About Andrew K. Pace
Standards, Still a Good Thing
Posted On Aug 25 2006A friend recently told me that standards are a lot like toothbrushes–everyone agrees that they’re a good thing, but no one wants to use someone else’s. But whether yours or someone else’s, your breath will stink and your teeth will still rot if you don’t use one. So look for a fresh brush, because NISO (the National Information Standards Organization) has some new leadership. Todd Carpenter takes over as managing director on September 1. Carpenter was most recently director of business development with BioOne, and has spent several years in the scholarly publishing field with Johns Hopkins University and Haworth …
OCLC: Soup to Nuts?
Posted On Aug 16 2006OCLC has announced another important acquisition in a long series of wins that have kept libraries, members, and industry pundits busy guessing what’s next. Following a distribution partnership that dates back to 2002, OCLC has acquired DiMeMa (Digital Media Management), the creator of CONTENTdm digital management software. Greg Zick, the former University of Washington professor who founded the company in 2001, will become vice president of OCLC Digital Services. DiMeMa staff (11 employees) will remain in Seattle. A busy year at OCLC: 2006-Aug: OCLC acquires DiMeMa / CONTENTdm 2006-Aug: OCLC launches Worldcat.org 2006-Jun: RLG membership approves merger with OCLC 2006-Apr: …
Topsy Turvy Summer
Posted On Aug 7 2006This summer has seen no shortage of interesting announcements in the library automation world. At first glance, things seem upside down in a library world where the Library of Congress can be accused of abandoning the profession, and internet behemoth Amazon.com announces that it will supply MARC records! The many happenings at LC have been given plenty of digital and print ink, so I won’t belabor the debates here. In “The Changing Nature of the Catalog and Its Integration with Other Discovery Tools,” (pdf) Karen Calhoun makes several (and some radical) suggestions that are shaking things up. Combine that with …