Learning takes a lifetime…don't let finding take as long

As anybody who has ever been a student will know finding the right books at the right time can be pretty tricky. Essays are due but all the best books have been taken from the library. Have you still got the reading list that was given to you at the beginning of the year? Can you read it? But now students and staff at the University of Sussex have found, and indeed helped to develop, a solution. Using TalisList, library and academic staff, acting together, can now provide students with accurate and current lists of resources – books, journals, exam papers and electronic course material too, such as an e-journal web-site – all of which are just a click away from being retrieved by the student.

One of the remarkable features of the system is that if a citation on a reading list is not for the whole book or journal, but just a chapter or an article, then with internet access a direct link can be provided straight to that material.

Students no longer have to search for the book, wondering if they've got the most up-to-date edition, or read an old text perhaps without the latest academic advances, which will hamper them in their own work. The guidance that TalisList provides is always timely and accurate.

Or how about this – you are a member of staff in a busy academic library. A new course starts but do you know which are the key texts supporting that course? Do you know how many to buy, and when they'll be most needed? What of relevant material that is on the web but still hasn't been added to the reading list? Are the academic staff asking why a book on the reading list isn't in stock yet? What if you could answer these questions – know that the book isn't in stock because the academic staff member forgot to include it on the reading list – know that some books are never read and should be reconsidered – know that some books are so popular that you need to budget for more next year.

Most subject librarians will tell of some academic who never updates a reading list, or who provides students with a hand-written copy photocopied for the past 15 years. Now with TalisList Librarians have a tool which enables them to capture crucial reading list content and create a vital resource. Moreover, academics can create and edit their own reading lists on the system, albeit under the watchful eye of the library staff. They control who has access, and what does and does not get published. Using flexible publishing criteria, information in reading lists can be held back until it is ready for that particular term, semester or year. And once a list has entered its relevant time period then it automatically publishes to the web if the library staff have set the status to "publish" earlier.

Developed in close partnership with the University of Sussex, and also successfully running at the University of North London, TalisList provides a key learning tool for the higher education sector and public libraries striving to support lifelong learning. Flexible list management allows staff to control and publish accurate current data, to provide a key learning tool.

Maggie Fieldhouse, sub-librarian for systems and reader services at Sussex comments

"I am delighted that University of Sussex Library Staff have had the opportunity of contributing their expertise to this joint development and would thank Talis staff for the considerable effort they have put into what promises to be an excellent product."

The revolutionary new Talis product enables listed resources to be accessed quickly and accurately, greatly enhancing the effectiveness with which information can be found and utilised. Resources can include web-based materials in addition to standard library stock.

"TalisList is a powerful tool for harnessing e-resources" comments Mark Clark, Director of Academic Information Services at the University of Salford, who have recently earmarked TalisList for implementation in the spring.

TalisList is not just about reading lists, it's about resource management – providing new and intuitive ways for students to get fast, reliable access to all manner of learning materials. Students can search by course title keyword, even tutor name, and then get straight to the information. And because TalisList is wholly web-based, anyone with a PC and internet access can gain the benefits of using it, work or home students or staff.

TalisList delivers real benefits – a breakthrough in Learning Environment Solutions.