Talking with Talis

September 1st is launch day for the new library web site and catalogue for Darien Public Library – John Blyberg has been working hard over the last few months to get things ready.   It is more than just the launch of another good looking library web site and catalogue though.  John has been working on a total rewrite of his SOPAC (Social OPAC) that had it’s first outing at Ann Arbour, one of the poster children of Library 2.0 OPACs.. As John explains in this Talking with Talis podcast, SOPAC 2.0 has been produced so that he can release it’s component parts under an Open Source license so that others can take advantage of it.   The components, as he describes in his blog ‘SOPAC 2.0: What to Expect’ post on the subject, includes a separate social repository layer (Insurge) which not only could be used in most any OPAC, but also enables the sharing of social data between libraries. This conversation was recorded a few days before the launch. Listen Now Download MP3 [37 mins, 33Mb] Technorati Tags: Darien,Ann Arbour,Library,SOAPAC,John Blyberg,Talking with Talis,Podcast,Talis

Library 2.0 Gang Member and Ex Libris Chief Strategy Officer, Oren Beit-Arie joins Richard Wallis in conversation about the recently announced Ex Libris Open Platform Strategy. In the first part of this Talking with Talis conversation, they discuss the ramifications of the recent change of ownership when Francisco Partners sold their investment in Ex Libris to Leeds Equity Partners.   This sets the background for he rest of the podcast in which they go on to discus the motivation behind, and the details of the Open Platform Strategy. In this revealing interview Oren describes how the strategy will influence the way Ex Libris develops and delivers its products in the future.   To accompany this podcast, we have made available a transcript of the interview.     Listen Now Download MP3 [57 mins, 52Mb] Transcript:Download [php] Technorati Tags: Talking with Talis,Ex Libris,Oren Beit-Arie,Open Platform,Podcast,Talis

Martin Marlmsten is from the LIBRIS department of the Royal Library of Sweden – LIBRIS being the discovery interface for the library. Since joining as a software developer has been absorbed in to the world of library search and discovery.  He played a major part in the build and launch of the latest LIBRIS search interface which has introduced under the surface some Semantic Web and Linked Data features. We discuss his career, the use of User Centered Design & Iterative Development methodologies, the Semantic Web techniques and technologies he used, and their future applicability to the library domain. Items discussed in our conversation:  LIBRIS User-centered design and the next generation OPAC – a perfect match? RDF / Linked Data representations of cataloged data via LIBRIS: URI for the Royal Library - http://libris.kb.se/resource/library/S URI for the subject heading "Mödrar" (Mothers in English) - http://libris.kb.se/resource/auth/154863 URI for August Strindberg - http://libris.kb.se/resource/auth/94541 URI for the book "The difference Engine" - http://libris.kb.se/resource/bib/5060570 The book "The difference Engine" in OpenLink RDF browser - http://demo.openlinksw.com/DAV/JS/rdfbrowser/index.html ?uri=http%3A%2F%2Flibris.kb.se%2Fresource%2Fbib%2F50605 70 Cool URIs for the Semantic Web Listen Now Download MP3 [44 mins, 40Mb] Technorati Tags: Royal Library of Sweden,LIBRIS,Linked Data,Semantic Web,Library,Talis,Podcast

In this Talking with Talis podcast I am in conversation with Jonathan Gorman from the University of Illinois. Jon can often be found on the code4lib IRC channel discussing many aspects of innovation with the community of library software developers and enthusiasts. In our conversation we discuss his career and some of the tasks and projects he is involved with. Mentioned in our discussion is Jon’s article for Code4lib Journal about using Authority data in VuFind. Listen Now Download MP3 [35 mins, 32Mb] Technorati Tags: Jonathan Gorman,code4lib,library,Talis

The next UK general election is probably only a couple of years away and there is a serious possibility that we could see a change of governing party. Against this background Ed Vaizey, Conservative MP for Wantage & Didcot and Shadow Minister for Culture is beginning to shape his thoughts and future policy with respect to libraries. This podcast conversation, recorded in Ed Vaizey's office in the Houses of Parliament, explores Ed's thinking as to the way Government should influence library services provided by local authorities; is the MLA as an organisation the appropriate way to promote libraries at a national level; and even is the Department of Culture the right place for libraries to be represented. With a guest appearance of Big Ben, chiming the hour, this is an interesting insight into the thoughts of a senior opposition politician on the future of libraries. This conversation was recorded on Wednesday 10th July and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Listen Now Download MP3 [23 mins, 19Mb]

Ed Summers has recently been active in exposing Library of Congress Subject Heading data as Linked Data using Semantic Web technologies and RDF, through his experimental service at lcsh.info. In this conversation we find out how Ed's career, not always on a traditional library path, has led him to his work in the Library of Congress, his pragmatic interest in things Semantic Web, and why he has needed to experiment outside of the LoC. In this conversation we reference: code4lib  Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) Chronicling America The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative The BagIt File Package Format Simple Web-service Offering Repository Deposit (SWORD) Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) LCSH, SKOS and Linked Data lcsh.info Cool URIs for the Semantic Web How to Publish Linked Data on the Web Ed Summers' web site: Inkdroid Listen Now Download MP3 [52 mins, 48Mb] This conversation was conducted as a Skype call on Thurday 26th June 2008, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: Ed Summers, Library of Congress, RDF, Semantic Web

Karen Schneider has had a varied career in libraries, she is best known as an entertaining and informative speaker at library conferences, author of many articles, and prolific blogger as Free Range Librarian. Karen recently announced another career move to become Community Librarian, for Open Source library software support company, Equinox. We discuss her career and her view of libraries that have lead to her move to an open source organisation, and what Open Source has to offer. Listen Now Download MP3 [40 mins, 37Mb] This conversation was conducted as a SkypeOut call on Tuesday 27th May 2008, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: Karen Schneider, Talking with Talis, Library, Open Source, Talis

Program Services Librarian at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia Canada, Allan Cho, has a theme of the Semantic Web running through many of his post on his blog Allan's Library. In this Talking with Talis conversation we discuss the newly created role of Program Services Librarian, Allan's thoughts on the Semantic Web and what it means for libraries and librarians. During the conversation we reference the following: The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Knitting the Semantic Web - Jane Greenberg Yahoo Search Monkey Twine Haystack Free! - Chris Anderson Listen Now Download MP3 [49 mins, 45Mb] This conversation was conducted as a SkypeOut call on Thursday 22nd May 2008, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: Allan Cho, Talking with Talis, Library, Talis, Semantic Web

In our latest podcast I talk with Kingsley Idehen, President and CEO of OpenLink Software. We discuss OpenLink's approach, and the role that semantic technologies play in this, before turning to a broader discussion of Linked Data; a movement with which Kingsley has been closely involved. Listen Now Download MP3 [54 mins] During the conversation, we refer to the following resources; 4GL Tim Berners-Lee keynote, WWW2008, Beijing Tim Berners-Lee's Linked Data principles Dataportability DBpedia Orri Erling Giant Global Graph GRDDL JDBC Kubl Linked Data Linked Data on the Web workshop Linked Data Planet Microformats ODBC OLE DB OpenLink Dataspaces OpenLink Software Oracle Postgres RDF SPARQL Sybase UMBEL Unisys Virtuoso (and its history) Wikipedia WWW2007, Banff, Canada WWW2008, Beijing, China XMLA Zitgist This conversation was conducted using Skype on Tuesday 13 May, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Thanks are due to Andrew Peterson for his advice on editing the audio. For further Talking with Talis podcasts on the emerging Web of Data, see here.

Rachel Bruce of JISC and Anne Bell of SCONUL join me in the latest Talking with Talis podcast to discuss the recently published JISC & SCONUL Library Management Systems Study - An Evaluation and horizon scan of the current library management systems and related systems landscape for UK higher education. We discuss the report, the reasons for commissioning it, how it will inform the on going debate about the future of academic libraries, and how libraries could use it. Listen Now Download MP3 [36 mins, 35Mb] During the conversation we reference the following resorces: JISC SCONUL JISC & SCONUL Library Management Systems Study [pdf] JISC Information Environment Libraries of the Future This conversation was recorded on Friday 9th May  and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: JISC, SCONUL, Academic Libraries, Library Management Systems, LMS, ILS, Talking with Talis, Podcast.

In our latest podcast I talk with Peter Mika of Yahoo! Research. Peter is speaking at the Semantic Technology Conference in San Jose later this month, and we explore the topic of his presentation as well as learning more about Yahoo! bringing semantic technologies to the mainstream with SearchMonkey. Listen Now Download MP3 [43 mins] During the conversation, we refer to the following resources; Dave Beckett's podcast with Danny Ayers Dublin Core eRDF European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC), Tenerife - and the workshop on Semantic Search FOAF Tom Heath's podcast Jim Hendler's podcast International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC), Karlsruhe Microformats Peter Mika RDF RDFa SearchMonkey, and the Developers Event on 15 May (the mailing list that Peter mentioned is only available to those who sign up here for the beta programme) Semantic Technology Conference, San Jose - and Peter Mika's panel and paper Semantic Web Challenge Yahoo! Research This conversation was conducted using Skype on Thursday 8 May, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Thanks are due to Andrew Peterson for his advice on editing the audio. For further Talking with Talis podcasts on the emerging Web of Data, see here.

In our latest podcast I talk with Christine Connors, Global Director, Semantic Technology Solutions at Dow Jones. Christine is speaking at the Semantic Technology Conference in San Jose later this month, and we explore the topic of her presentation as well as discussing Dow Jones' wider approach to the adoption of semantic technologies. Listen Now Download MP3 [32 mins] During the conversation, we refer to the following resources; Sir Tim Berners-Lee Talks about the Semantic Web Dublin Core Factiva Generate, Inc. GRDDL Intuit Microformats National Library Board of Singapore NewsML OWL Raytheon Reuters Clearforest (and my conversation with Clearforest CEO, Barak Pridor) RDF RDFa Salesworks Securities & Exchange Commission Semantic Technology Conference SKOS SPARQL SWEO Synaptica XBRL Z39.50 This conversation was conducted using Skype on Friday 18 April, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Thanks are due to Andrew Peterson for his advice on editing the audio. For further Talking with Talis podcasts on the emerging Web of Data, see here.

In our latest podcast I talk with Larry Johnson, Alan Levine and Rachel Smith of the New Media Consortium. We discuss the 2008 edition of their Horizon Report, exploring both their methods and the wide-ranging implications for Higher Education of their findings. Listen Now Download MP3 [62 mins, 59Mb] During the conversation, we refer to the following resources; Delphi method Doodle Gartner Horizon.museum The Horizon Report, 2008 Horizon Project wiki New Media Consortium NMC Symposium on Mashups, April 1-3 2008. Ning Pachyderm xobni This conversation was conducted using Skype on Wednesday 26 March, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: New Media Consortium, Horizon Report 2008, Semantic Web, Talis, Talking with Talis

The guest for this Talking with Talis Podcast is Fiona Bradley, Australian Librarian working for IFLA in the Netherlands. Fiona Launched the blog Semantic Library, to help her find out more about the Semantic Web.  We discuss what she has discovered from the blog and the relevance of the Semantic Web to libraries. Listen Now Download MP3 [32 mins, 29Mb] This conversation was conducted as a Skype call on Wednesday 12th March 2008, recorded with Ecamm Network's Call Recorder for Skype, and edited on a Mac with Garageband. Technorati Tags: Fiona Bradley, Semantic Web, Semantic, Library, Talis, IFLA, Podcast, Talking with Talis