The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) recently became a voting member of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). Through this membership, PALNI will play an integral role in advancing standards-based library infrastructure and innovation through collaboration with cultural, scientific, scholarly, and professional communities. As a voting member, PALNI will also have a voice in shaping NISO’s future direction by nominating and voting for members of the NISO board and other leadership positions, as well as serving on strategic committees.
As part of the arrangement, PALNI’s 24 supported libraries have the opportunity to join the Library Standards Alliance (LSA) at a special rate. LSA membership allows the libraries to contribute to the development of information standards work, access NISO educational programs at reduced or no cost, and stay up to date with the many national and international standards activities that NISO is involved in.
“PALNI is joining key organizations where the objectives of the organization support our progress of deep collaboration between PALNI-supported schools and additional partners,” says Kirsten Leonard, PALNI Executive Director. “As PALNI libraries innovate to work together to leverage new technology, services, and expertise to meet the needs of students and faculty from smaller colleges and universities, standards addressed by NISO are critical to our collaborative infrastructure. PALNI libraries, as a collaborative, have the resources to be a voice at the table.”
“By becoming a voting member of NISO, PALNI will add to the voice of smaller academic and theological libraries and contribute to the development and establishment of standards critical to making the information and library environment more interoperable and equitable,” says Noah Brubaker, PALNI Associate Director.
“We are delighted to welcome PALNI to the NISO community,” says Todd A. Carpenter, NISO Executive Director. “It’s important that our membership reflects the wide range of library institutions, and PALNI’s unique position as a consortium that includes smaller, private academic and theological institutions helps us to serve those interests. We’re excited to collaborate with PALNI to develop and maintain information standards and best practices.”
For more information about this announcement, email staff@palni.org or nisohq@niso.org.