A large library reference publisher has acquired one of the world’s biggest online libraries of copyright-cleared books, and hopes to add to both collections.
Gale, a division of Cengage Learning, announced that it had acquired Questia Media last week, with undisclosed financial terms. Questia, a subscription-based online information service, lets users access more than 75,000 books and millions of journal, magazine and newspaper articles; Questia Classroom is a course-management system tied to that online material.
John Barnes, Gale’s executive vice president of strategic marketing and business development, said Questia subscribers will still be able to use all of the service’s regular features. He also said the merger will expand an existing agreement to give each service some of the other’s useful materials, such as e-books or journal articles.
Judith Axler Turner, editor of The Journal of Electronic Publishing, said commercial companies are trying everything they can to compete with a growing number of online resources produced by individual libraries or government entities.
“In many institutions, the libraries themselves are becoming sources of information,” said Ms. Turner, who worked as a Chronicle reporter from 1983 to 1997. “They’re publishing things—they’re not just making them available.”
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.
7 Responses to Reference Publisher Acquires Major Online Library
wmartin46 - February 4, 2010 at 4:00 pm
> said commercial companies are trying everything they can to > compete with a growing number of online resources produced by > individual libraries or government entities.This is probably a good thing. While the Federal Government has “seen the light” and promised to publish as much as it can (if not all) on-line, most smaller government agencies have not gotten the memo yet. If private companies can get more of this information on line than the public sector, and make a profit, then this is a “win-win” situation for everyone.
blendedlibrarian - February 4, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I am puzzled by Gale’s acquisition of Questia. On one hand, Gale sells information products directly to libraries for either year-to-year subscriptions or one-time purchases. Either way, the libraries then give their students access to the content – no tollroad charges to the student. Questia’s model has always been to sign up students as individual subscribers (although they too were selling questia content to entire school districts). So what will we have. Gale selling content to libraries – and then trying to get the students to subscribe to Questia – which means the students are paying for access to the same information twice.Bottom line: What does this mean for students and academic libraries that already subscribe to Gale content?
rickman - February 5, 2010 at 1:35 am
I’m having difficulty parsing the term “large library reference publisher”. Is it a reference publisher (which I’m guessing means a publisher of reference materials) that is housed in a library and is also large; or a reference publisher that is housed in a large library; or a large publisher who only publishes library references?
nnnwww - February 5, 2010 at 2:59 am
“A large publisher of reference material that sells primarily to the library market” sounds reasonable.
11211250 - February 5, 2010 at 6:55 am
nnnwww – me too. Questia is a good tool, but if I can get access to it through my U’s library’s site license all the better.
jlaster - February 5, 2010 at 9:20 am
nnnwww, that’s a perfect description. Sorry for any confusion, rickman. -Jill Laster
nnnwww - February 5, 2010 at 10:45 am
It seems this is a developing strategy. See http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6716946.html