RoweCom, Inc., a vendor of Web-based services that assist special and academic libraries to acquire journals and books, has purchased Dawson Information Group. The companies included in the group are Dawson UK, Dawson Espa, Dawson France, Dawson Information Quest, Faxon Company, Faxon Canada, and Turner Subscriptions-all companies involved in subscription services, Web-based electronic information delivery, and library information management software and services. Not included is EOSi, a vendor of automated library systems headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
The 20,000 customers of Dawson Information Group will ultimately be converted to RoweCom's Web-based kStore or kLibrary. kStore and kLibrary not only provide subscription services, but also access to barnesandnoble.com, a RoweCom partner, as well as to a variety of electronic products.
The purchase is one of many which RoweCom has made in 1999 despite incurring an operating loss of $8.2 million for the first six months of 1999. The company's strategy is to focup on growth in the near-term because that is seen as the key to long-term survival in the industry.
Dr. Richard Rowe, President and CEO of RoweCom, served for 14 years as president and CEO of The Faxon Company prior to its purchase by Dawson. [Contact: RoweCom Inc., (800) ROWECOM; www.rowe.com].
