Dialog/Gale Gp. alliance to offer new library services; bioterrorism info.

Dialog (Cary, NC), a provider of online information services for such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law, and Gale Group (Farmington Hills, MI), a provider of reference products for libraries, schools and businesses, have entered into an alliance to offer new online products and services for the academic and public library markets. The first set of products and services, being developed for public libraries, are expected to be available by mid-2002. No details about the substance of the products were available.

The two companies, both units of Thomson Corp., described the alliance as "comprehensive and long-term" and will include co-branding and co-marketing programs, joint product development, and content sharing and licensing.

In related news, two. Thomson medical divisions, Micromedex (Greenwood Village, CO) and Medical Economics (Montvale, NJ), have jointly produced three bioterrorism response information products for healthcare, medical and emergency response professionals.

The new Bioterrorism Product family includes: Micromedex BioDex, an online system that provides access to information on identification, protection and treatment of bioterrorism agents; PDR Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response which details, in print, symptoms caused by over 50 biological and chemical agents and recommended treatments; and, Bioterrorism and Public Health: An Internet Resource Guide, including listings and descriptions of relevant Web sites.