10th April 2008, 02:41 pm by Richard Wallis In: Uncategorized

Do a search for Talis on Google Australia and intermixed with results about a certain Semantic Web, Library Platform, and Library System company, you get several for TALIS - the Tasmanian Library and Information System.

Based in Hobart and developed and run by the Tasmanian State Library, TALIS runs the library system for the State, the local, and the school libraries. The most obvious aspect of their system being their OPAC. This, separate from the [Geac - soon to be SirsiDynix] underlying ILS/LMS (or ILMS as they call them in Australia) is based on the Verity text search engine. Featuring faceted browsing, it predates the things like VuFind, and Aquabrowser that made this kind of thing fashionable.

Being in Australia I couldn’t pass up a chance to visit them in Hobart. I received a warm welcome from some 50 folks from the State and University libraries, who I treated to the latest Semantic Web in libraries presentation. Sometimes you wonder if you are being a bit far out, delivering such a message to a group of [just getting to grips with Web 2.0] librarians - no danger of that in the Tasmanian State Library.

Both from questions in the presentation and in meetings afterwards, it was obvious that they are not resting on their laurels - keep any eye on the folks from Tasmania.