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Dialog and Gale in Alliance to Build New Library Services

CARY, N.C. and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., USA, April 1, 2002 -- Dialog and Gale, two business units of The Thomson Corporation (TSE:TOC) and both leaders in their respective segments of the professional information market, jointly announced today a wide-ranging strategic alliance to build new online products and services for the academic and public library markets worldwide.

The first set of products and services, being developed for public libraries, are expected to be available by mid 2002. The companies said that further details would be released at that time.

Gale is the world’s largest reference and research publisher for public libraries and educational institutions. Dialog is a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions designed for the corporate, government, academic and scientific markets.

The new alliance seeks to leverage Dialog’s depth and breadth of content, brand power and technology platforms in combination with Gale’s market leading position, expertise and sales support infrastructure for its worldwide markets.

Executives from both companies described the alliance as comprehensive and long-term.

Already partners through a wide array of content licensing activities, the new alliance will result in the future development of co-marketing and co-branding programs; joint product development activities; enhanced content sharing and licensing activities; and leverage of both companies’ worldwide sales, service and support infrastructure.

"This alliance is an important step for both companies," said Allen Paschal, Gale president and CEO. "It demonstrates the virtually unlimited opportunities for new product development and service enhancements made possible when two Thomson businesses work together. We’re excited that we’ll be able to offer our customers in the academic and public library community a wider range of content, products and services by working with Dialog."

Added Roy M. Martin, Jr., Dialog president and CEO: "We are leveraging the strengths of two great companies, sharing content and building new products that, we believe, will be well received by public libraries and their patrons and the academic market around the world."

Both companies also said that the new services will not displace existing products or services offered by either company.

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About Dialog
Founded in 1972 by Dr. Roger K. Summit, a pioneer in developing the technology behind electronic information retrieval, Dialog is the world leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law.

Today, Dialog's three online platforms -- Dialog®, Profound® and DataStar™ -- offer users the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.2 billion unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise intranets. The content available ranges from articles and reports published in thousands of publications to in-depth repositories of patents, trademarks and other intellectual property data.

Corporate librarians, knowledge managers and other information professionals at more than 25,000 business, professional and government organizations in more than 100 countries prize Dialog services for their breadth and depth of content, precision searching and speed.

Headquartered in Cary, N.C., USA, with direct operations in 32 countries throughout North American, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and the Asia Pacific, Dialog is a business of The Thomson Corporation. For more information about Dialog, please visit www.dialog.com. Or, please call (U.S./Canada) 800-3-DIALOG or (U.S.) 919-462-8600. Dialog's London office may be reached at (44) (0) 207-940-6900.

About Gale
Gale (www.gale.com), a business unit of the Thomson Learning division of The Thomson Corporation, is a world leader in e-reference publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. Best known for its accurate and authoritative content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published in electronic form, as well as in print and microform. The Gale Group includes such noted brands as Macmillan Reference USA, Charles Scribner’s Sons, Primary Source Microfilm, UXL, Greenhaven Press, Lucent Books, Kidhaven Press, Blackbirch Press and Thorndike Press. Gale Group operating companies include the distinguished K.G. Saur and Graham & Whiteside.

About The Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2001 revenues of $7.2 billion, is a leading provider of integrated information solutions to business and professional markets worldwide. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto (TSE: TOC) and London stock exchanges.

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All designated trademarks used herein are the property of The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries. Registered marks are registered by The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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