Named for professor, dean, and informatics pioneer Dr. Richard Talbot, DVM, PhD., the Talbot Veterinary Informatics Symposium began in 1995 at the annual AVMA Convention. In 2016, the Talbot Symposium moved to its new home at Fetch Central (then the CVC) in Kansas City, held annually in August. Members had the chance to interact with other Fetch attendees at our AVI booth and engage in active discussions with fellow members at the symposium and over BBQ.

In 2020, while COVID-19 cases were easing up and local policies on events were in flux, we surveyed our membership to determine the overall sentiment on in-person vs. virtual conferences. We also gathered information about future online education opportunities through AVI. You can view the survey results in the Tableau dashboard below.

In August 2020, the Talbot Symposium was held virtually for the first time, as a standalone technical conference. We welcomed speakers and attendees from all over the globe for live sessions, the presentation of our second lifetime achievement award, and a fun networking get together. In 2021, we began preparing our online education content which will be launched soon.