Skip Prichard, an experienced senior executive in the information services market, has been named the next OCLC President and CEO.

Mr. Prichard has led multi-national organizations that serve libraries across the full spectrum of library services and content needs. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Ingram Content Group Inc., which provides a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry. Prior to his service at Ingram, he was President and CEO of ProQuest Information and Learning, a respected global publisher and information provider serving library, education, government and corporate markets with offices around the world.

Mr. Prichard will succeed Jay Jordan, who will retire June 30 after 15 years as OCLC President and CEO. Mr. Prichard will serve as OCLC President-elect, effective June 3, and will officially become President and CEO on July 1.

“Skip Prichard is a proven leader with an outstanding record of accomplishment,” said Sandy Yee, Chair, OCLC Board of Trustees, and Dean, Wayne State University Libraries and School of Library and Information Science. “He has guided leading library services organizations through eras of significant change, from print to electronic and from local to global. His experience and commitment to libraries will help us continue our work to move library services and cooperation forward—in the cloud, on mobile devices and through the collaborative work of libraries and partners around the world.”

“OCLC has a long tradition of strong leadership and vision, and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to lead the cooperative into what promises to be an exciting and challenging future,” said Mr. Prichard. “OCLC and member libraries are using the newest technologies available to move library services to the cloud where they continue to collaboratively build resources and infrastructure to share. I look forward to working with the talented OCLC staff and membership to ensure that we build on that momentum, and provide the resources necessary for libraries and librarians around the world to meet and exceed the increasing expectations of their users.”

Mr. Prichard joined Ingram in 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. He was named President and CEO of Ingram Content Group in January 2008, and served through June 2012. Ingram Content Group is a $1.5 billion global group of companies with more than 3,000 employees that provide physical and digital books, music and media to over 35,000 retailers, libraries, schools and distribution partners around the world. Ingram Content Group includes Ingram Book Group, Lightning Source, VitalSource, Ingram Periodicals, Spring Arbor, Ingram Publisher Services, Ingram Transportation, Ingram Library Services, Tennessee Book Company and Coutts Information Services.

From October 2005 to April 2007, he was President and CEO of ProQuest Information and Learning (PQIL), an organization with 1,200 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. He also held posts at PQIL as General Manager and Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing from April 2003 to October 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Prichard held a number of executive positions with LexisNexis, where as Vice President he provided business information and risk management solutions to global corporations, libraries and other organizations.

Mr. Prichard received his Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Leiden (NL) / Boston (MA) – 17 May 2013

Brill, the international scholarly publisher, has signed an agreement with the National Translation Centre of Tunisia in Tunis for the Arabic translation of the second edition of the renowned Encyclopaedia of Islam. The agreement was ratified by Tunisia’s Minister of Culture, Dr. Mehdi Mabrouk.

Brill, the international scholarly publisher, is delighted to announce that it has signed an agreement with the National Translation Centre of Tunisia in Tunis for the Arabic translation and publication of the second edition of Brill’s renowned Encyclopaedia of Islam. During the signing ceremony in Tunis on 15 May 2013, the agreement was ratified by Tunisia’s Minister of Culture, Dr. Mehdi Mabrouk.

Originally published in English and French, the National Translation Centre of Tunisia in Tunis will now undertake the translation of the encyclopedia into Arabic. It is an authoritative academic reference work about the history, culture and religion of Muslims around the world, to which hundreds of international scholars have contributed. The Tunisian project, which is expected to take several years to complete, will make all 12 volumes of the encyclopedia (c. 12,000 pages) more accessible to Arabic-speaking students and researchers throughout the world.

For more information on this media alert please contact Sam Bruinsma (bruinsma@brill.com or + 31 71 5353 517).

About Brill (www.brill.com)
Founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands, BRILL is a leading international academic publisher in the fields of Ancient Near East and Egypt, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, contemporary History and History of War studies, Biblical and Religious Studies, Slavic Studies, Language & Linguistics, Biology, Human Rights and Public International Law. With offices in Leiden and Boston, BRILL today publishes more than 175 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year. All publications are available in both print and electronic form. BRILL also markets a large number of research collections and databases with primary source material. The company’s key customers are academic and research institutions, libraries, and scholars. BRILL is a publicly traded company and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam NV. For further information please visit www.brill.com.