On Milestones, Standards, and Moving Forward
Letter from the Executive Director, July 2026
Life is full of milestones, big and small. We all mark the passing of time and count our achievements. This month, the United States marks a quarter millennium since the Declaration of Independence and our winding path to this anniversary. It is quite a milestone and one that should drive us all to reflect, not only on our past, but also our futures—locally, regionally and nationally.
What does it mean to mark time? Aristotle's Physics states that “we measure the movement by the time, but also the time by the movement, because they define each other.” Aristotle noted that when we say the “road is long,” it is because the time to travel the distance will be considerable if that distance is far or vice versa. In the 1980s, the National Institutes for Standards and Technology redefined the Standard Unit of the meter to something that is grounded in physical constants. The basis for our measures of distance became something based on the distance that light can travel in a vacuum in a fraction of a second. Thus, Aristotle's connecting of distance and time became embedded in the definition, some 2,300 years later.
Measuring time is considerably trickier, though, because time doesn’t exist in a physical space in the way distance, mass, or volumes do. It is observed as the duration between events, which has become embedded in our definition of time. The combination of these intervals is what we perceive as “time.” The actual measurement of time is based on the regular oscillations of atomic particles, specifically cesium atoms. Cesium atoms absorb and emit microwave radiation with a specific regular frequency. Count 9,192,631,770 of those microwave oscillations, and we call the elapsed time interval a second.
If we step back and extend this definition to our broader lives and our history, we can consider the scope of things in a slightly different light. We can consider not the minutes, nor days, but rather epochs of space between two events: for example, all that has occurred in the period between the Declaration of Independence and today. The publication of the first NISO standard to the latest. What has happened between then and now? How has our community evolved over that span?
Research in behavioral science supports the notion that our observances of milestones also demark for us points of transition in which we relegate past imperfections to the previous period, motivating new, aspirational behavior on birthdays, New Years’s, anniversaries, and other momentous occasions. As we pass these milestones, we are compelled to think about the past and the future and consider how we might change things (if not always act on making those changes!).
Last month, during the NISO Annual Members Meeting, I mentioned that our Board of Directors has begun a process of updating our strategic plan. We need to reflect on our work, how we serve the community, and what changes to anticipate in the coming period. Technology is always changing, but in the period since our last plan was developed and adopted, it seems the pace of change has accelerated significantly. This has had profound implications on the expectation of how quickly work must take place to meet changing demands in the marketplace. The period from launch to publication must shorten again. As we consider things like potential new standards work on generative AI systems, we should consider new approaches for driving consensus in addition to (not as a replacement of) our existing procedures and processes. Even if the national milestone doesn’t have anything directly to do with NISO, I’d like to think of this moment as providing an aspirational milestone marker that can motivate us to do things better than we have in the past.
Another thing we're aspirational about is the next iteration of the NISO Plus Global Online conference, which will take place virtually for the sixth time in September. We have an amazing program featuring informative discussion sessions and insightful keynote speakers. Mark your calendar for September 16–17 and register by August 11 for the best rates!
As we consider the many milestones this year, I’d like to encourage you all to reflect on the role that standards have played as our country has grown and developed. The process can be challenging sometimes and can yield varying results, but it is critical to improving how we all get along. In the wonderful Nick Bargatze skit on Saturday Night Live, he encapsulates how we are a nation and a society that is defined by its standards. From our country’s foundation and into the future, standards position us for success.
Sincerely,
Todd A. Carpenter
Executive Director
