CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, July 12, 2004 - The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) will partner ProQuest Information and Learning to add the MLA International Bibliography as a premium add-on module to the leading literary database, Literature Online.

Members of the New York City-based MLA include nearly 30,000 college and university teachers of English and foreign languages.  ProQuest Information and Learning, a unit of ProQuest Company, creates and publishes databases for libraries and educational institutions worldwide.

The MLA International Bibliography, a leading annual bibliography of books and articles on modern languages and literatures, linguistics, folklore, and other related topics, has been produced since 1921.  Coverage includes literature from all over the world - Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America.  Linguistics and language materails include history and theory of linguistics, comparative linguistics, semantics, stylistics, syntax, and translation. Other topics represented in the bibliography are literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theater), teaching of language and literature, rhetoric and composition, and history of printing and publishing.

"Adding the MLA's prestigious bibliography to ProQuest's already rich literature resources will support our mission of bringing the most relevant content to scholarly researchers and students. This will add an exciting new dimension to Literature Online, the premier literary research tool. Literature Online is used in 9 of the nation's top 10 literature programs in the United States, as identified by the National Research Council, as well as hundreds of prestigious research universities worldwide” said Steven Hall, Senior Vice President, Publishing and Publisher Relations.

Literature Online is published by Chadwyck-Healey, ProQuest Information and Learning's specialist humanities imprint. As the world's largest and most authoritative cross-searchable literary database, it is the leading online resource for the study and teaching of literature in English. It is a fully integrated service that combines the texts of over 350,000 works of literature with extensive resources of criticism and reference.

The MLA International Bibliography covers more than 4,400 academic journals; it indexes more than 65,000 books and articles annually for a total of more than 1.6 million records. Its citations will be linked to the full-text journal articles available in Literature Online . Scholars will also be able to cross-search the bibliography with Literature Online's primary source and reference content. All MLA citations dating back to 1963 will be available.  Indexing for JSTOR's language and literature collection is also included in the database; some of its journals were first published in the 1880s.  No part of the bibliography will be embargoed.

"The MLA is delighted to have the opportunity to partner with ProQuest, whose distinguished reputation in the academic community speaks for itself. The MLA International Bibliography is a powerful research tool, and we are confident that ProQuest will help users make the most of its capacities,” said Rosemary G. Feal, executive director, MLA.

The MLA International Bibliography is scheduled to be available beginning in January 2005 as a premium module of Literature Online. Libraries may receive more information by contacting marketing@proquest.co.uk

For all media enquiries contact Gina Ghensi, Communications Manager, gina.ghensi@proquest.co.uk

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.cambridgeinformationgroup.com.