UMI unveils ProQuest Direct: advanced online information retrieval system

Business Wire, Sept 6, 1995

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 1995--

System is first to offer delivery of full-image articles

directly to the user's desktop

UMI, a Bell & Howell company (NYSE:BHW), today launched ProQuest Direct(TM), its own information system providing online access to one of the most extensive collections of published material in the world. With ProQuest Direct, anyone can search for information from the thousands of journals, periodicals, dissertations, magazines, and newspapers in UMI's vast collection. Users can bring that information right to the desktop - at the library, office, or even home. Access to ProQuest Direct requires only a local phone call, a PC with MS DOS 5.0 or greater and Microsoft Windows(TM) 3.10, and a modem.

``In 1992, Bell & Howell announced a significant resource commitment in UMI. The goal was the creation of market-leading information products and services for the 1990's and beyond,'' said Jim Roemer, president and chief operating officer of Bell & Howell, UMI's parent company. ``ProQuest Direct is the culmination of these efforts. It sets a new standard for information retrieval while extending the wide variety of delivery options UMI offers its customers.''

``Our customer feedback has consistently illustrated the need for information systems that deliver extremely current data, offer depth and breadth of information, and are delivered in a variety of formats,'' explained Hank Riner, UMI's president and chief executive officer. ``No such system existed, so UMI elected to take a leadership position in this area. Bell & Howell's developmental commitment to UMI has given us the resources necessary to launch this truly advanced information system. UMI's ProQuest Direct brings the right answers to your desktop at an affordable price.''

Documents to the Desktop _______________________

Access to the journals, magazines, newspapers, and other information found in UMI's well-respected ProQuest electronic databases, ABI/INFORM(R), Accounting & Tax Database, Banking Information Source, Business Dateline(TM), Business Periodicals(BPO), Dissertation Abstracts, General Periodicals (GPO), Newspaper Abstracts, and Periodical Abstracts, will be initially available. More than 3,000 titles are available for immediate electronic delivery to the user's desktop PC or printer. UMI's extensive in-house collection of more than 15,000 titles is available through ProQuest Direct for delivery via facsimile, by regular U.S. mail, or through express delivery service. In addition, users can place orders on-screen for virtually any document outside this collection (such as annual reports, patents, technical reports, SEC filings, and more) from UMI InfoStore, the company's full-service document delivery service.

Exclusive to ProQuest Direct, and available in the first quarter of 1996, will be daily updated, full-image coverage of The New York Times. Also available in the first quarter of 1996 will be direct access to Disclosure(R), Inc.'s collection of vital U.S. and international public-company corporate and financial information.

Options to Meet Information Needs _________________________________

ProQuest Direct enables users to obtain article information and text in a range of formats. These include citations, abstracts, full-text documents, full-image documents, and a unique Text Graphics format developed by UMI specifically for ProQuest Direct. With Text Graphics, users can view fully-searchable article text with the option to display, in high-resolution if desired, each photo, graph, chart, table, and illustration as it originally appeared.

Flexible Pricing Plans ______________________

With ProQuest Direct, UMI has revolutionized online information retrieval pricing. Searches on ProQuest Direct incur no additional charge, with the exception of any applicable telecommunications charges. Beyond that, users pay only for the information they access. Pricing plans are flexible and designed to meet the information needs of each customer.

Further information about ProQuest Direct can be obtained by calling UMI at 800/521-0600, ext. 2705.

UMI Company, a Bell & Howell company, is one of the world's leading providers of information products to educational, institutional and public, corporate, secondary school, and government libraries. Founded in 1938, the company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a major editorial operation in Louisville, Kentucky. Bell & Howell is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHW.

CONTACT: UMI Company, Ann Arbor

Gary Green, 800/521-0600, ext. 3514

or

Eiler Communications, Ann Arbor

Connie Kinnear, 313/761-3399