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Fayetteville Public Library NamedThomson Gale/Library Journal 2005 Library of the Year

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., June 25, 2005 -- Thomson Gale, a part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), in partnership with Library Journal, today announced that Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville, Ark., has been named the prestigious Library of the Year. Selection was based upon the library's transformation from being an underperforming, relatively small institution, to becoming one of the finest libraries in the nation.

Though Fayetteville is a mid-sized city and home to the University of Arkansas, the Fayetteville Public Library did not reflect how education is valued by the community -- at least it didn't eight years ago according to Louise Schaper, executive director of the Fayetteville Public Library.

"When I become executive director in 1997, I was astonished at how poor the library was," Schaper said. "We had lost a vast number of patrons to bookstores and many others just did not see the library as a viable resource."

But that was in 1997. Since that time, library usage has skyrocketed and community support has improved dramatically as exemplified in 1978 when voters approved a temporary sales tax to fund a $23.3 million new library. The library continued to build on this momentum and has experienced 203% increase in funding and 85% voter approval for a city library millage. How'd they manage such a transformation?

"We built stakeholder trust and respect," Schaper said. "And marketing and promotion played a huge role in this. We were fortunate to build good relationships with the local press who gave us our full support and helped make even the smallest event seem like a big event and an opportunity for the community to gather at the library."

The transformation was complete on October 9, 2004, when the doors opened to the new library, called Blair Library, also located in downtown Fayetteville. Record breaking crowds attended the month-long celebration that featured 75 community events.

As Library of the Year, the Fayetteville Public Library receives a cash award of $10,000.

Judges for the award were: Maurice (Mitch) Freedman, immediate past-president, American Library Association; Toni Garvey, director, Phoenix Public Library, Library Journal's 2004 Librarian of the Year; Daniel L. Walters, executive director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, Thomson Gale/Library Journal's 2003 Library of the Year; and Dedria Bryfonski, executive vice president, Global Market & Customer Services, Thomson Gale.

The panel also included Library Journal staff: John N. Berry III, Editor-In-Chief, Editors Francine Fialkoff and Susan DiMattia and Senior Editors Brian Kenney, Rebecca Miller and Norman Oder.

About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Gale

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues from continuing operations of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) has approximately 38,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Thomson Gale (www.gale.com)serves the world's information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs -- from homework help to health questions to business profiles -- in a variety of formats -- books, Web-based solutions and microfilm.