Talis Information announced today a partnership with WebCT which will bring together Talis, the UK's leading provider of integrated library systems, and WebCT, the world leader in the campus-wide e-learning platforms.

This partnership responds to a growing requirement from universities and colleges for a link between their e-learning systems and the library and information resources which support these on-line teaching activities.

The two companies will work together in developing increasing levels of integration between the evolving versions of Talis's library and information resource software and WebCT's on-line course authoring and delivery platforms. They will also promote each other's products in the UK.

"We are delighted to be working with WebCT with its leadership both globally and in the UK Higher Education market. We share their vision for a joined-up future in the e-learning computing environment," said Stephen Gray, Managing Director of Talis. "With the growth of competitiveness in the on-line learning market, universities are increasingly keen to offer the benefits of their information resources to students working both on and off campus."

"Early-on we knew we could never be all things to all people, that is why we focused our development strategy toward an open architecture that supports rapid partnering with complementary campus systems," said Dr. Stavros Cadamenos, Vice President and Managing Director WebCT International. "We are very pleased to announce our integration partnership with Talis and offer the benefits of deeper integration to our over 120 academic institutional users in the UK. This extends the integration process we have had in place with leading vendors such as Campus Pipeline for Portal integration and SCT for student administration systems, by including today digital library integration with Talis, the UK leader in this field".

About WebCT

WebCT is the world's leading provider of integrated e-learning systems for higher education. More than 2,209 colleges and universities world-wide are using WebCT's products and services to transform the educational experience for their students. Consortia in 16 American states, four Canadian provinces, two Australian territories, the French National Centre for Distance Learning, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Japanese National Institute of Multimedia in Education, and the Consortium of Distance Education have licensed WebCT for their member institutions, making it a de facto standard in higher education. More information about WebCT can be found at www.webct.com.