The (US) NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and NFAIS (National Federation of Advanced Information Services) have outlined their plans to merge.
NISO (established in 1939) is a non-profit organisation that develops, maintains and publishes technical standards related to publishing and library applications.
NFAIS was established in 1958 as the National Science Foundation to ensure high quality indexing, abstracting and other information retrieval services.
The two bodies issued a joint statement:
“The traditional boundaries between what it meant to be a publisher and software provider, or between library and publisher, or between content provider and discovery service are blurring, just as national boundaries have faded in our information landscape. This changing landscape is requiring organizations of all types to be more innovative, more collaborative, and nimbler in the face of evolving market demands and pressures. This merger will support these transitions in our community. NFAIS will add to the breadth of voices engaged in NISO standards development work, while NISO’s constituency will add to the vibrancy of the discussions taking place within NFAIS about the future of information exchange. A combined organization will be well-positioned to support its membership to address technological and policy challenges.”
The merger is contingent upon the approval of NFAIS members.
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