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Dialog: "Empowering the Information Professional"

Company Details Expanded Quantum² Program
and Support of SLA

NEW YORK (June 6, 2003) — Dialog, a Thomson (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions, said today that it is continuing its efforts to empower information professionals around the world through its expanded Dialog Quantum² information professional development program and through its support of the Special Libraries Association (SLA), which is holding its annual conference here this week and next.

"Empowering the information professional is a major priority for Dialog," said Libby Trudell, Dialog senior vice president of information professional development. "We do so because we believe that information professionals have a strong and dynamic role to play in their organizations and because it makes good business sense. Offering our own initiatives through the Quantum² program and working closely with the SLA is a powerful combination to articulate our commitment."

Quantum² Program: Distance Learning Expanded

The Dialog Quantum² program (http://quantum.dialog.com) provides leadership development training and tools designed to bolster business and strategic competencies and demonstrate the value of information services.

Trudell said that Dialog will offer four half-day Quantum² sessions during the SLA conference. The workshops will focus on mapping information flow, marketing information centers, understanding return on investments in information services, and creating value for information centers.

Dialog also sponsors numerous other Quantum² training sessions held in cooperation with SLA chapters throughout the year. Recent events have been held in Atlanta, College Park (Maryland), Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, London (England) and New Brunswick (New Jersey).

Trudell also said that Dialog is expanding the distance learning component of its Quantum² program by offering workshops via Web conferencing for those unable to attend one of the program's regional events. So far in 2003 Dialog has conducted three Web-based training sessions and now expects to accelerate the pace to at least one per month for the remainder of the year. The events are timed to be appropriate for information professionals in various time zones around the world. Recent Web-based training sessions originated from North Carolina and London.

Support for SLA

The SLA is an international association representing the interests of thousands of information professionals in more than 70 countries. SLA's meeting this week and next in New York brings together corporate librarians, knowledge managers and other information specialists.

Trudell said that Dialog support of SLA this year includes:

• Financial sponsorship of the 2003 SLA conference. Dialog is one of SLA's three Major Conference Partners, which includes sponsorship of the Tuesday general session and the TechZone Web skills training sessions to be held throughout the conference.
  
  
• A unique sponsorship role as SLA's Information Professional Partner. Through this sponsorship, Dialog provides support for SLA's Web site, including the Learning Page (http://www.sla.org/content/learn/index.cfm), and also sponsors the winter leadership meeting and contributes to SLA's annual "President's Circle" award.
  
  
• Leadership positions for Dialog staff on various SLA committees and chapter organizations. Libby Trudell, for example, is president of SLA's San Andreas, California chapter. Another Quantum² executive, the London-based Liz Blankson-Hemans, is president-elect of SLA's European chapter, while Joan Strickler, a Dialog senior account manager, is president-elect of the Minnesota SLA chapter. Numerous other Dialog professionals serve in various SLA chapter positions.
  
  

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About Dialog and The Thomson Corporation
Dialog, a pioneer in developing the technology behind electronic information retrieval, 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, the online services provided by Dialog — offered through the Dialog®, Dialog Profound®, Dialog DataStar™, NewsEdge and Intelligence Data brands — give users the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.4 billion unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise intranets. Searchable content includes articles and reports from thousands of real-time news feeds, newspapers, broadcast transcripts and trade publications, plus research reports and analyst notes providing support for financial decision-making, as well as in-depth repositories of scientific and technical data, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property data. Information professionals and end-users at business, professional and government organizations in more than 100 countries prize Dialog services for their depth and breadth of content, precision searching and speed.

Based in Cary, N.C., USA, Dialog has operations in 31 other countries. Dialog (www.dialog.com) is a business of The Thomson Corporation (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC). With 2002 revenues of US$7.8 billion, Thomson (www.thomson.com) is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.

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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