Thomson Gale opening its databases to search engines

["Stuivenga, Will" <wstuivenga@secstate.wa.gov>]

Apologies for cross-posting. 

I've been expecting this from some vendor or other for some time now, and
here it is. Once Google announced it was scanning books, I figured
full-text periodical aggregator databases wouldn't be far behind.

This is an excerpt from an AP newswire story that appeared in the LA Times
on June 16, and also in BusinessWeek. This is certainly something I'll be
discussing with Thomson Gale (and other vendors) at ALA next week. � Will
Stuivenga <wstuivenga@secstate.wa.gov> Project Manager, Statewide Database
Licensing (SDL) Washington State Library Division, Office of the Secretary
of State 360.704.5217 fax: 360.586.7575
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/sdl/

Discover. Explore. Experience.
	Libraries of Washington State
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/marketing/ �
---------------- � 

Library Materials Given to Search Engines 
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE � 

A leading library supplier is allowing the Internet's top search engines
to index its previously restricted reference material, hoping to open a
new online avenue that transports more traffic to local libraries.

About 5,000 public, academic and military libraries nationwide are
participating in the pilot program announced Thursday by Thomson Gale, a
Farmington Hills, Mich.-based company that provides electronic versions of
articles, encyclopedic references and 18th-century books.  � <snip> � To
make its library services more accessible, Thomson Gale is permitting the
Internet's most popular search engines, including industry leaders Google
Inc. and Yahoo Inc., to include the material in their search indexes for
the first time. � <snip> � 

Not everyone will be able to view the Thomson Gale material when it turns
up in a search result. Reading the full text requires membership in one of
the participating libraries. That requirement threatens to frustrate
search engine users whose local libraries either don't subscribe to
Thomson Gale data or aren't participating in the pilot project. Thomson
Gale plans to keep increasing the number of libraries as the test
progresses. � <snip> �

---------------- � 

For the full article see any of these URLs:
http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/wire/sns-ap-searching-libraries,1,4854815.story?coll=sns-ap-investing-headlines
or http://tinyurl.com/d5zrl

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8AOV0G00.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down
or http://tinyurl.com/ae8jh

Thomson Gale has a press release here: http://www.galegroup.com/servlet/PressArchiveDetailServlet?articleID=200506_accessmy or http://tinyurl.com/c3udq