PROQUEST EXTENDS NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY AS INTERNET2 COLLABORATION SITE

Merit Network to provide connectivity and access to Abilene Network for next-generation Internet research

ANN ARBOR, MI – January 9, 2004 – Do you remember life before the Internet?  No email.  No search engines.  No access to 6,500 current newspapers and magazines, completely indexed and keyword searchable.  No desktop weather. In fact, not much on the desktop at all. Now imagine new development of technology, just as large in scope.  Internet2(r), a consortium of more than 200 higher education institutions working with government and industry to develop and deploy next generation network applications and technologies for research and higher education, is enabling an equally large technology leap.

By becoming an Internet2 Collaboration Site, ProQuest Information and Learning recently took a significant step to enable work with the Internet2 community in developing new Internet technologies.  One such project will develop innovative mechanisms to distribute advanced content incorporating Shibboleth authentication and authorization technology into existing and future services.  Shibboleth is an Internet2-led initiative to develop an open, standards-based solution meeting the needs for organizations to exchange information about their users in a secure, and privacy-preserving manner.  ProQuest also intends to explore new ways to access and deliver non-traditional dissertations using the Abilene Network.

“We are delighted to welcome ProQuest Information and Learning as an Internet2 collaboration site,” said Douglas Van Houweling, president and CEO of Internet2. “ProQuest’s participation in the development of the next generation of information tools and resources will provide a major benefit to the worldwide research and education community and, ultimately, to the public at large.”

ProQuest is already a corporate member of Internet2.  In becoming an Internet2 collaboration site, ProQuest joins a handful of companies and institutions picked to work on special research projects.

“ProQuest’s work with Internet2 is one of the most progressive and exciting technology projects undertaken by the company,” said Ron Klausner, president of ProQuest Information and Learning.  “The research and education community gave birth to the Internet as we know it today, and will continue to be the leading source of Internet innovation in the future.”

Internet2 will spark development that promises to be just as ground-breaking as the original Internet.  Its goals are to create a leading edge network capability for the national research community; enable revolutionary Internet applications; and ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.  Internet2 offers better access to and participation in bandwidth-intensive applications than the original Internet.

The Merit Network will provide connectivity and access for ProQuest to gain access to the Abilene Network as an Internet2 collaboration site.  Merit is an affiliate member of Internet2 and provides access to the Internet2 network for research and education organizations in Michigan.

“Merit has a longstanding mission to advance high-performance networking in Michigan and to bring those benefits to research and education,” said Hunt Williams, president of Merit Network.  “This partnership with ProQuest and Internet2 is an exciting step, keeping Michigan at the forefront of key networking research initiatives.”

Internet2 operates Abilene, a national high-speed research and education computer backbone (a high-speed communication link) and maintains relationships with its peer research and education national networks in Europe, South America, and Asia.  It conducts research in advanced computer networking, middleware and applications.  Both Internet2 and Merit Network are based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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About Internet2
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see: http://www.internet2.edu.

About Merit Network
Merit Network, founded in 1966 and governed by Michigan’s public universities, is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to make Michigan a showcase for high-performance computer networking. Merit managed the NSFNet, America’s first high-speed backbone, which evolved into MichNet, America’s first regional research and education network.  For more information about Merit, see http://www.merit.edu.

About ProQuest Information and Learning
ProQuest Information and Learning is a world leader in collecting, organizing, and publishing information worldwide for 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 8,500 publishers worldwide.  Users access the information through the ProQuest(r) Web-based online information system, Chadwyck-Healey(tm) electronic and microform resources, UMI(r) microform and print reference products, eLibrary(tm) and SIRS(r) educational resources, and XanEdu(tm) online faculty and student resources.  For more information about ProQuest Information and Learning, visit www.il.proquest.com.

Contact:
Constance Crump
Manager, Public Relations     
1-800-521-0600, ext. 6489
734-761-4700, ext. 6489
pr@il.proquest.com