There's nothing like a very flattering press release to turn rumor into fact. It's true, starting January 7, I will be the Executive Director, Networked Library Services, at OCLC.

I've had a great run at NCSU Libraries, where I have been just shy of nine years. I'm immensely appreciative for all the opportunities that were given to me here—a library that puts its money where its librarians' mouths are, aspires to and achieves greatness, embraces practical advocacy, and hires some of the best people you could ever hope to work with. I can honestly say that in nine years, I have never had a boring day at work.

More than that, NCSU Libraries indulged my desire to speak, write, and consult on a variety of library topics . . . activities that ultimately led to a platform from which I could launch a new chapter of my career. Of course none of the above would have been possible without an unbelievable collection of colleagues, some of whom have moved on to other pastures, many of whom I will be leaving with a touch of sadness.

Okay, before this gets too sappy . . . what about OCLC? I can barely contain my excitement. Yes, this is a big move, both for my career and for my family. Frankly, it's where the action is, and that's where I want to be. I'm going to get a chance to work with really great people, learn new things, and help increase the value of OCLC to libraries and the value of libraries to patrons.

Dark side? "Pshaw," I say. Those of you who know me well know that I decry the notion that there are "sides" to our profession. My passion for my chosen field requires that I work for places and people that embrace the ethos of librarianship. OCLC is such a place. It is the biggest such place. What will I be doing? Suffice it for now to say that I will be working hard to make things better. The same thing that I have always tried to do. The word might be passé, but "psyched" is the best one I can think of to describe how I'm feeling about the new job.

What becomes of my status as vendor provocateur? My column? This blog? Well, I'll be submitting my last "Technically Speaking" column next week for the January/February issue of American Libraries. Again, a nice run there, and a platform that I have loved and will dearly miss, but life goes on. As for the blog, I have not completely decided. As a companion to the magazine column, I hope the mantle will pass. But I also hope to find a platform and new voice (i.e., new content) for "Hectic Pace" . . . like many things, that will depend on time allowed and whether readers out there want to continue to hear from me. Will I stop provoking and being a little disruptive? Will I stop writing? Will I stop being so opinionated? Fat chance on all three counts.

I've had so many nice emails, Facebook wall postings, IMs, and phone calls from friends and colleagues, but I'd be remiss if I did not mention the love and support of my family during this transition—my wife Sharon with whom I embark on another geographic adventure like the one we had to California now so long ago, Emma (9), and Eli (5). I couldn't do this without them. So, farewell (soon) to Raleigh, N.C. Hello Dublin, OH. I can hardly wait.

I always wish that I would put more of my predictions in writing. At least the ones that I ended up being right about. Actually, even being wildly wrong can be fun. Anyway, here's one I predicted, but the formal announcement is missing some of the details that folks might not be aware of.

SirsiDynix, the seemingly last library vendor on the market without a detailed plan for a "next generation catalog," has made an OEM agreement with Brainware for a next-generation faceted search solution. The press release is online (pdf). The release is slated for Summer 2008 . . . I've been griping that 2007 was hardly "next generation" . . . next summer seems a long way off with all the new interfaces that are coming out all over the place.

Brainware technology will provide innovative fuzzy search, fuzzy logic, dynamic categorization, and other capabilities that will empower information seekers to discover more content from more sources—including libraries’ own catalogs, Z39.50 sources, subscription resources, digital collections, crawled web content, subscription content, and social networking data—than ever before.

SirsiDynix is a little late coming into the game with new interfaces, but Brainware looks like solid technology from a company based in one of the technological hotbeds in Northern Virgina . . . my old stomping grounds.

What the press release doesn't mention, but which makes the partnership all the more obvious (logical?) is that Brainware is owned by . . . care to guess? Tick-tock, tick-tock . . . that's right, Vista Equity Partners, the firm that bought SirsiDynix last year. Look here for other potential synergies. I'll let someone else guess the next one.

In other news . . .

. . . tangentially related to SirsiDynix, the firm's old CEO, Patrick Sommers, has landed on his feet at Gale Group. Cengage (does that rhyme with 10-gage?) Learning appointed Sommers president of Gale last month.