Thomson Gales AccessMyLibrary.Com Receives Overwhelming Approval from Librarians and Users

Web site continues to put search engines to work for libraries

Farmington Hills, MI, 11/03/2005, Thomson Gale, the world’s leading publisher of library reference information and part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), today announced the escalating success of AccessMyLibrary.com, its groundbreaking library advocacy initiative enabling libraries to capitalize on Internet search engines as a means of connecting library users with authoritative content. AccessMyLibrary.com provides people with direct access to more high-value information than ever before through Internet search. The program, currently in beta, is slated to be officially launched with a new interface, simplified authentication and more content and libraries later this year.

Since the initial launch of AccessMyLibrary, Thomson Gale continues to add significantly more content to the site. Initially launching with 3.6 million articles of content representing hundreds of publishers that participate in Thomson Gale’s library databases, the initiative has since ballooned to more than 9.2 million articles, thereby providing users with an increasingly rich repository of authoritative information.

AccessMyLibrary.com has enabled Thomson Gale’s content to be crawled and indexed by search engines including Yahoo! and Google, making high-value content resources visible to a broader universe of information seekers, thereby highlighting the critical role libraries play as providers of quality information. Once desired content has been identified and made visible through a search engine’s results, it becomes available through AccessMyLibrary.com if the searcher is an authorized patron of the library that subscribes to that content.

“We support Thomson Gale’s efforts to make this important content more accessible,” said Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer at Google. “AccessMyLibrary helps users find authoritative content within a wide range of journals, reference works and other materials which they can access at their local library.”

Sheryl Mase, director of Library Development & Data Services at the Library of Michigan, added, “AccessMyLibrary is a great way to build awareness of these ’deep Web’ resources because it will provide Web surfers with a roadmap to places they’re either not aware of or not normally finding on their own.”

AccessMyLibrary.com includes thousands of libraries that will enable their authenticated users to gain access to millions of documents from Thomson Gale’s award winning product lines. Thomson Gale’s service will set the standard for how publishers, aggregators, search engines and libraries can work in harmony for the benefit of their users.

“Thomson Gale understands libraries and information seekers, and their newest initiative, AccessMyLibrary.com, underscores their commitment to both of these groups,” said Christie Brandau, State Librarian of Kansas. “The information is complete and reliable with a major plus: it leads you back to the local library.”

Sally Reed, the executive director of Friends of Libraries U.S.A., an organization dedicated to preserving and strengthening libraries nationwide, agreed with Brandau. “With AccessMyLibrary.com, Thomson Gale has brought the wealth of information available in their databases another step closer to library patrons. It lets a searcher get a closer look at what’s available in their library by using their favorite search engine,” explained Reed.

With AccessMyLibrary.com, when searchers select a Thomson Gale article from a search engine’s result list, they are given the option to connect to their local library for free access to the selected article. Users will need to have their library card number or other identification to connect to the library. The library’s address and phone number will also be provided so that users can contact their library to obtain a card or to learn more about the library’s resources.

“Thomson Gale’s AccessMyLibrary provides a simple but effective interface to locate premium content and to make access to it transparent to patrons of participating libraries and institutions. Making this content available via leading search engines will mark the beginning of a new era for content aggregation, allowing premium services to maximize their reach to intended audiences via popular Web search interfaces,” said John Blossom, president of Shore Communications Inc., a leading research and advisory service for content professionals.

“Participating in AccessMyLibrary is an easy, quick way for libraries to dramatically enhance their stewardship to local communities,” said John Barnes, executive vice president of strategic business development at Thomson Gale. “We strongly encourage both libraries and publishers not yet signed up for the program to please contact us.”

Individual libraries can sign up at http://access.gale.com/mylibrary/others/index.html. In addition, to join the hundreds of publishers already participating in AccessMyLibrary, publishers can email gale.libraryhelp@thomson.com.

About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Gale

The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com/), with 2004 revenues from continuing operations of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Thomson Gale(www.galeschools.com) serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats – books, Web-based solutions and microfilm.

Contact Information

Adam Gaber

Senior Director, Public Relations

Thomson Learning

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