ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 6, 2004 - ProQuest Information & Learning and Extenza e-Publishing Services today announced a strategic alliance to offer a broad portfolio of e-journal and database services for publishers and libraries. The agreement delivers a complete distribution and hosting solution for publishers, simplifies access for end users, and streamlines e-journal management for libraries.

ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide. Extenza, based in Abingdon, UK, provides conversion and hosting of journals for publishers as well as subscription and usage statistics management for libraries.

“Our partnership with Extenza allows us to work in concert with publishers’ online strategies, increasing visibility through our databases while retaining branding and consistent user experience,” said Steven Hall, Senior Vice President of Publishing, ProQuest. “Our customers look to ProQuest for sophisticated taxonomies and searching tools, but they want to access the content with same ease as they do in the original publication.”

Together, ProQuest and Extenza will offer traditional subscriber access to publishers, along with reach into the broad end-user space and associated pay-per-view traffic, augmented by the power of an aggregated database service with its existing customer base and geographic reach into institutions.

“The online journals world is evolving into an article-based economy: We need to give publishers mix-and-match options that deliver market reach and consistent branding. ProQuest is a natural partner for us because its long history of serving publishers through aggregation to institutional libraries is in line with our own customer focus,” said Ruth Jones, General Manager of Extenza e-Publishing Services.

Publishers may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3333 (outside the U.S. at 001-734-761-4700, ext. 3333) or email pubrelat@il.proquest.com. Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 6489 or email pr@il.proquest.com.

About Extenza
Since March 2003 Extenza e-Publishing has focused on providing e-publishing solutions to scholarly and professional publishers. The Extenza service includes the conversion of electronic print files into internet-deliverable content, hosting titles on a global network of servers, authentication and access control to publications, PDF and HTML delivery, and linking and web-based search capabilities across abstracts and titles. The Extenza platform can also power a web solution, enabling content to be presented within a publisher’s web site thereby reinforcing brand identity and maintaining publisher control. Extenza’s customers range from society and not-for-profit publishers to commercial publishers. The platform can accommodate a range of content types including journals, monographs, conferences, reports and books. As part of the service, Extenza operates a fully manned help desk function for institutional and individual users. For more information, visit www.extenza-eps.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.