Biography
Ken Chad, Executive Director, Talis
Working first for CLSI and then Geac, Ken went on to successfully introduce both Innovative Interfaces and Endeavor to the European market. With over 17 years of experience in the industry he has worked on major library automation projects from Estonia to Turkey, the Middle East and throughout Europe. Ken joined Talis in 2001 and is now pivotal to the Executive Team, sharing responsibility with the CEO for company strategy.
Abstract - The Virtual Opportunity
Just as the physical siting of a library building is important so is the library's online (virtual) presence. Public libraries are simply not on the "online high street": they remain tucked away with their resources hidden. Why can't you discover what's in your local library from a Google search? Why doesn't Amazon link to your local library holdings and enable you to have a library book delivered to your door? Library holdings are mostly undiscoverable on the web except as part of an idiosyncratic "OPAC" which most web savvy users are either unaware of or rarely use. In the age of Google, Amazon and MSN how can we get the resources of libraries (print and digital) more discoverable and make a more fulfilling experience for the user? Ken Chad, Executive Director at Talis will be discussing some solutions that take advantage of the next wave of Web based technologies.
Updated: 19 September 2005