Moving Markets: Proquest and LexisNexis
Jinfo Blog

1st July 2008

Item

Proquest’s http://www.proquest.com acquisition of Dialog from Thomson Reuters http://www.thomsonreuters.com was the big news from the SLA http://www.sla.org conference in Seattle this year. Marking a potential shift towards the corporate market, Dialog, which includes Dialog and DataStar databases, brings to Proquest an excellent set of content and a stellar client list. We can only hope that this is Dialog’s final home, as it seems to have been moved from pillar to post over the past few years. In speaking of the acquisition Proquest CEO Marty Kahn indicated the good fit it brought. “The companies’ content and market strengths complement each other and just as important is the match with our values. We share a deep understanding of the library community and commitment to serving it with high-quality information tools” http://digbig.com/4xcxh. Following the transaction Thomson Reuters will continue to use Dialog as a distribution channel: Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI), Investext, TrademarkScan, SciSearch and BIOSIS are among the databases that will continue to be delivered via Dialog. While Proquest moves in the direction of the corporate market LexisNexis http://www.lexisnexis.com makes moves towards the public and state library sector http://digbig.com/4xcxj. Its Library Express product, only available to US based libraries, brings its wealth of content to a new and welcoming audience. It will provide access to news, business and legal information sources. Company Dossier is included in the service. Broadcast transcripts from the major US television and radio networks are included in the service as well as Congressional committee hearings, press briefings from the State, Justice and Defense departments, and presidential news conferences. Non-English language news sources are in Spanish, French, German, Italian and Dutch. VIP will be interested to hear if LexisNexis has any plans to introduce a comparable service for public libraries elsewhere.

« Blog