"This was an unprecedented conversion effort, comprising nearly three million pages and over 25 million articles covering 148 years of history," said Joe Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProQuest Information and Learning. "Newspapers present unique challenges for conversion, given their large page format, multiple article types, varying lengths, and page jumps. To accomplish the conversion, we pioneered new techniques in digitization, zoning (identifying areas of relevant text and relating them to each other), and image quality enhancement. The result is a fully searchable file that allows users to view articles in their original context. It is the most ambitious newspaper conversion project undertaken, and we are excited about the quality of the resulting product. It will allow researchers to find information about every aspect of American history from 1851 forward."

Every backfile issue of The New York Times has been digitized from cover to cover, including news stories, editorials, photos, graphics, and advertisements. Searchers can use basic keyword, advanced, guided, and relevancy search techniques to locate information. Or, they can browse through issues page by page, as one would browse a printed edition. Search results lists provide bibliographic information, including date, issue, article headline, page number, and byline (where given). Users may choose to display the full page image of any page in any issue.

Erika Day, Media Librarian at the University of Virginia, who recently reviewed ProQuest Historical Newspapers, called it "a wonder of technology." "The images are amazingly clear," she said. "The user interface is straightforward and elegant. The best feature of Historical Newspapers is the size and quality of the images. It is an impressive product."

Reynolds added, "It is a particular honor for us to debut The New York Times as the first full release of ProQuest Historical Newspapers. With its distinguished history and reputation for setting standards for journalism, The New York Times is one of the most highly regarded news sources in the world. Providing its complete backfile electronically - and in full page image - opens new doors for research for students and researchers everywhere."

Full text of The New York Times dating from 1999 forward is also available electronically from ProQuest in ASCII full text (as well as the complete backfile in microform). Both the archive and the current file are available to educational institutions and libraries around the world by subscription using the ProQuest® Web-based online information service. Free trials are available. Libraries may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3183 or 3452 (outside the U.S., call +44-1-223-215-512) or pqsales@il.proquest.com. Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3805 or email pr@il.proquest.com.

ProQuest Company (NYSE: PQE) is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is a leading provider of value-added information and content to the library/education, and automotive/powersports industries. We provide products and services to our customers through two business segments: Information & Learning and Business Solutions. Through our Information & Learning segment, which primarily serves the library and education markets, we aggregate and publish value-added content from a wide range of sources including newspapers, periodicals and books. Our Business Solutions segment is primarily engaged in the delivery in electronic form of comprehensive parts information to the automotive market. It also provides dealers in the powersports (motorcycle, marine and RV) markets with management systems that enable them to manage their inventory, customer service and other aspects of their businesses. Additional information on ProQuest Company can be found at www.proquestcompany.com.

ProQuest Information and Learning is a world leader in collecting, organizing, and distributing information worldwide to researchers, faculty, and students in libraries and schools. Known widely for its strength in business and economics, general-reference, humanities, social sciences, and STM content, the company develops premium databases comprising periodicals, newspapers, dissertations, out-of-print books, and other scholarly information from more than 8,000 publishers worldwide. Users access the information through the ProQuest® Web-based online information system, Chadwyck-Healey™ electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, and XanEdu™ online faculty and student resources. For more information about ProQuest Information and Learning, visit www.il.proquest.com.