Can Infobase Successfully Usher the World Almanac Into the Digital Age? President Mark McDonnell discusses purchasing the iconic brand at a challenging time for reference publishers.
Book Business Extra: Why did Infobase Publishing purchase the World Almanac imprint now, in light of both the current economic environment and the fact that reference-book sales in general are suffering?
Mark McDonnell: ... We already owned the content of "The World Almanac" from a prior deal, but we did not own the brand World Almanac. And so this was an opportunity for us to acquire the brand and the right to publish "The World Almanac" and "Book of Facts" and "The World Almanac for Kids." So, even though there's obviously competition from the Internet, … those books are very strong sellers in the trade market, and so it made sense for us to acquire those properties. We also have plans to convert them to online pay sites. ... We … will launch two … online subscription databases—one for the older, high school, college, adult market, and one for the young-adult market.