CliffsNotes are a series of student
study guide
Study guides can be broad based to facilitate learning in a number of areas, or be resources that foster comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and other subjects.
General topics include study and testing strategies; reading, wr ...
s. The guides present and create literary and other works in
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company claims to promote the reading of the original work and does not view the study guides as a substitute for that reading.
Company history
CliffsNotes was started by
Nebraska native
Clifton Hillegass in 1958. He was working at
Nebraska Book Company of Lincoln, Nebraska, when he met Jack Cole, the co-owner of
Coles, a Toronto book business. Coles published a series of Canadian study guides called
Coles Notes, and sold Hillegass the U.S. rights to the guides.
Hillegass and his wife, Catherine, started the business in their basement at 511 Eastridge Drive in Lincoln, with sixteen
William Shakespeare titles. By 1964 sales reached one million Notes annually. CliffsNotes now exist for hundreds of works. The term "Cliff's Notes" has now become a
proprietary eponym
A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...
for similar products.
IDG Books purchased CliffsNotes in 1998 for $14.2 million.
John Wiley & Sons acquired IDG Books (renamed Hungry Minds) in 2001. In 2011, CliffsNotes announced a joint venture with
Mark Burnett, a TV producer. This would be a series of 60-second video
study guide
Study guides can be broad based to facilitate learning in a number of areas, or be resources that foster comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and other subjects.
General topics include study and testing strategies; reading, wr ...
s of literary works.
In 2012, CliffsNotes was acquired by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...
.
In 2021, CliffsNotes was acquired by
Course Hero.
Other guides
In addition to guides for literature, the company produces several other series of guides, including:
*CliffsQuickReview: A quick reference for information on scholastic subjects, such as sciences, mathematics, and history.
*CliffsComplete: Similar to regular CliffsNotes, but also includes notes and commentary.
*CliffsAP: Advanced placement study guides, including action plans, test-taking strategies, reviews, and exercises.
*CliffsStudySolver: A learn-by-mastering approach to algebra, Spanish, grammar, and other subjects.
*CliffsTestPrep: Test preparation guides for the LSAT, SATs, GED, and other tests.
*Shakespeare on the Double!: The original Shakespeare text side-by-side with a contemporary English version.
*The Manga Editions: Based on the traditional manga format.
See also
*
60second Recap
*
BookRags
Ambassadors Group, Inc. is a defunct publicly traded educational travel company based in Spokane, Washington. It was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form ...
*
Enotes
*
Masterplots
*
Schaum's Outlines
Schaum's Outlines () is a series of supplementary texts for American high school, AP, and college-level courses, currently published by McGraw-Hill Education Professional, a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill Education. The outlines cover a wide variety of ...
*
Shmoop
*
SparkNotes
*
York Notes
References
External links
CliffsNotes website
{{Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt franchises
Study guides
Wiley (publisher)
Book series introduced in 1958
Wiley (publisher) books
Companies based in Lincoln, Nebraska