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Thursday, February 24, 2011
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Borders Bookstores File for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
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by Nancy K. Herther
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On Feb. 16, 2011, Borders Group, Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection. Chief Judge Arthur Gonzalez of the Southern District U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York approved the bankruptcy motion the following day. The filing document includes discussion of the measures the company is initiating to return to profitability. This includes the closure of 200 low-performing stores across the country, which amounts to about one-third of the company's existing bookstores, by May 2011. An estimated 6,000 employees will be laid off from its 19,500 total work force as part of the store closures. Borders also operates a number of smaller Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores, although their fates are not yet clear.
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New Study: Libraries Embrace Digital Content in Face of Budget Constraints
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by Theresa Cramer
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At the very time that library budgets were being slashed, demand for the services provided by these institutions was increasing in the communities they served. Libraries have had to reprioritize and get creative with budgets. A new study called "Funding and Priorities: The Library Resource Guide Benchmark Study On 2011 Library Spending Plans" takes a look at how these pressures are manifesting themselves in all types of libraries across the country. Produced by the Library Resource Guide (LRG) in conjunction with Unisphere Research, the market research division of Information Today, Inc. (ITI), research was conducted in October and November 2010 among libraries listed in ITI's American Library Directory.
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EOS International Signs Agreement With Deep Web Technologies for Federated Search
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EOS International announced that it entered into a partnership with Deep Web Technologies, a federated search software developer. The partnership makes Deep Web's real-time search application, Explorit, available to EOS customers together with their online catalog systems. The new service, branded EOS.Web Federated Searching, delivers seamless integration of Explorit with EOS. The integration allows library patrons to perform a single search that includes multiple scholarly, scientific, and business journals and the library's OPAC.
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EBSCO Publishing Releases 24 New Ebook Subject Sets
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EBSCO Publishing released 24 new ebook subject sets. The subject sets are part of a rapidly growing collection of ebooks that are offered in convenient collections grouped by subject matter; they are a prepackaged set of titles chosen specifically for their subject appeal. The collection development team of librarians and collection specialists use their expertise and knowledge to create collections and sets for libraries.
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Gale Partners With Economists’ E3 Network to Enhance GREENR Content
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Gale, part of Cengage Learning announced a partnership with the Economics for Equity and Environment (E3 Network), a national network of more than 200 economists whose applied research supports active environmental protection. To help enhance Gale's GREENR resource, prominent E3 Network scholars and economists will be contributing essays on aspects of the environment from an economics and policy perspective. The essays will be added to GREENR during 2011.
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Update on Gale—Mobile, Global, and In Context
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by Paula J. Hane
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At the recent ALA Midwinter meeting, I caught up with Nader Qaimari, senior vice president of marketing at Cengage Learning, to talk about recent developments at Gale and get a peek at some forthcoming products. Gale continues to be excited about the streamlined company structure implemented last summer—the integration of Gale and Cengage. Qaimari says it lets the company make content connections and help libraries serve as the conduit to information and textbooks. Other news he was eager to discuss included the company's mobile initiatives, its new Gale World Scholar product line, enhancements to PowerSearch, new administrative tools, and ongoing work on the In Context products.
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