ANN ARBOR, Mich., January 24, 2003 - ProQuest Company has acquired bigchalk, a digital learning resource provider for the K-12 education market. bigchalk offers up-to-date online reference databases, standards-based digital curriculum, and easy-to-use tools for preparing lessons, and is a leader in the K-12 education information market. The company's operations will be integrated into the ProQuest Information and Learning unit.

"We are excited about the combination of bigchalk and ProQuest electronic resources for our customers," said Alan Aldworth, President and Chief Executive Officer of ProQuest Company. "ProQuest has a history of working closely with bigchalk, and we are very familiar with its products. This acquisition provides opportunities to expand distribution of existing products from both companies into their various markets. It also allows greater opportunity to develop new products, drawing from an increased number and range of content sources."

"With the acquisition of bigchalk, ProQuest becomes a leader in the growing K-12 marketplace," added Aldworth.

According to Rod Gauvin, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ProQuest Information and Learning,"With the addition of bigchalk products, we will be able to fully meet the needs of multi-type library consortia with a seamless set of electronic reference products serving Kindergarten through post-graduate researchers."

bigchalk was founded in 1999, with the combined the assets of ProQuest's K-12 division and Infonautic's K-12 business including eLibrary^TM. bigchalk products include: bigchalk Library^TM, eLibrary, bigchalk Integrated Classroom^TM, ClassMate^TM, and other Web-based products. No immediate changes to product offerings are planned. Customer service and technical support contacts will remain unchanged for customers until further notice.

 

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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.