Ching-chih Chen joins OCLC as consultant

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 26 October 2005—Ching-chih Chen, Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Boston, has joined OCLC Online Computer Library Center as Consultant to the President for global digital initiatives among libraries, museums and archival institutions.

Dr. Chen will consult for OCLC on special assignments and projects led by Phyllis Spies, Vice President, OCLC Collection Management Services.

"Ching-chih Chen's unique perspective, extensive knowledge and experience in information technology applications and global networking will be a tremendous asset to OCLC and to our worldwide digital initiatives in libraries, museums and archives," said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO.

"I am very enthusiastic about OCLC's global efforts, particularly under the leadership of Jay Jordan," said Dr. Chen.  "In the digital domain, OCLC has provided much leadership from the beginning with its Dublin Core initiatives, and with its well grounded worldwide bibliographic networking.  I am very excited by the potential to cover multi-format content from libraries, museums and archives so that we can truly provide 'universal access' to the world's rich resources through OCLC's shared platforms, programs and services."

Under an Executive Order from President Clinton, Dr. Chen was appointed in 1997 to serve as a member of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) through 2002, which addressed many issues of particular relevance to the OCLC community, including issues related to the next generation of the Internet, universal access and digital libraries, international collaboration, the digital divide, and the future of learning, among others.

Dr. Chen is an international consultant and speaker in over 40 countries, and has received numerous honors and awards, including:  the American Association for Information Science's Best Information Science Teacher Award; the Library and Information Technology Association's LITA/Library Hi Tech Award; the LITA/Gaylord Award for the Advancement in Library and Information Technology; and the American Library Association's Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award for International Achievement.

Dr. Chen is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an author and editor of over 35 books and more than 200 scholarly journal articles.  She produced the award winning interactive videodisc and multimedia CD, "The First Emperor of China."  She was Chief Conference Organizer of a series of 12 International Conferences on New Information Technology (NIT) from 1986-2001 in different parts of the world.

Since 1993, Dr. Chen has been advocating the global digital library concept by linking libraries, museums and archives worldwide.  Her leadership in the Global Digital Library Initiative has helped in the development of digital libraries around the world.

Dr. Chen has led two U.S. National Science Foundation's International Digital Library Projects (NSF/IDLP) related to her Global Memory Net project since 2000.  Earlier this year, Dr. Chen and her team, which includes visiting international researchers, have developed and refined an Integrated Multimedia Content System.  (Details of the Global Memory Net can be found at http://www.oclc.org/research/dss/default.htm from Dr. Chen's OCLC Distinguished Seminar Series lecture on September 30, 2005.)  Also, together with Professor Raj Reddy of Carnegie Mellon University, she is involved in the China-U.S. Million Book Digital Library Project.

Dr. Chen served as a member of the Advisory Committee of DELOS (European Digital Library Network) and co-Chaired the DELOS/NSF Working Group on Digital Imagery for Significant Historical, Cultural and Heritage Materials.

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