ProQuest

ProQuest LLC

Company type	Private (subsidiary)
Industry	Information services, Publishing, Technology
Predecessor	University Microfilms
Founded	January 1, 1938 (1938-01-01) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Founder	Eugene Power
Headquarters	Ann Arbor , United States
Area served	Global
Products	Dissertations, theses, ebooks, newspapers, periodicals, historical archives, governmental and cultural collections, aggregated databases, ProQuest Video Preservation and Discovery Service
Owner	Clarivate
Parent	Clarivate
Website	www.proquest.com

ProQuest LLC is a global information-content and technology enterprise headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established in 1938 by Eugene Power under the name University Microfilms, the company has evolved significantly since its inception.

Specializing in providing software and information services tailored for libraries, ProQuest grants access to a vast array of resources including dissertations, theses, ebooks, newspapers, periodicals, historical archives, governmental and cultural collections, alongside numerous aggregated databases. Its digital content repository encompasses an estimated 125 billion pages.

Initially focused on producing microfilm products, the company transitioned into electronic publishing and expanded its portfolio through various acquisitions. On December 1, 2021, Clarivate completed the acquisition of ProQuest from Cambridge Information Group for $5.3 billion. This strategic move was intended to merge ProQuest’s offerings with Clarivate’s Web of Science, thereby strengthening their combined presence in the library and information publishing markets.

Businesses

ProQuest originated as a publisher specializing in microfilm and began distributing doctoral dissertations in 1939. To date, it has published over three million searchable theses and dissertations and serves as a digital offsite archive for the United States Library of Congress. Its scholarly content portfolio includes dissertations, theses, primary source documents, ebooks, academic journals, historical and contemporary newspapers and periodicals, data repositories, and other research-oriented materials. Additionally, the ProQuest Video Preservation and Discovery Service allows libraries to archive and provide access to proprietary audio and video collections.

As of May 2014, ProQuest LLC managed several divisions:

• Bowker delivers bibliographic information management services to publishers, libraries, and booksellers and functions as the official ISBN Agency for the United States.
• Dialog offers an online information platform containing over 1.4 billion unique records curated specifically for corporate, business, and government researchers with an emphasis on pharmaceutical, engineering, and patent-related queries.
• EBL (Ebook Library) acts as an ebook aggregator supplying academic titles to academic institutions, corporations, and research libraries while supporting innovative collection development strategies such as patron-driven acquisition.
• ebrary provided an online digital library service offering ebook collections through subscription or perpetual access models designed for academic, corporate, governmental, public, and secondary school libraries.

1930s–1950s

Eugene Power, who earned a BA in 1927 and an MBA in 1930 from the University of Michigan, founded University Microfilms in 1938 with a mission to preserve works from institutions like the British Museum using microfilm technology. By June 1938, Power operated out of two rented rooms in Ann Arbor dedicated to microphotography aimed at safeguarding library collections. In his memoir Edition of One, Power describes how University Microfilms supported the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II by filming maps and European newspapers for secure overseas shipment.

Power recognized a distinct opportunity in dissertation publishing since doctoral candidates often had to self-publish to fulfill degree requirements. Microfilm presented a more economical alternative compared to traditional book formats. ProQuest continues to uphold this tradition through its Dissertations and Theses collection, which serves as the official off-site repository for the U.S. Library of Congress.

The use of microfilm for dissertations was promoted by Vaughn Davis Bornet, a recent history PhD graduate from Stanford University, who authored key articles advocating this format.

As demand within the dissertation market grew, the company broadened its scope to include filming newspapers and periodicals, eventually creating its flagship newspaper database known as ProQuest Newsstand.

1960s–1990s

In 1962, Xerox purchased the company by exchanging 51,750 shares of its common stock, valued at approximately $7.9 million. Following this acquisition, the company’s name transitioned from University Microfilms to Xerox University Microfilms, and subsequently to University Microfilms International (UMI). In 1985, Bell & Howell acquired UMI from Xerox. The next year, UMI expanded by purchasing Data Courier, the proprietor of ABI/INFORM.

Throughout the 1980s, UMI began developing CD-ROM databases featuring abstracts and indexes of periodicals, distributing these discs to libraries due to limited modem speeds. The ProQuest brand was introduced on these CD-ROM products. In 1995, the company launched an online platform named ProQuest Direct, later shortened simply to ProQuest. These bibliographic resources were primarily designed for educational institutions such as schools, universities, and libraries.

In 1998, UMI unveiled the "Digital Vault Initiative", aiming to digitize 5.5 billion images originally stored on microfilm. This collection included prominent newspapers dating back 100 to 150 years as well as Early English books from the 15th century. Today, ProQuest provides access to a digital archive of 125 billion pages, including nearly 20 million newspaper pages from the colonial American era.

The company adopted the name Bell & Howell Information and Learning in 1999 and then rebranded as ProQuest Information and Learning in 2001; during this period, Bell & Howell itself became known as the ProQuest Company.

Also in 1999, ProQuest acquired Chadwyck-Healey, a trailblazer in microfilm publishing that had transitioned into producing full-text CD-ROM databases. This acquisition brought over a hundred publishing professionals based in Cambridge, England, significantly advancing ProQuest’s international presence.

2000s

From fiscal year 2000 through the first three quarters of 2005, ProQuest reported net income figures that were overstated by roughly $129.9 million before taxes, representing an inflation of about 31 percent. In 2008, Voyager Learning Company along with ProQuest’s then-chief financial officer reached a settlement with the SEC regarding these accounting discrepancies without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

In 2001, ProQuest expanded by acquiring Norman Ross Publishing, a microfilm publisher headquartered in New York. The following year saw the acquisition of bigchalk.com, which integrated ProQuest’s K-12 division with Infonautics Inc.’s K-12 assets.

The company continued its growth in 2004 by purchasing Seattle-based start-up Serials Solutions, known for its expertise in access management and search services for third-party content providers; it also acquired Copley Publishing Group that same year.

In 2005, three executives from ProQuest established National Archive Publishing Co., consolidating operations from XanEdu, UMI, and Digital Service Operations into a facility located in Scio, Michigan that houses close to six billion pages of content.

In 2006, ProQuest Company divested ProQuest Information and Learning to Cambridge Information Group—the owner of R. R. Bowker. After this transaction, the historical account follows ProQuest Information and Learning; meanwhile, ProQuest Company was renamed Voyager Learning Company and eventually became part of Cambium Learning Group.

In 2007, a merger between ProQuest Information and Learning and CSA resulted in the creation of ProQuest CSA, which was later renamed ProQuest LLC.

By 2008, ProQuest LLC had acquired full ownership of RefWorks—a web-based citation management tool it had partially owned since 2001—and merged it with ProQuest’s Community of Science (COS) platform to form RefWorks/COS.

Additionally that year, ProQuest purchased Dialog from Thomson Reuters, a significant player in online database services.

2010s–2020s

In 2010, ProQuest expanded its legislative and historical content assets by purchasing the Congressional Information Service (CIS) and University Publications of America (UPA) from LexisNexis. This acquisition included a significant microfilm archive and digital products, strengthening ProQuest’s capabilities in converting film materials to digital formats.

The company further broadened its digital library in 2011 by acquiring ebrary, which provided access to more than 170,000 academic e-books online. Two years later, in 2013, ProQuest acquired Ebook Library (EBL) with the intention of integrating both platforms into a single comprehensive e-book service.

In 2014, ProQuest diversified into the biopharmaceutical industry by acquiring Pi2 Solutions, a specialist in drug safety systems, which was then incorporated into its ProQuest Dialog corporate information platform.

The year 2015 saw ProQuest acquire SiPX and Coutts Information Services, including the MyiLibrary platform and OASIS acquisition system. Subsequently, it purchased Ex Libris Group and merged its Workflow Solutions unit into Ex Libris, forming "Ex Libris, a ProQuest Company," thereby enhancing its offerings in library management technology.

June 2016 marked the acquisition of Alexander Street Press, which expanded ProQuest’s catalog of streaming video and ebook content.

In January 2020, ProQuest acquired Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a prominent provider of technology solutions serving academic and public libraries.

On May 17, 2021, Clarivate announced its intention to acquire ProQuest. Although the transaction experienced delays due to an antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission, it was ultimately finalized on December 1, 2021.

Products

ProQuest provides a wide range of products to clients such as public and research libraries, including but not limited to:

• ABI/INFORM Collection (comprising ABI/INFORM Dateline, Global, and Trade & Industry)
• Accounting, Tax & Banking Collection
• Advanced Technologies Database featuring Aerospace content
• Aerospace Database
• AFI Catalog
• AIDS & Cancer Research Abstracts
• Algology Mycology and Protozoology Abstracts
• Alt-PressWatch
• Aluminium Industry Abstracts
• American Periodicals Series
• Animal Behavior Abstracts
• ANTE: Abstracts in New Technology & Engineering
• Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA)
• AquaBrowser, AquaBrowser Liquid, Aqualine
• ARTbibliographies Modern (ABM)
• Arts & Humanities Full Text
• ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts
• Asian & European Business Collection
• Bacteriology Abstracts
• Biological Sciences
• Biotechnology and BioEngineering Abstracts
• Black Studies Center
• British Humanities Index (BHI)
• Calcium & Calcified Tissue Abstracts
• Canadian Newsstand (CBCA)
• Ceramic Abstracts, Chemoreception Abstracts, Civil Engineering Abstracts
• Computer and Information Systems Abstracts (Module)
• Copper Technical Reference Library, Corrosion Abstracts
• Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI)
• Dialog (online database)
• Digital Sanborn Maps
• Early European Books
• Earthquake Engineering Abstracts
• Ebrary
• Ecology Abstracts; Electronics & Communications Abstracts
• eLibrary series (Canada, Curriculum Edition, Elementary, Science)
• Engineered Materials; Engineering Research Database
• Entomology Abstracts; Environment Abstracts; Environmental Engineering Abstracts; Environmental Science and Pollution Management
• ERIC PlusText
• Ethnic NewsWatch
• FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Plus
• Gannett Military Newspapers; Gannett Newspapers
• GenderWatch; Genetics Abstracts; Health & Safety Science Abstracts
• HeritageQuest Online
• History Study Center; Immunology Abstracts; Industrial and Applied Microbiology Abstracts
• International Bibliography of Art (IBA); International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
• International Index to Black Periodicals; Music Periodicals; Performing Arts
• Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA); Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
• Literature Online and Reference Edition
• Materials Business File; Materials Research Database
• Mechanical & Transportation Engineering Abstracts
• MEDLINE with Full Text
• METADEX
• Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts
• Middle East Newsstand
• Neurosciences Abstracts
• Nucleic Acids Abstracts
• Oceanic Abstracts
• Oncogenes and Growth Factors Abstracts
• PAIS Index
• Periodicals Archive Online; Periodicals Index Online
• Pharmaceutical News Index
• Physical Education Index
• Pi2 Drug Safety Triager™ (DST); Pi2 Product Literature Database (PLD)
• Pollution Abstracts
• PRISMA (Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanísticas)
• Professional ProQuest Central; ProQuest 5000 and International editions
• ProQuest Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Collection
• ProQuest Agricultural Science Collection
• ProQuest ANZ Newsstand
• ProQuest African American Heritage
• ProQuest Aquatic Science Collection
• ProQuest Atmospheric Science Collection
• ProQuest Biological Science Collection
• ProQuest Career and Technical Education
• ProQuest Central; Computer Science Collection; Criminal Justice Periodicals Index
• ProQuest Discovery
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

... [list continues with additional specialized collections]

These products illustrate the company’s extensive portfolio designed to serve a variety of academic disciplines, scientific fields, business sectors, and professional areas.