Info Industry--netLibrary netLibrary Has Financial Problems, Company is For Sale
Word today (via the local Boulder Co. newspaper, The Daily Camera) that netLibrary is for sale after failing to find the financial help the company needed. The article also mentions that employees are welcome to stay with the company during this time BUT they will face MAJOR pay cuts. Key passages from the article:
"The 230 employees, who were paid through Friday, were told Friday that they are welcome to return on Monday to help the company through its transition, but at in many cases a drastically cut pay rate. Each employee from receptionist to president will be paid $360 a week, roughly the equivalent of unemployment benefits." "Last December, netLibrary pulled out of its $82.2 million IPO because of market conditions. The company had hoped to be profitable by the middle of 2002." More recently, the netLibrary had launched an attempt to raise an undisclosed round of funding. "Due to the market conditions, and the Sept. 11 events, that fell through," [Marge] Gammon, [a spokeswoman for netLibrary] said. UPDATE: See 10/19/01 Postings
Online Searching
Source: Library Journal Cross-Database Searching Review (Registration Required, Free)
Roy Tennant's latest LJ column on the latest developments in cross-database searching. He mentions projects from the California Digital Library, King County Library System, National Library of Medicine, the Library at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of Arizona. Very exciting stuff especially for organizations who license databases from many vendors, each with a different interface and searching syntax. A huge problem, especially in the world of database training. Additional Links: Searchlight from the California Digital Library WebFeat
The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.
'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'
FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.