With Talis Source, many libraries have requested and successfully completed a 30 day free trial to experience the benefits of our product. If you would like to find out more about the Talis Source community or how to register visit www.talis.com/source or contact Grant White at grant.white@talis.com.

Signing up to Talis Source couldn’t be easier; simply follow the instructions below to contribute and if you would like free access add your contact details to the following form, and you’re ready to go.

Instructions:

1. Select the Management menu
2. Select Import/Export menu
3. Export records
4. Export file, Cataccstd
5. File to export into (inc path)
6. Type file name either into a folder or USB etc (ensure that the file name has a .csv extension)
7. Process
8. Send to Talis - either by FTP, post or email source@talis.com.

If you would like more information about Talis Source visit www.talis.com/source or have any questions, please email source@talis.com or contact Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

With only a few remaining pockets of libraries not contributing Talis Source really is moving from strength to strength.

If you would like to subscribe to Talis Source, would like to contribute your holdings or have any other questions please email source@talis.com or contact Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, Talis, Union catalogue, Talis Source, Stats, library,

Moving forward, let us be judged by how we behave, and what we actually - demonstrably - do to build upon exemplary shared traditions in delivering a library service of which we might all be justifiably proud.

At Talis, our work on the Talis Platform sees us actively engaging with the whole sector in re-imagining ways in which the library, its systems and its data fit within a broader picture that encompasses both the parent institution and beyond, out onto the wider Web. A willingness to partner with interested libraries, other vendors, and third parties beyond the library domain is key to such an approach, underpinned by a belief that libraries should not be dictated to, nor tied to a single provider. Such an approach is that of the Talis Platform – an open approach. It is an approach that respects all of those embarking upon the shared journey, and it is an approach that - necessarily - challenges the increasingly outmoded behaviour and motivation of certain incumbents. It enhances the visibility of libraries and their data whilst meeting the needs of libraries and of their current and future users. It is an approach with which The Combined Regions, its members or its suppliers are welcome to engage, and I personally look forward to working with any of them.

Today, 220 libraries across the UK benefit from data freely shared with the Talis Platform, using Talis Source to fulfil their resource discovery and interlending needs, with a pragmatic and cost-effective ILL solution. Those numbers continue to grow as we consistently demonstrate our repeated ability to deliver on promises made to the library sector. If you would like any further information about Talis Source, please contact Grant White by email grant.white@talis.com, or by telephoning 0870 400 5425.

Dr Paul Miller
Senior Manager, Evangelism
Talis
paul.miller@talis.com
0870 400 5000

A few people have recently asked what the symbol actually means, I’ll explain.

The stop sign symbol warns the user that there is an issue or condition with that particular institution that may effect the fulfilment of an ILL request. For example, the library may wish to be a ‘lender of last resort’, certain collections may not be available or the library is closed etc.

Therefore, rather than disregarding all institutions that have the stop sign next to them in the 'Record Display’ screen [S10], check their ‘Institution Contact Details’. To do this, simply select the name from the list of locations from the bottom of the ‘Record Display' screen. The reason the stop sign appears next to the institution is then described at the bottom of the screen under ‘Reason’. For example:

Therefore, in this example one could send a request to this institution if there is no other location that can fulfil the request.

But that’s not the only thing I want to write about today. Last week I wrote about the number of HE libraries using Talis Source. Sarah Washford, the author of Info Junkie then posted a comment on the blog asking how many FE libraries are contributing to Talis Source, there are nearly 20.

The question is easily answered. Although for me, provides yet another illustration of why the business model behind Talis Source really works. It enables ALL libraries to participate. Therefore, libraries with minimal resources that perhaps don’t currently have a Web presence or limited resources can make their collections more accessible, for free!

Last year there were barely any Higher Education libraries which had a login to UnityWeb. Now there are over 45 HE libraries in Talis Source, many of which have logins for several departments, including their medical library.

We believe that an interlending or a resource discovery system is greatly enhanced if all libraries can fully participate. Which is the reason Talis Source is FREE to contribute, FREE to search and isn’t restricted to any region – therefore removing the barriers that previously restricted full participation.

The growth of participation of HE libraries is testament to this belief.

Last year, Talis promised that the price for free resource discovery within Talis Source would remain free.

I’m pleased to confirm that it will remain FREE.

As with last year, all we ask is that you make at least one holdings contribution within the year; although, many libraries contribute monthly. Please note that there is also no charge for contributing.

The price for the Interlending functionality within Talis Source will remain at £500 + VAT.

If you would like to change your subscription to Talis Source, would like to contribute your holdings or have any other questions please email source@talis.com or contact Grant White on 0870 400 5425.

Technorati Tags: Talis, Talis Source, Talis Platform, Library,

Why are they returning I hear you question. They explained that they have explored alternative resource sharing applications and conclude that they favour the simple, no fuss interface and of course appreciate the great value – free.

What a great start for the year!

If you would like to refresh your holdings or want to contribute for the first time, please contact the team who can assistance or advice you may require. The team can be contacted by emailing source@talis.com, alternatively contact me directly on 0870 400 5425.

I look forward to welcoming more new contributors for 2007, a year that will no doubt have some exciting developments in resource discovery…..

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, DS Galaxy, Vubis Smart, Talis Source, Talis, library,

I however, am frustrated by chaos and can’t tolerate having to wade through unnecessary details when I’m in a hurry. For example, last year when I may or may not of forgot to book a table on Valentine's day, I really could of done without Google displaying all the restaurants that were too far away. However, I eventually found a table and my girlfriend was none the wiser – thank God.

In a similar vein, do you find it annoying/life threatening that the region you would like to borrow an item from is always at the bottom of the search results in Talis Source? Okay, it might not been life threatening (all of the time) but it can be a tad annoying. Luckily enough, it's a simple task to configure which regions are displayed and the order they are shown. For instance, if you’re a library in Scotland you may not always want to borrow a book from the South West, so you could specify that that region isn’t displayed or is displayed after all other regions.

For details how to configure the order regions are displayed in Talis Source please visit the Talis Source forum.

(Photo taken by KrassyCanDoIt displayed in Flickr)

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, Chaos, Talis, Talis Source, Tips, library,

You'll be pleased to know that there is. You have two options, creating a Publics User or altering the user privileges for an existing user.

The first option is to register for a Public User licence and the second is to alter the access privileges for any or all of the users. I would suggest the second option rather than the first as it preserves many of the features that a lot of Talis Source users find usefu, such as the Directory services.

For full details explaining how to setup each option please refer to the Talis Source Forum

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, Talis, Talis Source, Tips, library,

Although there were a lot of vicious rumours that I had fallen from the face of the earth, I haven’t - promise. In fact I'm actually fit and healthy and have been busy preparing for all the exciting things we have planned for resource discovery this year. So stay tuned; details will follow soon …..

Getting the ball rolling again, I went into my cupboard, dusted off my blogging hat (see right), powered up my computer and started to blog again (obviously).

So what have I been up to? Well after a massive 2 week break for Christmas I've been busy learning a new application produced by our good friends over at Microsoft. I decided I would make use of all their eLearning sessions, webinars, webcasts and the various forum postings to orientate myself around the new product. It was the first time that I have ever learnt an application using only the internet, and guess what? It was a refreshing way to learn and I got to know the application really well, without even having to install the software!

What I found particularly helpful were the forum postings, there were loads of really useful tips and tricks posted by some Microsoft employees and various users. So I thought I would take a leaf out their book and start posting a few tips over on the Talis Source forum as well. If you have any handy tips, no matter how small they are please add them , they might really help someone out. So go on it give it a go.

I’ll include a link to each tip that I’ve added here on the Talis Source blog where I will also discuss the tip in more detail.

The first tip I’ve added explains how to set up your institution as a “lender of last resort” that I posted earlier today, click here for the link to the tip.

Have a good weekend and I’ll post another tip on Monday.

(Photos taken by rob_fuel and gadjoboy displayed in Flickr) ]]> http://www.talis.com/source/blog/2007/01/forums.html http://www.talis.com/source/blog/2007/01/forums.html Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:34:58 +0000

There I was, happily sitting at my desk moaning about the weather (rain again) when I was interrupted mid rant. Noticing my rather delightful mood they eagerly informed me that Talis Source was growing.

I thanked them very much for telling me the ‘wonderful’ news but I had already spotted that – and blogged about it here and here, my colleagues Ian Corns and Kevin Worth have also blogged about it here and here. So one could say it was pretty well known that Talis Source is growing and has certainly surpassed the old database that was used back in May 2006.

Eager to get back to my rant, I was just about to launch into my epic finale about how rubbish weather is in the UK raining all the time and the instant the sun comes out there’s a drought, when I was interrupted again. They had more news… Talis Source has now over 220 users, over 25% the libraries in the British Isles and Ireland contributing every month and over 54 million holdings.

Not bad for a free service.

(Photo taken by laffy4k displayed in Flickr)

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, Talis, Union catalogue, Talis Source, Stats, Talis Platform, library,

For a long time now, I have been banging on about how great the Talis Platform is, free to contribute, free resource discovery and available to integrate with any application. And if I have spoken to you I have probably rather excitedly said that soon there will be many applications using the same holdings data.

Well today’s the day (in the vein of a game show host) that I can prove that my rather excited ravings have become a reality as we have just announced a platform partnership with Medialab the creators of AquaBrowser.

How does the partnership help you? Well, using exactly the same data that you used to contribute to the Talis Platform to be used in Talis Source, Whisper, Amazon etc you can now use to sign up to AquaBrowser. For example, Islington and Clare County have deployed the automated harvest script updating their holdings and now they have a rather stylish OPAC front end, as shown here and here – good for them.

I’m really excited about all of this, can you tell? Not only are there other companies in the big old bad world that share our philosophy but it gives libraries another choice. Contribute your holdings and spend as little as $99 a month on AquaBrowser – it’s your choice. For me that’s what the Talis Platform represents; choice and ease of use.

We have already provided two Talis LMS customers as examples, but now we want to find a few DS and SirsiDynix users to try this for free. First come first served - just let me know ....

Technorati Tags: Resource Discovery, Talis, Union catalogue, Dynix, DS, Talis Source, Talis Platform, library,