Gale Extends Reach with Acquisition of Questia Media
Assets include titles from major academic publishers and university presses
Josh Hadro -- Library Journal, 01/29/2010
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- Social sciences and humanities content
- Increased focus on end users
- Using PageRank to surface authoritative library content
Gale yesterday announced the acquisition of Questia Media, a subscription platform for humanities and social sciences content, providing access to "76,000 books from 300+ publishers and millions of articles from journals, magazines and newspapers," according to the company.
The assets, acquired for an undisclosed sum, include university press authors and titles from big commercial companies like Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and Perseus, said John Barnes, Gale executive VP of strategic marketing and business development.
Gale president Patrick Sommers said, "Questia will further broaden Gale's extensive content base.... In addition, it will enhance Gale's offerings with new research and productivity tools, lesson plans, and professional development for the classroom."
Reaching end users
Questia has been used by undergraduate, high school, and graduate students, and a variety Internet users; Gale says the deal extends its reach to end users and consumers.
In recent months, Gale has focused heavily on this strategy, working to improve the Google PageRank of its content and services. Gale's acquisition in December 2008 of HighBeam Research, with its Encyclopedia.com property, was a key element of this plan.
"Convenience beats authority," Barnes said of the Gale strategy. speaking to LJ at the recent ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston. With that in mind, the company has been seeking ways to position "trustworthy and authoritative" content more prominently, and refer user back to library resources whenever possible.
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