Thomson Business Information (TBI), one of the major
parts of The Thomson Corp., is combining three of its subsidiaries–Gale Research, Information Access Company (IAC), and Primary SourceMedia–into a new company named The Gale Group.
David Lucas, CEO of the Reading, UK-based Primary Source Media will
manage all Gale Group operations in Europe.
“We are merging three strong companies into a new worldwide leader,” said Patrick J. Tierney, TBI president. “By combining Gale’s extensive new product development, editorial, and print publishing capabilities, IAC’s expertise in electronic publishing, and Primary Source Media’s
expertise with publishing original research materials, we will create
compelling new products, strengthen existing ones, and deliver the
highest quality of customer service.”
Allen Paschal, who was president of IAC, now becomes CEO of The
Gale Group, based in Detroit, Michigan. Dedria Bryfonski, formerly
CEO of Gale Research, becomes president of the Library Education
Group of The Gale Group.
The three, merged companies cover a very wide range of publishing
activities, spanning both print and electronic media. Gale Research
produces databases on literature, science and technology (etc.) for the
public, school, and academic library markets. Its imprints include U X L,
The Taft Group, St. James Press, and Visible Ink Press.
Information
Access Company provides scientific, educational and business
information from 6,500 sources worldwide in CD-ROM, microfilm,
print, and online formats.
Primary Source Media publishes primary
source materials including The Times of London from 1771 onwards.
The merger of the companies clearly was prompted by rapidly
changing conditions within the publishing industry.
“We will be asking ourselves one simple question: What is
best for the customer, today and tomorrow?” commented Allen Paschal. “Our focus will be on how
we can best provide targeted content relevant to our customers along
with the timeliness and ease of use they increasingly demand.”