HighBeam Research

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HighBeam Research
Logo of HighBeam Research.png
HighBeam Research logo since February 2004.
OwnerGale (Cengage)
Websitewww.HighBeam.com
Alexa rankDecrease 58,896 (as of December 2016)[1]
LaunchedAugust 2002; 16 years ago (2002-08)
Current statusDefunct
Content license
Copyright
All rights reserved

HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English.[2] It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.[3] In late 2018, the archive was shut down and redirected to the Questia Online Library.[4]

History[edit]

The company was established in August 2002 after Patrick Spain, who had just sold Hoover's, which he had co-founded, bought eLibrary and Encyclopedia.com from Tucows. The new company was called Alacritude, LLC (a combination of Alacrity and Attitude). ELibrary had a library of 1,200 newspaper, magazine and radio/TV transcript archives that were generally not freely available.[5]

Original investors included Prism Opportunity Fund of Chicago and 1 to 1 Ventures of Stamford, Connecticut.

Spain stated, "There was a glaring gap between free search like Google and high-end offerings like LexisNexis and Factiva."[6]

Later in 2002, it bought Researchville.com. By 2003, it had increased its archive base to articles from 2,600 publishers. In 2004, it was renamed HighBeam Research. In 2005, it increased its publisher base to 3,500 publishers. In 2006, Oxford University Press, Knight Ridder and The Washington Post archives were added. In 2008, it was purchased by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage.[7] Highbeam featured many articles by the UK based Trinity Mirror Group.

Until late 2018, Highbeam Research was a partner in the Womensforum network and a major content provider for the WomensForum women's issues research website.[8]

In late 2018, it was announced that Highbeam Research had shut down after 16 years.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alexa.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Publications by category". HighBeam Research. Cengage Learning. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "Contact Us." HighBeam Research. Retrieved September 24, 2012. "HighBeam Research c/o Cengage Learning 1 North State Street Suite 900 Chicago, IL 60602 USA"
  4. ^ a b "About Questia". Questia Online Library. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "About Us". HighBeam Research. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  6. ^ "Q&A: Patrick Spain, Founder HighBeam". InterNetNews. February 20, 2004. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  7. ^ Gwen (December 16, 2008). "Gale Acquired HighBeam Research". Web search guide. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "Highbeam Research is a WomensForum Network Partner". WomensForum. Retrieved October 6, 2012.

External links[edit]