Inbound Links and Directories

[belvedere +]

Hi,
I seem to be reading everywhere that getting quality inbound links and submitting your site to quallity directories may increase your ranking and search results.
How does one go about getting good inbound links. The ones I've found are reciprocal sites who require a link on my site to theirs. Where would I place those links. On the footer of the homepage for example? Or is it better to have a seperate page just for links?
Can somebody recommend quality sites to get inbound links and directories I can submit my site to.

Thanks