NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and NFAIS (National Federation of Advanced Information Services) Announce a Proposal to Merge

From a Joint Announcement:

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) have today announced a proposed combination, designed to better serve their members, during a time of rapid change.

The respective boards of NISO and NFAIS have unanimously approved moving ahead with the merger proposal, which is conditional on NFAIS member approval. The merged entity sees significant opportunities for enriched and invigorated programming, delivered in a more efficient and innovative way, to the combined group’s 250-plus members.

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NISO traces its history back to 1939 and is a non-profit standards organization that develops, maintains and publishes technical standards related to publishing and library applications. It draws its membership equally from libraries, content creators, and service providers. It will celebrate its 80th anniversary in June.

NFAIS was established in 1958, with its roots dating back to President Eisenhower’s administration. Then, the National Science Foundation was given a mandate to ensure the provision of indexing, abstracting, translation and other information retrieval services reached the highest possible standards. Since then it has served a broader coalition of information services entities.

Deanna Marcum, President, NFAIS Board of Directors, says, “Speaking with a single voice, this new organization will be more effective and influential in the larger community of content creation, distribution and discovery.”

Todd Carpenter, Executive Director of NISO, says, “NFAIS has a great history of convening events that bring people together. NISO has a strong track record of dealing with the details of developing and implementing technology solutions. Our shared future is about connecting ideas with grass roots implementation, to serve our members and maximise the impact of our community and its vital role in society today.”

Direct to Complete Announcement

Filed under: Libraries, News, Publishing