Latest News

Offering audiobooks, eBooks, music, and video through partnership between Talis and OverDrive

12 June, 2009

Talis are delighted to welcome OverDrive, an early leader in the digital media industry, to the Talis Additions Partner Programme. The Programme enables our mutual customers to maximise their presence in the digital world by providing access to popular audiobooks, eBooks, music, video, as well as local content through a custom, 'virtual branch' website.

Founded in 1986, OverDrive provides world-class infrastructure for distributing premium digital content from global leaders such as Microsoft, HarperCollins, Random House, and McGraw-Hill. They also provide content for large metropolitan libraries including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in addition to libraries in the UK, Singapore and Australia.

"As we continue our expansion into the UK library market, we are thrilled to partner with Talis and offer our mutual customers best-of-breed technology solutions," said Claudia Weissman, OverDrive's Director of International Sales. "With the OverDrive platform integrated at more than 9,000 public, school and corporate libraries worldwide, UK libraries and their patrons will now be able to enjoy 24/7 access to popular eBooks, audiobooks and more."

Grant White, Partner Manger at Talis commented "OverDrive has considerable experience distributing digital content, so we're delighted that they have chosen to work with Talis to introduce their service to UK libraries. The partnership allows registered borrowers to use the OverDrive 'virtual branch' website using their regular library credentials. This integration enables citizens to download the rich digital content without the requirement of remembering separate login details."

The Talis Additions Partnership Programme ensures universities, libraries and local government can be confident that our software and services remain seamlessly integrated with our partner offerings. To find out how the Talis Additions Partnership Programme can benefit your library, please visit www.talis.com/additions.

To find out how you could benefit from the Talis Additions Partner Programme, or how you could become a certified partner, please visit www.talis.com/partners, or call Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

Greater EDI efficiencies through new partnership with Houtschild International Booksellers

26 May, 2009

We are delighted to welcome Houtschild International Booksellers to the Talis Additions Partner Programme. Through the Programme, our mutual customers will benefit from an automated book procurement process with Houtschild, providing improved stock supply times and delivering efficiency savings.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1974, Houtschild International Booksellers specialises in supplying academic books and journals, particularly English and foreign-language European publications.

Grant White, Partner Manger, Talis commented "Houtschild has a strong commitment to maintaining a high level of customer service and look forward to integrating their procurement system with the Talis electronic supply chain service, Talis Gateway."

Hans Mcilveen, Head of department, Customer Services, Houtschild added "We are very happy to join the Talis Additions Partner Programme in order to expand our range of electronic services. I am sure many of our Talis customers will be pleased to learn that we will be able to supply electronic invoices and reports in the very near future. We look forward to working with Talis on developing new services as well. This will be another step forward in our efforts to streamline workflows and be as cost effective as possible."

With 15 certified partners, the Talis Additions Partnership Programme continues to provide Universities, Libraries and Local Government with choice and real confidence that our software and services remain seamlessly integrated. To find out how the Talis Additions Partnership Programme can benefit your library visit www.talis.com/additions.

The Talis Additions Partnership Programme is intended to support greater customer choice, to help our mutual customers' gain more value from their applications. It also provides assurance that our solutions will work together.

To find out how you could benefit from the Talis Additions Partner Programme, or how you could become a certified partner, please visit www.talis.com/partners, or call Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

To find out more about Houtschild International Booksellers please visit www.houtschild.com.

New relationship brings business change

1 May, 2009

Talis is delighted to welcome Q2 Limited to the Talis Additions Partner Programme. Q2 have extensive capabilities and experience within public and private sector organisations, supporting clients in achieving the business benefits from their change projects. Q2 can provide support throughout the project lifecycle from defining a clear cost/benefit case for the change, producing a clear pragmatic plan and implementation to performance measurement and continuous improvement.

Through the Talis Additions Partnership Programme, the partnership between Talis and Q2 will provide customers a range of focused services for Libraries Services to assist with project and change management.

Grant White, Partner Manager at Talis commented "We believe through the partnership customers will be able to realise greater benefits from their existing investments in people, organisation, processes and systems as well as delivering new efficiencies. Already Q2 have worked with our mutual customer Cornwall County Council to help identify the business case and secure funding for county wide self-service. We look forward to working with Q2 to helping support our customers."

Steve Taylor, Director of Q2 adds "We are extremely pleased to be working with Talis to help its customers to deliver further tangible savings and service improvements in the most cost effective way possible."

To find out how you could benefit from the Talis Additions Partner Programme, or how you could become a certified partner, please visit www.talis.com/partners, or call Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

To find out more about Q2 please visit www.q2.ltd.uk.

Panlibus Issue 12 now available

21 April, 2009

The new issue of Panlibus Magazine has now been published online. In this issue, we explore how Higher Education can become more open, beginning with the library (page 14-15), Liz McGettigan shares how she will be building a library service for the future at Edinburgh City Libraries (page 8-9) whilst Tony Durcan launches Newcastle’s newest library (page 6-7).

This issue’s case studies are from The University of Salford as they manage identity across their university, Aberdeenshire Libraries as they optimise their library data with Talis Decisions and The University of Worcester in their adoption of offline self services.

As always, we continue to invite you to contribute to our new features in Panlibus Magazine including the news pages, book and podcast reviews by emailing panlibus@talis.com. Subscribe for free and view previous issues at www.talis.com/panlibus.

Bid to channel 80% of transactions through self-service strengthened by Talis Bridge Pro

14 April, 2009

Leeds Library and Information Services’ mission to channel 80% of its transactions through self-service has been strengthened by the adoption of the offline self-service solution, Talis Bridge Pro.

The Annual Library Plan details Leeds Library and Information Services’ aims to become a more modern library service, and enable staff to spend more qualitative time with members of the local community. The adoption of the offline self-service solution, Talis Bridge Pro has played a key role in enabling staff to get out from behind the counter and even increase opening times at some libraries.

A total of 34 licenses will soon be in action at the council’s 53 libraries, enabling borrowers to make simple transactions such as issues and returns, even if network connectivity is lost.

Together with Intellident, Talis has worked closely with Leeds Libraries to become a major RFID enabled public library service through the Talis Additions Partner Programme, seamlessly integrating their self-service devices with the UK’s leading library management system.

Sandra Sharp, ICT Business Development Manager at Leeds Library and Information Service commented “The use of self-service across the city is increasing month by month and our most successful library now regularly has over 90% take up of self service.This has freed the staff up to run coffee mornings and story times or simply to chat to customers."

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented “Real savings continue to be achieved by more than a dozen local authorities and higher education institutions via Talis Bridge Pro. We wish Leeds Library and Information Service the very best of luck in reaching their targets.”

Via the Talis Additions Partner Programme, Talis Bridge Pro works in conjunction with a number of self-service devices including those from 2CQR, 3M, Plescon Security Products, D-Tech and Intellident.

To find out more about this new release of Talis Bridge Pro or the Talis Additions Partner Programme visit www.talis.com/bridge or www.talis.com/additions. Alternatively contact us on +44 (0) 870 400 5090 or email sales@talis.com.

American Library Association syndicates the Library 2.0 Gang

8 April, 2009

Talis is delighted to announce that from March 2009, The Library 2.0 Gang will be syndicated by the American Library Association (ALA). The monthly round the table podcast brings together the key voices in the library world, facilitating debate and open conversations between vendors, customers and opinion formers. By appearing on the ALA website, these open discussions are broadened out to wider audiences encouraging further debate and discussion.

Since its launch in March 2008, the Library 2.0 Gang has provided a rich and stimulating forum for discussion across the library community. As a result, high profile guests join Richard Wallis Technology Evangelist at Talis, as the impartial host of the podcasts each month, and the equally high profile gang members, including Ex Libris’ Oren Beit-Arie, Sirsi Dynix’s Talin Bingham, and Founder of LibraryThing, Tim Spalding.

Daniel Freeman, Editor of the TechSource blog, is thrilled to have this new feature available to ALA TechSource readers. "The Library 2.0 Gang is a unique podcast," said Freeman "it's one of the few monthly broadcasts of any kind that speaks directly to people in our field. Carrying the gang on our blog allows us to expand the reach of the vital and important conversations in the podcasts while helping us fulfil our blog's mission of informing and stimulating discussion."

Richard Wallis, host of the Library 2.0 Gang commented: "I am really excited and pleased that the Library 2.0 Gang has now become a feature of ALA TechSource. I look forward to getting feedback from the greatly expanded audience, and stimulating discussion in TechSource articles and blog posts.This move further enhances the Library 2.0 Gang as the regular podcast listen for those that are interested in libraries and the technologies that influence them."

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented: “The syndication of the Library 2.0 Gang by ALA TechSource further enhances its reputation for open honest discussion and debate about issues that concern the whole library sector. As part of the library conversation, we at Talis are delighted to support its production and syndication."

The Library 2.0 Gang is also syndicated by Marshall Breeding of Vanderbilt University, a gang member himself, at the Library Technology Guides, and also by CILIP on their podcasts page, widening its readership considerably.

Recorded on a monthly basis, the podcasts are available at the ALA website, whilst the full back catalogue is available on the Library 2.0 Gang site.

John Smith's join the Talis Additions Partnership Programme

3 April, 2009

Talis is delighted to welcome John Smith & Son Group Ltd to the Talis Additions Partnership Programme. Established in 1751, John Smith's is a specialist academic and professional bookselling chain. With 28 campus bookshops, based in universities from Glasgow to Stirling; from Queen Mary to Sussex; from Cork to Botswana, John Smith's is a dynamic, modern company, whilst still retaining the core values which have made it such a success.

Through the Talis Additions Partnership Programme, the partnership between Talis and John Smith's will initially provide students and academics of University of Sussex the ability to purchase resources from their campus bookshop directly through the next generation academic resource list management system, Talis Aspire.

Chris Clarke, Senior Programme Manager at Talis commented "Students using Talis Aspire tell us that they need a range of choices when deciding how to obtain core texts for their studies - often prices in their campus bookstore are more competitive than those from leading online retailers. Working with John Smith's to provide live pricing information for these resources delivers on that requirement - users will be able to compare prices directly from the reading list."

Tony Newson, Digital and Online Manager at John Smith's commented "John Smith's prides itself on being to the forefront of new technology within the Higher Education sector. Partnering with Talis Aspire means that students at our partner universities can benefit from real-time availability information, and purchase their required texts quickly and easily from our website or in store."

Grant White, Partner Manager at Talis commented "Our partnership will mean that students at University of Sussex to access and pay for University resources straight from their campus bookshop, we're very excited to be working with John Smith's."

The Talis Additions Partnership Programme is intended to support greater customer choice, to help our mutual customers' gain more value from their applications and services. With over 12 partners, the Talis Additions Partnership Programme continues to provide Universities with choice and real confidence that our software and services remain seamlessly integrated.

To find out how you could benefit from the Talis Additions Partner Programme, or how you could become a certified partner, please visit www.talis.com/partners, or call Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

txttools join the Talis Additions Partnership Programme

3 April, 2009

Talis is delighted to welcome txttools® to the Talis Additions Partnership Programme. Txttools has delivered SMS text messaging services to 45% of UK colleges & universities through the edutxt SMS txt messaging platform, for the past 6 years.

Txttools will enable users of the Talis Alto Library Management System to send and receive SMS text messages, to a large group or single mobile phone instantly, in a way that is proven to save time and money.

Steve McCann, Managing Director of Cy-nap commented: "These are exciting times. Our partnership with Talis extends our solid technology offering to a new area within our existing customer base, as well as opening up opportunity of using integrated text messaging services for public libraries. We are looking forward to working with Talis."

Grant White, Partner Manager at Talis commented "txttools has an impressive track record and we look forward to working closely with them to extend the choice of communication tools available to our customers."

The Talis Additions Partnership Programme is intended to support greater customer choice, to help our mutual customers' gain more value from their applications and services. With over 12 partners, the Talis Additions Partnership Programme continues to provide universities with choice and real confidence that our software and services remain seamlessly integrated.

To find out how you could benefit from the Talis Additions Partner Programme, or how you could become a certified partner, please visit www.talis.com/partners, or call Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

Ulverscroft becomes accredited Talis book supplier

1 April, 2009

Talis is delighted to announce that Ulverscroft (supplier of large print and unabridged audio books) has become an accredited Talis book supplier. Users of the electronic supply chain solution, Talis Gateway, will now be able to automate their quotes for items supplied by Ulverscroft, to considerably reduce manual input by staff.

Established over 45 years ago, Ulverscroft supplies large print unabridged audio books to every public library in the UK and Ireland. This new relationship with Talis will be welcomed news for our many mutual customers.

Over 40 accredited suppliers trade via Talis Gateway’s suite of EDI messages, automating the entire procurement process for more than 90 libraries. From selection through ordering, to payment and shelf ready delivery, ensuring that end-to-end, the entire procurement cycle is delivered efficiently.

Michele Petty, Operations Director at Ulverscroft commented: “Ulverscroft is delighted that the resources we have committed to furthering our EDI capabilities has resulted in successful accreditation for EDI Quotes with Talis. This close collaboration between Talis and Ulverscroft demonstrates Ulverscroft’s ongoing commitment to working with third party organisations to positively enhance the service we provide to our customers.”

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented: “We look forward to establishing our relationship with Ulverscroft to enable libraries across the UK and Ireland to continue benefitting from greater efficiencies in their services."

For more information about Talis Gateway, accredited suppliers and the electronic supply chain, please visit www.talis.com/gateway or call sales on 0870 400 5090.

Talis Leicestershire Libraries choose to stay with Talis

5 February, 2009

Following a competitive tender process, Leicestershire Libraries has chosen to stay with Talis as the software provider of their library management suite.

As a part of the Councils Efficiency Agenda 2008/2009, Leicestershire Libraries reviewed their computerised library management system in the aim to develop a more interactive virtual library presence for its borrowers, whilst ensuring their stock management delivers efficiency and value for money for its staff (amongst many other factors).

After an in depth analysis of the market, Leicestershire Libraries has chosen to stay with Talis and implement new solutions to meet their new strategic objectives for their library. Talis’ new OPAC, Talis Prism and integration solutions, Finance Integration module and Customer Relationship Management module are just some of the new implementations to take place across the 57 branches.

MargaretBellamy, Head of Library Services at Leicestershire Libraries commented “We chose to stay with Talis as together; we can deliver what we need to help us to continue to transformour library service and meet our strategic goals.”

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented “We are delighted Leicestershire Libraries has chosen to remain a key and valued part of the Talis Community. We look forward to working closely with Leicestershire in the near future to help implement their libraries’ strategic plan.”

For more information about Talis Alto or any of Talis' library solutions visit www.talis.com/library.

Talis and LibLime Open Data on ‡biblios.net

30 January, 2009

Talis, the UK market leader in providing academic and public library solutions, and LibLime, the leader in open solutions for libraries, are pleased to announce a partnership to make available over five million bibliographic records to the library community on the ‡biblios.net platform.

‡biblios.net is LibLime's free browser-based cataloguing service with a data store containing over thirty-million records. The database is maintained by ‡biblios.net and uses a similar model to Wikipedia. Cataloguers can use and contribute to the database without restrictions because records in ‡biblios.net are freely-licensed under the Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and License (http://biblios.net/pddl).

Talis is providing data from the Talis Union Catalogue; the open shared core of records from the Talis Base service, to ‡biblios.net, including over 5 million bibliographic records, catalogued by public and academic libraries in the UK over the last 30 years. The Talis Union Catalogue is a treasure trove of rare, old and out-of-print items which will complement the existing ‡biblios.net database. The sharing principles of Talis Base, established over the years, are now being supplemented by reciprocal sharing with other open sources such as ‡biblios.net.

The Talis contribution to ‡biblios.net goes beyond the data being made available to the project. The Open Data Commons license itself was originally created by Talis in collaboration with Creative Commons. It represents a milestone for sharing data on the Internet, supporting innovative projects such as ‡biblios.net.

"Talis has made two important contributions to pave the way for freely-licensed, community-maintained sources of library metadata" explains Joshua Ferraro, CEO of LibLime. "We're excited about the value that the Open Data Commons license, as well as the Talis data set bring to ‡biblios.net. We're looking forward to future partnership opportunities with Talis."

Richard Wallis, Technology Evangelist at Talis adds "The open sharing of data, the default motivation for most librarians, has often been stifled by confusion and fear about ownership and licensing. Open Data Commons helps clarify and dispel those fears, opening up data that can confidently be shared. ‡biblios.net is a great example of the innovation that results when data is really open.”

To find out more information about Open Data Commons visit www.opendatacommons.org. You can visit ‡biblios.net at http://biblios.net.

Enhancing the gateway to your learning resources – Panlibus Issue 11 now available

29 January, 2009

The new issue of Panlibus Magazine has now been published online. In this issue we share how the gateway to your learning resources could be enhanced, as we unveil our new resource management solution, Talis Aspire on pages 14-15. Also, the renowned public library advocate, Tim Coates stresses why the ‘Time for Action’ is upon us on pages 16-18. The University of Plymouth provide this issues case study, as they demonstrate how Talis Keystone provides ‘Integration for all’ as they become the first non Talis LMS user to adoption the integration solution (page 22).

As always, we continue to invite you to contribute to our new features in Panlibus Magazine including the news pages, book and podcast reviews and the ‘leaders’ column by emailing panlibus@talis.com. Subscribe for free and view previous issues at www.talis.com/panlibus.

The University of Salford optimises Talis Keystone to manage borrower identities

26 January, 2009

Talis is delighted to announce The University of Salford is the firstUniversity to adopt the Identity Management (IdM) module provided via Talis Keystone.

The University of Salford is in the process of transforming the way that the identities of its entire user population are managed across all key systems in the organisation. An essential part of the solution employed (using Sun Microsystems’ IdM suite) is the transition and management of up to 23,000 Talis LMS borrower identities via Talis Keystone.

The University of Salford’s far-reaching Integrated Information Infrastructure Strategy, first developed in 2003, highlighted the potential of an IdM system to solve many of the organisations administration challenges.

The Sun Microsystems IdM solution now integrates with the Talis LMS via Talis Keystone and the Talis IdM module. This is a REST web service, working in real-time to create, read, update and delete borrower records in Talis LMS.

As the first to adopt the solution, the University of Salford has played a prominent role in the development. David Kerr, Programme Manager for the Identity Management programme at the University of Salford commented “The benefits of our new Talis IdM module are mostly seen in the improvements in quality and accuracy of data held on our borrowers. In addition, it gives us significant security improvements through the immediate (real-time) disablement of library borrowing and library access. As an organisation, this will mean that we can adapt more quickly to new requirements involving changes to the level of borrowing that we provide for various staff, student and ‘associate’ institutional roles.”

He continued, “From a technical point of view, the implementation of a real-time interface via a web service meant that our developers in the IdM team were working to an abstract specification that removed the need to understand the technical details of how transactions are actually implemented in the Talis database. We were extremely pleased with how well Talis consultants worked with us during this critical time in our programme.”

The Identity Management solution now in place at the University of Salford – of which the Talis IdM Module is an integral part – and is transforming the way that access to resources of all kinds is created and managed for all staff, students and associates whilst delivering significant improvements in levels of customer service, customer experience, security, performance and efficiency.

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented “As a development partner, the University of Salford has paved the way for other institutions to follow suit in achieving substantial administration savings via the Identity Management module. As the adoption of Talis Keystone increases, it is clear integration is more important today than ever before.”

Talis Keystone communicates in simple, open standards that all machines can understand. Each project is managed closely by the consultancy team, meeting individual requirements, unique to your institutions needs. For more information about Talis Keystone, please visit www.talis.com/integration/identity or contact 0870 400 5090 to discuss your integration requirements.

The University of Plymouth adopts integration solution Talis Keystone with the Ex-Libris LMS

21 January 2009

Talis is delighted to announce that one of the UK's most prominent and dynamic universities, the University of Plymouth, has become the first Ex Libris LMS user to adopt Talis Keystone to integrate their Voyager LMS with their campus portal.

Previously, the University’s 30,000+ students were not able to access their library account details from within their Microsoft SharePoint University portal. In their aim to become “an enterprise-led university where innovation and creativity underpin all activities”, the University has adopted the Talis Keystone Portal Integration module to enable users, via a single sign in, to access account details from within in the University portal.

This is possible as Talis Keystone communicates in simple, open standards that all systems can understand. This allows the relevant borrower account information (including the number of loans, fines information and overdue status) to be extracted from the Ex Libris LMS and displayed in the portal web pages.

Fiona Greig, E-Resources Development Manager at The University of Plymouth commented “Getting relevant information from Voyager into personalised portal sites has been a key requirement for the University for some time. With more resources available, and the increase in use of metasearch technologies, we have been aware that unique visits to the OPAC have been decreasing. This means borrowers sometimes miss key messages and information from the Library. By building a SharePoint integration we are maximising the positive impact of our new VLE and enhancing elements of the Library service.”

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented “Talis Keystone has been very successful, as over 25 Talis Alto customers now utilise the integration solution. We hope to see many more projects with non-Talis Alto customers that will help 'join up' many more institutions in the future.”

With the project now complete, the University of Plymouth are now evaluating their next steps to enhance integration at their library by adopting the online payment integration module of Talis Keystone, the ePayment Module.

For more information about the integration solution Talis Keystone, please visit www.talis.com/integration or alternatively contact sales@talis.com or 0870 400 5090 to discuss your integration requirements.

Talis Base works seamlessly alongside Innovative LMS at Clare County Library

12 January 2009

Clare County Library has become the first to use the bibliographic database solution, Talis Base, alongside their Innovative Library Management System. As Clare County Library demonstrates, Talis Base integrates seamlessly with any LMS.

Consisting of 16 branch libraries; organised into five functional regions, three library service departments and with 17,000 members, Clare County Library benefits from unlimited access to 29 million bibliographic records in Talis Base.

Providing a comprehensive range of quality records, Talis Base helps to deliver high hit rates for acquisitions and cataloguing. With a mix of co-operative cataloguing, commercial data sources and major databases such as the British Library and the Library of Congress, Talis Base delivers services that are easily integrated into your local system and workflow.

Regardless of your core LMS, the Talis Complementary Solutions Products can be chosen to best suit your needs, budgets and investment strategy. Some of our most successful complementary products include, Talis Keystone, Talis Base, Talis List and Talis Source. Regardless of whether you use systems from Civica™, Axiell, Ex Libris™, Infor, Innovative, Bibliomondo, Talis or Sirsi Dynix, the Talis complementary solutions can benefit your library.

Anthony Edwards, Senior Executive Librarian at Clare County Library commented “Talis Base is a vital component of our bibliographic services, and we are delighted that we are able to use it seamlessly with our Innovative Library Management System.”

Dave Errington, CEO, Talis commented “Clare County Library is a great example of the seamless integration so easily achievable through our complementary solutions. The core LMS is no longer a restriction to achieve efficient library management, and the progression in the quality of service provided.”

To find out more information, visit www.talis.com/base, email sales@talis.com or call sales on 0870 400 5090.

Solihull Libraries choose offline self service solution, Talis Bridge Pro

5 January 2009

Talis is delighted to announce Solihull Libraries are the latest to choose the complete self service solution, Talis Bridge Pro, to connect its Library Management System and 17 RFID units across its branches.

Talis Additions Partner Intellident, will work closely with Talis and Solihull Libraries in the near future to help them become a major RFID enabled public library service. In addition to the self-issue, self-payment and self-return capabilities of Talis Bridge, Talis Bridge Pro will enable borrowers at Solihull Libraries to use RFID functionality, even if network connectivity is lost.

Dave Errington, CEO at Talis commented “Six months after the launch of Talis Bridge Pro, the solution has been adopted by more than a dozen local authorities and institutions. We look forward to the implementation of the solution at Solihull Libraries in the coming months. ”

To find out more about this new release of Talis Bridge Pro or the Talis Additions Partner Programme visit www.talis.com/bridge or www.talis.com/additions. Alternatively contact sales on +44 (0) 870 400 5090 or email sales@talis.com.