Talis and Endeavor Information Systems Form Strategic Partnership

BIRMINGHAM, England, April 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Endeavor is the First Company to Join Talis Connexions Programme; Agreement Demonstrates Commitment to Open Standards and Collaboration in the Library Software Market

Talis Information Limited (www.talis.com), the leading provider of library management solutions for the UK and Ireland, announced today that Endeavor Information Systems (www.endinfosys.com), one of the leading worldwide providers of library management software, is the first company to join its new partnership programme, Talis Connexions.

Talis Connexions is a flexible framework that facilitates collaboration between like-minded organisations providing library management solutions to academic, research, corporate and government institutions. Members are encouraged to share knowledge and technical assets, support open standards and develop complementary product strategies. Building on the strengths of the existing solutions portfolio of participating companies, Talis Connexions offers a unique opportunity to leverage the benefits that open standards provide.

"As Endeavor has long been a proponent of open standards and interoperability, we are very pleased to bring our expertise in producing integrated solutions for libraries to this partnership with Talis," said Gregor van Essen, Director of International Sales at Endeavor. "We are particularly excited about the possibilities this relationship presents for Endeavor Meridian, our proven electronic resource management system that is rapidly becoming the ERM system of choice for research and academic libraries worldwide. Only a few months into general release, more than 30 institutions - including those with our Voyager integrated library system and those with other products - have already recognised the ease of integration afforded by Meridian's reliance on open, Web services technology."

"We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Endeavor," said Lee Cox, Head of Product Development at Talis. "This partnership represents a significant step toward an exciting future of expanded integration between technology vendors. As a result, this and future agreements should continue to deliver tangible improvements in the way library system vendors provide solutions and services to their customers."

Both Talis and Endeavor are dedicated to supporting access, interoperability and standards-based integration where appropriate, for the benefit of the wider communities served. Talis Connexions also provides the foundation for managing specific technology initiatives, such as interfacing Talis Alto, the company's integrated library management system, with Endeavor Meridian(TM), as well as fostering interconnectivity between Endeavor's integrated library system, Voyager(R), and Talis' reading list solution, Talis List.

About Talis

Talis is an established provider of library and information management software to public and academic libraries and has a long history as a technology innovator, a pioneer for open standards, and as a partner for its customers. Working closely with world standards bodies such as World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and NISO, ongoing research activities include Web Services, Services Oriented Architectures, RDF based metadata and RSS.

Talis has recently announced a new Talis Library Platform which is an open, extensible, Web 2.0 based software platform which will be the foundation upon which next generation applications will be developed. The Talis Platform incorporates semantic content management, a global collections directory, with a Service Oriented Architecture that enables low cost institutional integration.

Through the Talis Developer Network, Talis welcomes developers to join its development community and build the next generation of applications and services on a shared platform.

For more information, visit www.talis.com, where you can find detailed information, read our blogs, join our discussion forums, and listen to our industry podcasts.

About Endeavor Information Systems

Endeavor Information Systems produces advanced library management systems for research and public librarians seeking to integrate ever- increasing electronic resources within their collections. Since 1994, Endeavor has pioneered library management systems by offering enhanced functionality coupled with intuitive interfaces that increase usability and efficiency. Its heritage of technological innovation and service to libraries as well as its significant financial strength as a wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier combine to make Endeavor Information Systems an industry leader. Visit Endeavor at www.endinfosys.com for more information.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).