SLA and Outsell Form Partnership to Provide Research & Learning Initiatives to SLA Members

Business Wire, June 4, 2004

Business Editors

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2004

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) and Outsell, Inc., the leading research and advisory firm focused exclusively on the information industry, disclosed today a new partnership to deliver a range of services and programs to the worldwide community of information professionals within the SLA membership. The agreement will be formally announced to SLA members in the Info-Expo of the SLA Annual Conference on June 7, 2004, at 12:30 p.m. at the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville.

Under the agreement, SLA members will enjoy a variety of unique and valuable benefits, including discounts on Outsell Briefings and other content, the ability to participate in and share results of joint studies, a training course, and more. Specific components of the partnership and benefits to the SLA membership include:

-- A Web-based version of Outsell's Ready-Set(SM) Needs

Assessment survey for SLA members to deploy within their

organizations. SLA members who participate will receive a

Benchmark Summary of their industry and may purchase a report

with their specific company results.

-- A series of research initiatives to capture valuable data and

recommendations for SLA members in areas of interest including

content management, career development, and the ROI of

information services.

-- A training course on essentials for SLA information

professionals.

-- Discounts on selected Outsell content such as Briefings and

e-briefs(SM), user studies, reports, and the Outsell Taxonomy.

-- SLA member-only Web access to free summaries of Outsell

reports at www.SLA.org.

"This is a great day for SLA," declared the Honorable Janice R. Lachance, Executive Director of SLA. "Our community has respected Outsell's work for years, and now the Association and our membership will experience a great partnership with the most recognized group of analysts in the information industry."

"Everyone at Outsell is thrilled to be working even more closely with SLA," said Greg Chagaris, Co-Founder of Outsell. "This partnership has grown from both organizations' unrelenting focus on making information professionals in corporations, academic institutions, and governments more successful. Together, we will serve the community of SLA members even better."

About SLA

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves more than 12,000 members in 83 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit SLA on the Web at www.SLA.org.

About Outsell

Founded in 1994, Outsell is the leading research and advisory firm that focuses exclusively on the information industry. Delivering high-quality, fact-based research, analysis, and advice, Outsell helps world-class content vendors, Global 2000 companies, government agencies, and leading educational institutions increase their understanding of users and end-markets, assess content quality and effectiveness, benchmark operations, hire and retain executives, and develop more successful internal and commercial content products and services.

Outsell is headquartered at 330 Primrose Road, Suite 510, Burlingame, CA 94010. Phone 650-342-6060, fax 650-342-7135, and on the Web at www.outsellinc.com.