ProQuest
Encyclopedia
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan
-based electronic publisher
and microfilm publisher.
It provides archives of sources such as newspapers, periodicals, dissertations, and aggregated databases of many types. Its content is estimated at 125 billion digital pages. Content is accessed most commonly through library internet gateways, with navigation through such search platforms as ProQuest, CSA Illumina, Dialog
, Datastar, Chadwyck-Healey, eLibrary and SIRS.
Microfilm publishing is under the UMI
brand. The current Chief Executive Officer
is Kurt Sanford. ProQuest is part of Cambridge Information Group
.
, founded the company as University Microfilms in 1938, preserving works from the British Museum
on microfilm. In his autobiography Edition of One, Power details the development of the company, including how University Microfilms assisted the OSS
during World War II
. This work mainly involved filming map
s and European newspapers so they could be shipped back and forth overseas more cheaply and discreetly.
Power also noticed a niche market
in dissertations publishing. Students were often forced to publish their own works in order to finish their doctoral degree. Dissertations could be published more cheaply as microfilm than as books. ProQuest still publishes so many dissertations that its Dissertations and Theses
collection (formerly called Digital Dissertations) has been declared the official U.S. off-site repository of the Library of Congress
.
As the dissertations market grew, the company expanded into filming newspaper
s and periodicals. The company's main newspaper database is ProQuest NewsStand
.
Xerox
owned the company for a time in the 1970s and 1980s, and it was later bought by Bell & Howell. The name of the company changed several times in this period, from University Microfilms to Xerox University Microfilms, to University Microfilms International, then shortened to UMI.
In the 1980s, UMI began producing CD-ROM
s that stored databases
of periodicals abstracts and indexes. At a time when modem connections were slow and expensive, it was more efficient to mail database CD-ROMs regularly to subscribing libraries, who installed the discs on dedicated PCs. The ProQuest brand name was first used for databases on CD-ROM. An online service called ProQuest Direct was launched in 1995; its name was later shortened to just ProQuest. The bibliographic databases are mainly sold to schools, universities and libraries.
In 1999, the company name changed to Bell & Howell Information and Learning, and then in 2001 to ProQuest Information and Learning.
In 1998 ProQuest announced the "Digital Vault Initiative", purported to include 5.5 billion images digitized from UMI microfilm, including some of the best existing copies of major newspapers dating back 100 to 150 years, and Early English books dating back to the 15th century. While work continues to digitize the contents of the microfilm vault, ProQuest is already providing navigation of 125 billion digital pages, including nearly 20 million pages of newspaper content dating from pre-Revolutionary War America.
In 1999 ProQuest acquired Chadwyck-Healey, a one-time microfilm publishing company that was one of the first to produce full-text CD-ROM databases. This acquisition gave Proquest ownership of a 100+ person publishing operation based in Cambridge, England and became the basis for a substantial overseas expansion.
In 2001 Proquest acquired Norman Ross Publishing, a small New York based microfilm publisher.
ProQuest Information and Learning acquired Seattle start-up Serials Solutions
, a venture providing access management and search services for content hosted by other companies, in 2004.
In 2004 ProQuest Information and Learning acquired Copley Publishing Group.
ProQuest Company, then the parent company of ProQuest Information and Learning, sold it to Cambridge Information Group
in 2006. ProQuest Information and Learning was merged with CSA
in 2007 to form ProQuest CSA. Later that year it was renamed ProQuest LLC.
In 2008, ProQuest acquired Dialog
, a major online database firm, from Thomson Reuters
.
In 2010, ProQuest acquired two properties from LexisNexis, Congressional Information Service (CIS) and University Publications of America (UPA). CIS includes one of the world’s most exhaustive online collections of legislative content and highly respected statistical works, while UPA includes deep historical sets. The acquisition includes digital products and an expansive microfilm vault that will be energized through ProQuest’s strength in conversion from film to searchable electronic formats.
In 2011, ProQuest acquired Ebrary
, an online digital library of full texts of over 170,000 scholarly eBooks.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
-based electronic publisher
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing or ePublishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed scientific journals are in...
and microfilm publisher.
It provides archives of sources such as newspapers, periodicals, dissertations, and aggregated databases of many types. Its content is estimated at 125 billion digital pages. Content is accessed most commonly through library internet gateways, with navigation through such search platforms as ProQuest, CSA Illumina, Dialog
Dialog (online database)
Dialog is an online information service owned by ProQuest, who acquired it from Thomson Reuters in mid-2008.Dialog was one of the predecessors of the World Wide Web as a provider of information, though not in form. The earliest form of the Dialog system was completed in 1966 under the direction of...
, Datastar, Chadwyck-Healey, eLibrary and SIRS.
Microfilm publishing is under the UMI
University Microfilms International
University Microfilms International or UMI, was founded in the 1930s by Eugene Power in Ann Arbor. By June 1938, Power worked in two rented rooms from a downtown Ann Arbor funeral parlor, specializing in microphotography to preserve library collections...
brand. The current Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
is Kurt Sanford. ProQuest is part of Cambridge Information Group
Cambridge Information Group
Cambridge Information Group is a privately owned group of information services and publishing companies and educational institutions. It was founded in 1971 by Robert N. Snyder and Philip E. Hixon and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. As of 2007, CIG’s operating companies are ProQuest, R.R....
.
History
Eugene Power, a 1930 M.B.A. graduate of the University of MichiganRoss School of Business
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is the business school of the University of Michigan. Numerous publications have ranked the Ross School of Business' Bachelor of Business Administration , Master of Business Administration and Executive Education programs among the top in the country and the...
, founded the company as University Microfilms in 1938, preserving works from the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
on microfilm. In his autobiography Edition of One, Power details the development of the company, including how University Microfilms assisted the OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This work mainly involved filming map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s and European newspapers so they could be shipped back and forth overseas more cheaply and discreetly.
Power also noticed a niche market
Niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact...
in dissertations publishing. Students were often forced to publish their own works in order to finish their doctoral degree. Dissertations could be published more cheaply as microfilm than as books. ProQuest still publishes so many dissertations that its Dissertations and Theses
Proquest Dissertations and Theses
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses is an online database that indexes, abstracts, and provides full-text access to dissertations and theses. The database includes over 2.4 million records and covers 1637 to the present. It is produced by ProQuest and was formerly known as ProQuest Digital...
collection (formerly called Digital Dissertations) has been declared the official U.S. off-site repository of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
As the dissertations market grew, the company expanded into filming newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and periodicals. The company's main newspaper database is ProQuest NewsStand
ProQuest NewsStand
ProQuest NewsStand is a digital, online database of newspaper articles produced by the ProQuest company. The database contains indexed and fully searchable electronic copies of articles from around 560 United States state, regional, national, and international English newspapers. Articles from...
.
Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
owned the company for a time in the 1970s and 1980s, and it was later bought by Bell & Howell. The name of the company changed several times in this period, from University Microfilms to Xerox University Microfilms, to University Microfilms International, then shortened to UMI.
In the 1980s, UMI began producing CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s that stored databases
Bibliographic database
A bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, patents, books, etc...
of periodicals abstracts and indexes. At a time when modem connections were slow and expensive, it was more efficient to mail database CD-ROMs regularly to subscribing libraries, who installed the discs on dedicated PCs. The ProQuest brand name was first used for databases on CD-ROM. An online service called ProQuest Direct was launched in 1995; its name was later shortened to just ProQuest. The bibliographic databases are mainly sold to schools, universities and libraries.
In 1999, the company name changed to Bell & Howell Information and Learning, and then in 2001 to ProQuest Information and Learning.
In 1998 ProQuest announced the "Digital Vault Initiative", purported to include 5.5 billion images digitized from UMI microfilm, including some of the best existing copies of major newspapers dating back 100 to 150 years, and Early English books dating back to the 15th century. While work continues to digitize the contents of the microfilm vault, ProQuest is already providing navigation of 125 billion digital pages, including nearly 20 million pages of newspaper content dating from pre-Revolutionary War America.
In 1999 ProQuest acquired Chadwyck-Healey, a one-time microfilm publishing company that was one of the first to produce full-text CD-ROM databases. This acquisition gave Proquest ownership of a 100+ person publishing operation based in Cambridge, England and became the basis for a substantial overseas expansion.
In 2001 Proquest acquired Norman Ross Publishing, a small New York based microfilm publisher.
ProQuest Information and Learning acquired Seattle start-up Serials Solutions
Serials Solutions
Serials Solutions is a division of ProQuest that provides e-resource access and management services to libraries. These products enable librarians to more easily manage electronic resources that serve the needs of their patrons.-History:...
, a venture providing access management and search services for content hosted by other companies, in 2004.
In 2004 ProQuest Information and Learning acquired Copley Publishing Group.
ProQuest Company, then the parent company of ProQuest Information and Learning, sold it to Cambridge Information Group
Cambridge Information Group
Cambridge Information Group is a privately owned group of information services and publishing companies and educational institutions. It was founded in 1971 by Robert N. Snyder and Philip E. Hixon and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. As of 2007, CIG’s operating companies are ProQuest, R.R....
in 2006. ProQuest Information and Learning was merged with CSA
CSA (database company)
CSA Illumina is a provider of online databases, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is now a division of ProQuest, which in turn is now a subsidiary of the Cambridge Information Group...
in 2007 to form ProQuest CSA. Later that year it was renamed ProQuest LLC.
In 2008, ProQuest acquired Dialog
Dialog (online database)
Dialog is an online information service owned by ProQuest, who acquired it from Thomson Reuters in mid-2008.Dialog was one of the predecessors of the World Wide Web as a provider of information, though not in form. The earliest form of the Dialog system was completed in 1966 under the direction of...
, a major online database firm, from Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
.
In 2010, ProQuest acquired two properties from LexisNexis, Congressional Information Service (CIS) and University Publications of America (UPA). CIS includes one of the world’s most exhaustive online collections of legislative content and highly respected statistical works, while UPA includes deep historical sets. The acquisition includes digital products and an expansive microfilm vault that will be energized through ProQuest’s strength in conversion from film to searchable electronic formats.
In 2011, ProQuest acquired Ebrary
Ebrary
Ebrary is an online digital library of full texts of over 70,000 scholarly e-books. It is available at many academic libraries and provides a set of online database collections that combine scholarly books from over 435 academic, trade, and professional publishers. It also includes sheet music ...
, an online digital library of full texts of over 170,000 scholarly eBooks.
Archived newspapers
- Atlanta Daily World (1931–2003)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1868–1939)
- Boston Globe (1872–1923)
- Chicago DefenderChicago DefenderThe Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
(1910–1975) - Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
(1852–1984) - Christian Science Monitor (1908–1994)
- The Globe and MailThe Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
(1844–2007) - The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(1821–2003) and The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
(1791–2003) - Hartford Courant (1764–1984)
- Irish Times (1859–2006)
- Los Angeles SentinelLos Angeles SentinelThe Los Angeles Sentinel is a weekly African American-owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspaper in the Western United States.The Sentinel was founded and first...
(1934–2005) - Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
(1881–1984) - Minneapolis Tribune (1867–1922)
- New York Amsterdam News (1922–1993)
- The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(1851–2006) - New York TribuneNew York TribuneThe New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
(1900–1910) - Pittsburgh CourierPittsburgh CourierThe Pittsburgh Courier was an American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was published from 1907 to 1965. Once the country's most widely circulated Black newspaper, the legacy and influence of the Pittsburgh Courier is unparalleled.A pillar of the Black Press, it rose...
(1911–2002) - Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
(1892–2007) - The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
(1889–1990) - Washington Post (1877–1986)
Further reading
- Eugene B. Power, Edition of One: The Autobiography of Eugene B. Power, Founder of University Microfilms, 1990 ISBN 0-8357-0898-5.
External links
- ProQuest website
- ProQuest Information and Learning (Information on databases and reference products)
- ProQuest History and Milestones