ANN ARBOR, Mich., November 21, 2005 - ProQuest Information and Learning launched a major enhancement to its Periodicals Contents Index family of periodical databases today. Improvements were made to interfaces, content, and product capabilities that allow users to experience unprecedented levels of research ease and power. ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide.

"Enhancements to these products were guided by ongoing customer feedback, intensive database testing, and interviews conducted with hundreds of our users in North America, Europe and Australia," said Mary Sauer-Games, Vice President of Publishing for Chadwyck-Healey.  "These customer-driven changes are part of an ongoing program to support future research and teaching needs.  We've truly developed the foundation for the next generation of large-scale, archival periodical database solutions."

Published by ProQuest's Chadwyck-Healey™ unit, the two databases from the Periodicals Contents Index (PCI) family of products have been renamed to make them more distinct and identifiable.  PCI becomes Periodicals Index Online while PCI Full Text becomes Periodicals Archive Online. 

The new versions expand options for innovative scholarship and learning. For comprehensive research, users can select the fully linkable index to more than 4,700 titles from Periodicals Index Online, from first issue to 1995 or ceased date. For quick, one-stop research, users can search or browse more than 350 full-run, full text titles from Periodicals Archive Online which reflect more than two centuries of scholarship in the arts, humanities and social sciences. 

The new interfaces for both resources include a new high-speed search engine which has been optimized for efficient searching across the vast content sets.  The new search engine offers instant results filtering by name, subject, language, and date to provide quick and easy access to the most relevant results without running another search.  A new look and design allow greater ease of use.

New personal research archives support the need for researchers to save relevant searches and results between sessions and to export citations for use in their preferred citation software programs.  To insure accessibility of the database for ready reference needs and support for novice users, both products will offer a Quick Search box which is accessible from every page.

The content for both products continues to expand. A new fifth full-text collection with 75 titles at completion is available now.  Periodicals Archive Online now includes archival non-article content in full text and more searchable full text to support keyword searching with hit-term highlighting.   Periodicals Index Online adds two new releases with over one million new citations a year.

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.