ProQuest, part of Cambridge Information Group, has announced a partnership with Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, to bring millions of pages of newspaper content to the open web. The programme allows web access to archives of both large and small newspapers, which might never have been digitised without this initiative.
The latest partnership does not impact ProQuest's other digital newspaper offerings such as ProQuest Historical Newspapers, which will continue to be developed for use by serious researchers. Users of such products require robust application and search tools provided by the ProQuest platform. The content delivered via Google's platform will be supported with a variety of advertising and e-commerce models that are standard in an open web context.
ProQuest will contribute content to and also introduce newspaper publishers nationwide to the programme. Also, it will supply from its microfilm vault newspaper content that can be delivered effectively in the less formal framework of the open web. The company currently holds more than 10,000 newspaper titles, most of which are pristine master film copies. While ProQuest's film vault will be tapped, the open web model does not replace or diminish ProQuest's commitment to microfilm, according to the company. The work of the ProQuest/Google partnership commences immediately and is expected to be ongoing over multiple years.
Providing more local, regional and national content is part of ProQuest's strategy to create a total news solution for libraries, serving all their needs through a single source. Earlier this year, the company announced the availability of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News through its online interface, ProQuest Newsstand.
