CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet 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 Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

native Clifton Hillegass in 1958. He was working at

Nebraska Book Company Nebraska Book Company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nebraska Book Holdings, Inc. (NBH), which also includes PrismRBS, Campus Store Design, and Campus Advisory Services. NBC was Founded in 1915 with a single college store near the University o ...

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 William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

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 for similar products.

IDG Books International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...

purchased CliffsNotes in 1998 for $14.2 million.

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, ...

acquired IDG Books (renamed Hungry Minds) in 2001. In 2011, CliffsNotes announced a joint venture with

Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', '' Survivor'', ''The Voice'', and ''Sh ...

, a TV producer. This would be a series of 60-second video study guides of literary works. In 2012, CliffsNotes was acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. In 2021, CliffsNotes was acquired by

Course Hero Course Hero is an American education technology website company based in Redwood City, California, which operates an online learning platform for students to access course-specific study resources (homework, essays and tests). The crowdsourced l ...

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.

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

Company history

Other guides

See also

References

External links