"ProQuest has digitized each issue of The Wall Street Journal from cover to cover--not just the news stories and editorials, but also the photos, graphics, and advertisements," said Joe Reynolds, president and CEO at ProQuest Information and Learning. "The resulting database contains more than half a million pages and more than five million articles.  For the first time ever, academic researchers can search the full historical backfile of The Wall Street Journal online.  And they can view the information they seek in its original context.  Users see the full page image of the newspaper, as it was originally published."

Searchers can use basic keyword, advanced, guided, and relevancy search techniques to pinpoint the information they seek.  Or they can browse through issues page by page, as one would browse a printed edition.  Search results provide bibliographic information, including date, issue, article headline, page number, and author name (where given). To see the desired article, the user simply chooses the article, and the image of the article is displayed as a PDF file. Users may also choose to display the full page image of any page in any issue.  (See attached for a sampling of unique content and search possibilities.)

"We're delighted to have The Wall Street Journal's complete backfile available electronically to academic researchers," said Robert F. Firestone, vice president, affiliate relations, Dow Jones Electronic Publishing. "Clearly, this is a milestone for Dow Jones and ProQuest that will bring a powerful research tool to scholars, students and historians."

The ProQuest Historical Newspapers project was initiated in January 2001 as part of the company's ongoing Digital Vault Initiative^TM.

Full text of The Wall Street Journal dating from 1986 forward is also available electronically in ASCII full text from ProQuest. The complete Wall Street Journal product in ProQuest provides access to more than 112 years of a leading business news source. Both the archive and the current file are accessed by subscribers 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. 

ProQuest Company (NYSE: PQE) is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is a leading provider of value-added information and content to the library and education, and automotive and 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, formerly known as Bell & Howell Publishing Services, 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^TM electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, and XanEdu^TM online faculty and student resources.  For more information about ProQuest Information and Learning, visit www.il.proquest.com.

Here's a brief sampling:
Market news

Searchers can check individual stock prices on October 29, 1929 (the beginning of "the Crash") and their prices on November 13, 1929 (the market's nadir).  Then jump ahead to see which companies survived five, 10, and 15 years later.

Market overviews

The term "bear market" appears 5,107 times in the backfile, while "bull market" yields more than 10,000 hits.

National news

Researchers can see what analysts thought of President Nixon's 1972 trip to China and what its long-term effect would be on U.S. trade.

Editorials

Students can read first-hand what pundits had to say about Herbert Hoover's economic policies, FDR's Social Security program, and Reagan's "trickle-down" theory.  Not in retrospect...but as events occurred in the context of "now."

Advertisements

A unique way to put history into context.   Search for ads for "buggies," "typewriters," "war bonds," "automobiles," "computers," and "airplane travel."  The earliest dates may surprise you. 

Comics

View images of the long-term, original comic strip, "Pepper...and Salt."  Dating from the 1920s, the cartoon feature provides unique commentary on the workplace, marriage/relationships, American culture, and more.

Historical context

Users can browse the issue published on the day they were born/married/graduated/etc.