ANN ARBOR, Mich., January 9, 2004 - Do you remember life before the Internet? No email. No search engines. No access to 6,500 current newspapers and magazines, completely indexed and keyword searchable. No desktop weather. In fact, not much on the desktop at all. Now imagine new development of technology, just as large in scope. Internet2, a consortium of more than 200 higher education institutions working with government and industry to develop and deploy next generation network applications and technologies for research and higher education, is enabling an equally large technology leap.

By becoming an Internet2 Collaboration Site, ProQuest Information and Learning recently took a significant step to enable work with the Internet2 community in developing new Internet technologies. ProQuest also plans to explore new ways to access and deliver non-traditional dissertations using the Abilene Network.  ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide.

"We are delighted to welcome ProQuest Information and Learning as an Internet2 collaboration site," said Douglas Van Houweling, president and CEO of Internet2.  "ProQuest's participation in the development of the next generation of information tools and resources will provide a major benefit to the worldwide research and education community and, ultimately, to the public at large."

ProQuest is already a corporate member of Internet2. In becoming an Internet2 collaboration site, ProQuest joins a handful of companies and institutions picked to work on special research projects.

"ProQuest's work with Internet2 is one of the most progressive and exciting technology projects undertaken by the company," said Ron Klausner, president of ProQuest Information and Learning. "The research and education community gave birth to the Internet as we know it today, and will continue to be the leading source of Internet innovation in the future."

Internet2 will spark development that promises to be just as ground-breaking as the original Internet. Its goals are to create a leading edge network capability for the national research community; enable revolutionary Internet applications; and ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community. Internet2 offers better access to and participation in bandwidth-intensive applications than the original Internet.

The Merit Network will provide connectivity and access for ProQuest to gain access to the Abilene Network as an Internet2 collaboration site. Merit is an affiliate member of Internet2 and provides access to the Internet2 network for research and education organizations in Michigan.

"Merit has a longstanding mission to advance high-performance networking in Michigan and to bring those benefits to research and education," said Hunt Williams, president of Merit Network.  "This partnership with ProQuest and Internet2 is an exciting step, keeping Michigan at the forefront of key networking research initiatives."

Internet2 operates Abilene, a national high-speed research and education computer backbone (a high-speed communication link) and maintains relationships with its peer research and education national networks in Europe, South America, and Asia. It conducts research in advanced computer networking, middleware and applications. Both Internet2 and Merit Network are based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

About Internet2

Led by more than 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see: http://www.internet2.edu

 

About Merit Network

Merit Network, founded in 1966 and governed by Michigan's public universities, is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to make Michigan a showcase for high-performance computer networking. Merit managed the NSFNet, America's first high-speed backbone, which evolved into MichNet, America’s first regional research and education network.  For more information about Merit, see http://www.merit.edu

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.