Cambridge, United Kingdom, July 21, 2009 - ProQuest, gold sponsor of the 2009 LIBER Conference, is pleased to announce that research undertaken by ProQuest’s leading edge research and development team was presented for the first time to delegates at the prestigious LIBER conference, which took place this year in Toulouse, France.

‘Key Challenges Facing Researchers in the Global Research Environment: An Analysis of Research Behavior in Europe, USA and Asia’ was presented by Austin McLean, Director of Scholarly Communication and Dissertation Publishing. Faculty and Graduate Students form one of the largest groups of users of library services throughout the world. However, the similarities and differences of researcher behavior over disparate geographical locations have not yet been fully understood. Building upon a study presented at LIBER 2008 showcasing graduate researcher behavior in the USA and Europe, this paper reviewed the just-completed study of Asian graduate students and researchers. ProQuest presented the results to demonstrate the extent to which researchers’ behaviors differ between Europe, USA and Asia. In addition, this study showcased similarities and differences of researchers’ use of library information and resources. This research compares and contrasts the challenges faced by graduate students and the extent that social isolation, advisor-advisee relationships, funding, time management, and PhD thesis completion affect their research behavior. By understanding graduate student research behavior based on the location of the student, ProQuest and the library community can provide improved and enhanced services to the distinct user groups across the globe.

Delegates were also interested in a ProQuest poster session, ‘Innovation through Collaboration’ that will be focusing on a unique resource called The John Johnson Collection (http://johnjohnson.chadwyck.co.uk). This collection is the product of a partnership between the Bodleian Library and ProQuest to conserve, catalogue and digitize more than 65,000 items drawn from the Bodleian’s John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera. The project, funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) provides an innovative model for collaboration between public and private sector organizations, drawing upon the strengths and competences of both partner organizations to deliver a sustainable online resource that is free within the 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.