ANN ARBOR, Mich., September 24, 2004 - ProQuest Information and Learning has added new features and functionality to a scholarly favorite, the Periodicals Contents Index (PCI) suite of research databases. PCI and PCI Full Text now offer enhanced searching, OpenURL support, and Z39.50 compatibility. ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide.

PCI is an electronic index to millions of articles published in 4,547 periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. It offers researchers quick access to every article relevant to their particular field of study.  PCI Full Text provides online access to more than 4 million pages in three collections of 100 humanities and social sciences journals each, an expanding virtual library of retrospective journals from 1800-1991.  Users link seamlessly from the bibliographic data in PCI to the digitized journal pages available in PCI Full Text.

New features include:

• Hit highlighting in PCI Full Text for all journals with searchable full text.  Users may search the article text itself in a growing collection of searchable full-text journals, as well as the citation
• PCI and PCI Full Text offer full Open URL support. Users may submit OpenURLs from citation records in PCI and PCI Full Text to link resolvers such as Article Linker and SFX to locate full text or physical holdings for articles or journals
• MARC records are available at no charge for all titles in PCI and PCI Full Text with durable URLs that conform to the Open URL standard
• PCI Full Text is fully compatible with Z39.50 and can be searched by remote systems and citation management tools using the technology
• Users can now search PCI Full Text using author names and journal titles in either inverted (last name comma first name) or standard (first name last name) forms. For example, “Chomsky, Noam” or “Noam Chomsky” will both return the same results
• Users of EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager and RefWorks can now export citations from PCI and PCI Full Text into these systems.

PCI is unique in combining a broad subject base with deep chronological coverage going back over 200 years. It covers 37 key subject areas in the humanities and social sciences and offers vast variety within these subject areas. PCI currently indexes 14.5 million articles since the eighteenth century and every article in each journal is indexed.

The databases hold content that is as relevant to current events as it is to scholarly pursuits.  A search for “Mars and life” in PCI Full Text brings up a 1908 article comparing two then-new books on the possibility of life on the Red Planet in “The Question of Life on Mars,” Edinburgh Review, 208:425 (1908:July).

The anonymous book reviewer writes:  “Mr. Lowell has failed to make us see, as he does, in his Martian canals any proof of the existence of intelligent constructive life upon the planet.  Dr. Wallace has not been able, we believe, to add anything material to his favorite thesis that our Earth is the unique abode of life in the universe. Each has done something to produce the impression that the scientific man is as prone as the man in the street to adopt his conclusions first and fit the facts to them afterwards.  The impression is not good for the credit of science, but happily there is no need for admitting that it is just an impression.  Sober scientific opinion has always maintained an attitude of extreme reserve in the question of life upon Mars.”

One hundred years on, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration web site, a group of NASA scientists published an article in the August 16, 2004 issue of Science magazine, announcing the discovery of evidence for primitive bacterial life on Mars.  Their study did not address bacterial activities outside of maintaining existence and it remains unlikely that the bacteria were responsible for constructing what appear to be canals on Mars’ surface.

Free trials are available. Libraries may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3183 or 3452 (outside the U.S., call +44-1-223-215-512) or pqsales@il.proquest.com. Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 6489 or email pr@il.proquest.com.

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.