ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 9, 2003 - ProQuest Information and Learning’s launch of PQNext is fast approaching. The latest version of the award-winning ProQuest® interface ─ simplified, smarter, stronger ─ will be released in July. ProQuest’s renowned vocabulary strengthens every aspect of the interface, making it even easier to use. Updates to searching, linking, and indexing with improved user capabilities will make the new version more convenient for both novice and expert researchers in educational institutions worldwide. ProQuest Company’s (NYSE:PQE) Information and Learning unit creates and distributes databases to libraries and educational institutions.

“The new interface looks and feels familiar – there’s no learning curve. But the changes behind the scenes make the search experience more powerful and fruitful.  This is the new interface our customers have requested. We tailored our interface to their needs – and the resources we’ve devoted to development have been substantial. The time savings to users is also substantial, thanks to the many new features,” said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for ProQuest Information and Learning. 

Among the new features coming in PQNext:

• Unlimited date range searching - since March, users have been able to search the whole collection or use any of several common-sense date range options
• Complete article counts on every search – users know the exact number of results
• “More like this” option helps users find more information on the same topic; one click offers a checklist of the index terms from the article. Click on the relevant terms and automatically find more highly relevant articles
• Article grouping by publication type. With a click, users can look at just the newspapers, scholarly journals, trade publications and more
• New “Auto Citation” feature allows users to mark articles online then print a bibliography in their choice of citation styles: ProQuest Standard, AMA, APA, Chicago: Author-Date, Chicago: Humanities, MLA, Turbanian
• Indexing and controlled vocabulary terms are transparent with the new “Browse Topics” link
• Searches on business topics may be refined using classification codes and NAICS codes, a fast way to precisely target by topic, industry or market, geographic area, or article type
• OpenURL linking lets users go straight from citation to full text, no matter where it’s stored, with outbound, inbound and internal links
• Sort results by relevance, reverse or standard chronological order
• “My Research Summary” records marked articles, previous searches and publications visited, all available for review in one easy-to-find location. Edit, add headings and notes, print or download it in a self-contained HTML file for viewing from any Web browser
• The new article display clearly shows the indexed fields and the article URL in the citation

One unique new feature is already available: the ability to link to 6,500 full-text dissertations through the ProQuest Nursing Journals. With the July release, more than 42,000 psychology dissertations will become available through ProQuest Psychology offerings. Linkage to unique dissertation content will expand to other collections in future releases.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained herein constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our markets’ actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and other factors you should specifically consider include, among other things, the company’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions and reduce costs, global economic conditions, product demand, financial market performance, and other risks listed under “Risk Factors” in our regular filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, “projects”, “intends”, “prospects”, “priorities”, or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially.

 

About ProQuest
ProQuest creates specialized information resources and technologies that propel successful research, discovery, and lifelong learning. A global leader in serving libraries of all types, ProQuest offers the expertise of such respected brands as Chadwyck-Healey™, UMI®, SIRS®, and eLibrary®. With Serials Solutions®, Ulrich's™, RefWorks®, COS™, Dialog® and now Bowker® part of the ProQuest brand family, the company supports the breadth of the information community with innovative discovery solutions that power the business of books and the best in research experience.

More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and information. Through innovative, user-centered discovery technology, ProQuest offers billions of pages of global content that includes historical newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of any age and sophistication—including content not likely to be digitized by others. Inspired by its customers and their end users, ProQuest is working toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment.

For more information, visit www.proquest.com or the ProQuest parent company website, www.cig.com.