GALE® ANNOUNCES eBOOK TITLES
Initial release of 36 titles spans four imprints

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI--(October 17, 2002) — Gale®, a leading research and reference publisher for libraries and a business unit of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE:TOC, TSX:TOC), has released the names of the books that will inaugurate its alliance with NetLibrary to create eBooks.

The initial list of 36 titles is culled from four award-winning Gale imprints, including Charles Scribner's Sons, Gale, Macmillan Reference USA, and St. James Press. With hundreds more due in 2003, the following titles will be released this year in versions that library patrons can search and read via the Internet. No special eBook reader is required.

October 2002:

Directory of American Scholars 10th edition
Encyclopedia of Aging
Encyclopedia of World Biography 2nd edition
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd edition
New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement Jubilee Volume
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
Weather Almanac 10th edition
World Education Encyclopedia 2nd edition

November/December 2002:

American Men & Women of Science 21st edition
Beacham Guide to Endangered Species of North America
College Blue Book 30th edition
Contemporary Fashion 2nd edition
Dictionary of American History 3rd edition
Encyclopedia of American Religions 7th edition
Encyclopedia of Communication and Information
Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior 2nd edition
Encyclopedia of Education 2nd edition
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture
Encyclopedia of Public Health
Environmental Encyclopedia 3rd edition
Gale Encyclopedia of e-Commerce
Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine 2nd edition
Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing & Allied Health
Geo-Data: World Geographic Encyclopedia 3rd edition
Grizmeks Animal Life Encyclopedia: Birds
International Encyclopedia of Marriage & Family 2nd edition
Macmillan Science Library: Animal Sciences
Macmillan Science Library: Biology
Macmillan Science Library: Computer Sciences
Macmillan Science Library: Genetics
Macmillan Science Library: Space Sciences
Reference Guide to Holocaust Literature
Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2003
Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies

"We selected many of our new 2002 releases and popular titles from a variety of Gale imprints for this first release of Gale eBooks," said John Barnes, Gale's senior vice-president of business development. "We're providing precision searching in areas that are popular with patrons... the kind of program that enhances the span of a library's service."

Gale and NetLibrary announced their partnership earlier this month. NetLibrary will host Gale eBooks, which will be available to any institution with a NetLibrary account. Content will be identical to the print version.

NetLibrary's eBooks are noted for their ability to provide users with access to library resources anywhere, anytime. Full-text searches can be conducted across hundreds of books or within a specific book to speed research and reference projects. The books can be viewed online from a library, office, home, or remote location using an Internet browser, or can be downloaded to a laptop. eBooks are available for varying checkout periods and are automatically checked back into the library collection when the checkout period expires.

Gale eBooks will be sold as individual units or in bundles with print titles. For more information visit the company on the Web at www.gale.com/eBooks or call a representative at 1-800-877-4253 (GALE).

About Gale

Gale® (www.gale.com) 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 family of publishing imprints includes such noted reference brands as Macmillan Reference USA™, Charles Scribner's Sons™, Primary Source Microfilm™, and Responsive Database Services. Gale also serves the K-12 market with it's U·X·L®, Greenhaven Press®, Lucent Books®, KidHaven Press™, Blackbirch Press®, and Sleeping Bear Press imprints. Thorndike Press® and Wheeler Publishing™ serve libraries' large print collections, while the Taft Group®, specializes in reference materials for the nonprofit sector. Gale operating companies include distinguished German reference publisher K.G. Saur™ and the U.K.-based Graham & Whiteside™.

In addition to serving the school and library communities, Gale also licenses its proprietary content for integration within Web-based information services. Nearly 100 organizations – including Looksmart, Borders, Dow Jones, WebMD, and Thomson Financial – presently enjoy strategic business distribution partnerships with Gale.

Gale is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, with additional offices elsewhere in the U.S. and in the U.K., Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Malaysia.

About Thomson

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2001 revenues of $7.2 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information and technology to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE:TOC, TSX:TOC).

About NetLibrary

Founded in August 1998, NetLibrary is located in Boulder, Colorado. As the world's premier provider of electronic books (eBooks), NetLibrary helps academic, public, corporate and special libraries create a richer, more productive learning environment for their patrons. By combining the time-honored traditions of the library system with electronic publishing, NetLibrary offers an easy-to-use information and retrieval system for accessing the full text of reference, scholarly, and professional books. NetLibrary is a division of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, a nonprofit organization that provides computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing and preservation service to libraries worldwide.