"Genealogy is a continually growing hobby and area of serious research at libraries everywhere," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of marketing and publishing at ProQuest. "We are delighted that the National Genealogical Society has honored Mr. Witcher with the Filby prize for his role in advancing the field of history and genealogy."
Mr. Witcher has made numerous contributions to the study of history and genealogy. From 1987 - 2000, he co-edited the Periodical Source Index, published by the Allen County Public Library Foundation. He has also been involved with several historical and genealogical organizations with both ongoing membership and committee work. He is a past president of NGS and the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and was named a fellow of the Society at their annual conference in 2006. He is currently the Manager for the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Since 2006, ProQuest has been a sponsor of the Filby Award, which was created and first presented by NGS in 1999. This honor, awarded annually, is named after the late P. William Filby who was the former Director of the Maryland Historical Society as well as the author of many core genealogical reference tools that genealogists have used for years.
The sponsorship of the Filby Prize is part of ProQuest's ongoing commitment to the libraries and librarians that serve patrons researching family and local history. ProQuest will continue to be a sponsor of this award in 2008. The deadline for submission for the Filby is April 1 annually. For more information about the Filby, visit: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comfilby.cfm
About ProQuest
ProQuest combines the strengths of two leading and historic information technology firms: ProQuest Information and Learning and CSA. The company provides seamless access to and navigation of more than 125 billion digital pages of the world's scholarship, delivering it to the desktop and into the workflow of serious researchers in multiple fields, from arts, genealogy, literature, and social science to science, technology, and medicine. ProQuest is part of Cambridge Information Group (www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com).
ProQuest's vast content pools are available to researchers through libraries of all types and include the world's largest digital newspaper archive, periodical databases comprising the output of more than 9,000 titles and spanning more than 500 years, the preeminent dissertation collection, and various other scholarly collections. Users access the information through the ProQuest® and CSA Illumina™ online information systems, Chadwyck-Healey™ electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, eLibrary® and SIRS® educational resources, Ulrich's® Serials Analysis System, COS Scholar Universe, and Serials Solutions® resource management tools. Through the expertise of business units Serials Solutions and COS, ProQuest provides technological tools that allow researchers and libraries to better manage and use their information resources. For more information, visit www.proquest.com and www.csa.com
