EDITOR'S NOTE
Changing Times
by Barbara Brynko
In 1998, Apple introduced the iMac, PayPal was founded, MySQL emerged on the scene, and two enterprising Ph.D. candidates from Stanford University incorporated a new company called Google. That was the same year Jay Jordan stepped into his new role as CEO and president of OCLC.
Fourteen years later, Jordan is now stepping down. It would be an understatement to say that his years at OCLC have been productive: The number of libraries in OCLC rose from 30,000 to 72,000-plus and from 64 countries to 170 today. Under Jordan’s lead, the WorldCat bibliographic database jumped from 38 million records in 1998 to more than 240 million in 2011.
In our feature, “Jay Jordan: The End of an Era,” Tom Hogan, CEO and president of Information Today, Inc., picks up where he left off with Jordan 12 years ago in an interview that also appeared in Information Today. Their latest chat, which begins on page 1, offers Jordan’s insights about the company, his mission, and his legacy.
Then in “Thomas Industrial Network: Internet Matchmaking,” we take a look at an enterprising product-supply company that has continued to shift its focus from print to digital with remarkable success. Its products and innovations have channeled the latest 3D technology and social media initiatives to keep pace with changing times and a changing marketplace.
And in “Professional Edge: Eyes on the Users,” we explore what goes into creating an agile platform designed for today’s evolving enterprises. It’s all about the workflow and the process of building an efficient base for collaboration, integration, and innovation, whether for attorneys, medical professionals, or researchers.
But this is just for starters. There is plenty of other news and trend watching from cover to cover. Let us know what you think.
— Barbara Brynko |
