many sites then a script is a good idea. Categorizing your links is in awesome way to attract link partners.

You could always develop it as a full blown directory. I would suggest to make the directory relative to the site so as to make it a niche directory and make your site as a whole valuable to your visitors.

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Fabio