ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 23, 2006 - ProQuest Information and Learning announced plans to provide all public library ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ customers with Extra Edition at no additional charge. The upgrade gives libraries with at least one Historical Newspapers title an additional graphical interface and editorially-selected content, providing another method of access to millions of pages spanning history.

"The addition of Extra Edition is part of ProQuest's ongoing commitment to serving public libraries," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of ProQuest Information and Learning.  "Historical Newspapers customers will benefit from the diverse coverage and perspectives added with Extra Edition.  We look forward to providing public libraries with this free, enhanced service."

Extra Edition offers a new way of looking at Historical Newspapers, featuring the same powerful research capabilities along with a graphical interface and features especially relevant to public libraries. Users can cross-search Historical Newspaper titles within Extra Edition or access their Historical Newspaper titles through the classic interface.

Extra Edition's Timeline Topic Browse includes nearly 14,000 editorially-selected articles from five newspapers, covering more than 320 topics and nearly 1,000 events in U.S. history since 1851.  All articles have been carefully reviewed and organized by editorial experts.

Extra Edition features:

• Advanced searching features like article type, publication, date range, and more
• A "What Happened On…" quick-search box that allows users to research a specific day in history, such as a birthday or anniversary
• "Famous Dead People" highlights article-length tributes and retrospectives of the more than 400 famous and influential people from the past 50 years
• "This Day in History" Showcases a high-impact front page of a major event for each day of the year - to immediately engage users in historical coverage of global and national

Over the next few months, ProQuest will roll out this service to every public library with a current subscription to a Historical Newspaper.  Customers will be notified when the service will be added in their state.  A training demo to help customers better understand the new features and functionality of Extra Edition is now available on the ProQuest Information and Learning website at  http://www.il.proquest.com/products_pq/descriptions/hnpextra.shtml

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.