Talpa

Overview of Talpa - A Magical AI-Powered Library Search

Talpa is a new AI-powered library search tool that helps users find books and other media using natural language queries. It combines artificial intelligence (AI) with authoritative book data to provide accurate and relevant results.

How Does Talpa Work?

Talpa works by using AI in two main ways:

• It queries large language models from Anthropic and OpenAI to get book suggestions, then checks every suggestion against real library catalogs and databases to validate the results.

• It uses natural language processing to understand search queries, then matches those queries against subjects, tags, characters and other metadata to find relevant books.

For example, if you search "novels about World War 2 in France" Talpa will understand the keywords and return books set in France during WW2.

Key features and benefits:

• Doesn't "hallucinate" fake book results - everything is checked against real library data
• Able to understand queries and match them to relevant subjects, tags etc.
• Prioritizes books in your library's catalog
• Can identify books by cover design thanks to data from LibraryThing's CoverGuess game

Features and Capabilities

Talpa offers the following features:

• Natural language search to find books, movies, music and more
• Checks every suggestion against library catalogs and databases
• Understands search queries based on subjects, tags, characters and other metadata
• Prioritizes items in your library's collection
• Identifies books by cover design
• Works for all types of media including books, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, music and more

Use Cases and Applications

Talpa has many potential use cases and applications:

For Library Users

• Help patrons find books, movies and music using natural language
• Assist users in discovering new books and media
• Aid research through improved search and discovery

For Librarians

• Enhance library catalogs with an intelligent search layer
• Provide better search to help patrons find what they need
• Save time assisting users with finding books/info

For Library Websites

• Add a smart search box to library sites
• Provide quick access to library collections

Who is Talpa For?

Talpa is designed for:

• Public and academic libraries
• Library users and patrons
• Librarians and library staff
• Anyone who uses library collections and databases

It can benefit all types of libraries including public, academic, school, special and government libraries.

Plans and Pricing

Talpa is currently free for libraries using Syndetics Unbound from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Specific pricing and plans for the future are still to be determined.

Support and Integrations

As an experiment, support options are currently limited. Talpa integrates with:

• Syndetics Unbound from ProQuest
• LibraryThing data
• Bowker data

No API access is available at this time.

What Library Users and Staff Think

As a brand new product, Talpa does not yet have user reviews. Feedback from early testers has helped guide development and improvement.

Key pieces of feedback include:

• Works very well for older, more classic titles
• Can sometimes miss more recent titles
• Results emphasize what the specific library has in their collection

Frequently Asked Questions

Who created Talpa? Talpa was created by LibraryThing, the company behind the sites LibraryThing.com and TinyCat. It was built in partnership with ProQuest.

What does "Talpa" mean?
Talpa is the Latin word for "mole" (the animal).

Where can I learn more about Talpa? Visit the Syndetics Unbound site to learn more and get setup instructions. You can also email questions to info@librarything.com.

More Resources

• Syndetics Unbound Site
• LibraryThing Site
• Talpa Setup Instructions
• Contact Email for questions