Thomson To Acquire Information Holdings Inc.
Thomson Press Release, June 28

Thomson are to acquire IHI, (2003 revenues of approximately $81 million) whose businesses include MicroPatent, Master Data Center, IDRAC and IHI’s Liquent unit which is a provider of life science regulatory intelligence and publishing solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, a Thomson subsidiary will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of IHI at a price of $28 per share in cash, for an aggregate cost of approximately $441 million, net of cash and investments currently held by IHI. 

500 million feet of film and 350,000 hours of video available to public for first time. BBC Worldwide has for the first time begun offering direct access via the internet to moving image clips from the BBC and CBS News archives. The video material  will be made available through a BBC Motion Gallery website. http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com

From 25 June 2004, corporate subscribers will be able to register the telephone numbers on which they do not wish to receive unsolicited direct marketing calls. (The Corporate Telephone Preference Service). If you are making direct marketing calls to businesses click above for information on how you can comply with the new legal obligations.

Firms wishing to register their number(s) with the TPS must do so in writing, and registration is renewable on an annual basis.

The BBC Governors fully endorse the findings and recommendations of the Neil Report which examined the editorial lessons for the organisation arising from the Hutton Inquiry. The panel was convened by the Acting Director-General, Mark Byford, in the wake of the Hutton Report and chaired by Ronald Neil. The independent panel’s recommendations will be implemented in full by BBC Managers, Editors and Journalists and will be incorporated into the BBC’s Producers’ Guidelines.

Loudeye, a world leader in digital media, is acquiring Europe's online music service On Demand Distribution (OD2) for about $38.6m (£21.2m).

The government allocated an extra £2m to public libraries in England to help allay anxiety about their future. The announcement by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, caused some disappointment at a London conference on the issue which was otherwise reassured by ministers' warmly voiced commitment to strengthening the service.

The money will do nothing to restore the value of book budgets or improve drab buildings, two factors often seen as central to libraries' falling popularity in the past 20 years. One report forecasts that they will cease to exist in another 20 years if present trends continue.

The European commission is to investigate the scientific publishing industry, increasing pressure on Reed Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of scientific journals. The commission will report in 2005

Europe generates more than 40% of scientific periodicals but the commission estimates that the price of these magazines and papers has increased 10% each year over the last 10 years - well above inflation.

---

EU investigates open access scientific publication
News-Medical.Net, June 15

The EU Commission has launched a study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication markets in Europe, the results of which will be available in 2005. The objective is to determine the conditions required for optimum operation of the sector and to assess the extent to which the Commission can help to meet those conditions.

---

An effective scientific publishing system for European research
Europa, June 15

The Commission today launched a study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication markets in Europe, the results of which will be available in 2005.

---

eCollege(SM), Microsoft and HP Collaborate on Content Management System Functionality for eLearning
Microsoft Press release, June 15

eCollege, a provider of value-added information services to the post-secondary education market, announced it is collaborating with Microsoft Corp. and HP in the development of an industry-leading content management system specifically designed to support enterprise-wide eLearning programs both online and on campus.

For more information, visit www.eCollege.com

---

NBN Plymbridge Company name change
NBN International Press Release, June 15

The decision has been made to change the trading name of NBN Plymbridge to NBN International, with immediate effect. The company's registered name and number will remain the same.

---

Free For All? The Science of Publishing Research Online
EContent, June 11

In March 2004, representatives from 48 of these leading non-profit medical and scientific societies and publishers announced their commitment to providing free access and distribution of published research findings. Via the "Washington D.C. Principles for Free Access to Science," these not-for-profit entities outlined their commitment to work in partnership with scholarly communities, including libraries, with the goal of advancing science by providing both the scientific community and general public with online access to more than 1.6 million articles, with more than 600,000 of such articles available free of charge.

---

Elsevier liberalises copyright for authors
Elsevier announcement, June 3

Authors of papers published in any Elsevier journal can now post the final text of their articles, as accepted by the journal, i.e. with all of the changes made during the peer-review and editing process, on the authors' personal or their institutions’ web sites.  The move could make the 200,000 articles Reed Elsevier publishes every year freely available on the internet.

---

SPARC Open Access Newsletter, issue #74
June 2

---

Why the NHS wants to ban this man
Times Online, June 2

After more than 40 cases of assault and abuse, a court is being asked to protect staff from a fetishist with an attraction to hospitals. (More than 116,000 incidents of physical aggression or verbal abuse against NHS workers were reported in 2003 in England and Wales).

---

Upturn in visits to UK libraries
BBC Online, June 1

The number of visits made to UK libraries has leaped by almost five million in a year, a report reveals.  The increase in visits between 2001-2 and 2002-3 - to 323 million - was the first rise since official records began in 1995, and accompanied a record £1bn investment.

The lottery-funded People's Network project has also brought free or low-cost internet access to all libraries.

---

Reinvigorated Houghton Mifflin presses forward
Boston.com, June 1

New CEO, Anthony Lucki, makes an investment in growth. The company posted a $49.7 million operating profit last year, compared to a $703.5 million operating loss in 2002.

---

 

Be sure to check out our Directory of anti-virus resources which includes a report on the top ten viruses. Recommended software: Norton AntiVirus 2006  Buy now from Amazon

---

Paradigm RedShift accepts no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions from this newsletter, and is not responsible for the content or performance of  external internet sites.

We welcome comments and suggestions for content
for this newsletter.

e-mail them to the editor

ParadigmRedShift Limited

	Web www.paradigm-redshift.com

Paradigm RedShift We provide business planning support and production services for information and publishing companies.                To contact us, please phone UK 01428 684710 use our enquiry form or email:   enquiries@paradigm-redshift.com