Bell & Howell Information and Learning Unveils
ProQuest 4.0
Bell & Howell Information
and Learning has announced the release of ProQuest 4.0, its online information
research system. According to the company, the most significant addition
to ProQuest is a new, intelligent document-linking capability called IntelliDocs,
which allows users to reach beyond database resources to find information
in a wide range of selected sources.
“The IntelliDocs feature greatly expands the amount of information available
to searchers,” said Todd Fegan, vice president of ProQuest product management.
“People, places, and companies are highlighted in the full text of articles
found in ProQuest. When users click on these words, they are immediately
linked to a suite of additional reference sources such as the OPAC, encyclopedia
content, and relevant sites on the Web. With IntelliDocs, we are integrating
highly relevant information and providing this additional content in a
process that will be intuitive and useful to the end-user.”
Sources include World Book Encyclopedia, Best of the Web (relevant sites
on the Web), company profiles from Dow Jones, and the library’s local OPAC.
These sources provide relevant content with high editorial value. More
quality sources will be added in the coming months to expand the knowledge
base available to ProQuest searchers.
IntelliDocs is available to ProQuest subscribers as a service enhancement.
In its initial release, IntelliDocs can be activated for general-reference
databases, such as ProQuest Research Library, ProQuest Discovery, and Periodical
Abstracts.
A number of changes to ProQuest’s user interface will simplify searching
and enhance capabilities. Updates include the following:
An increase in the number of articles that can be added to a marked list.
With ProQuest 4.0, users can double the length of their marked list from
25 to 50.
Improved navigation between the ProQuest Training Center and Help screens,
which allows users to locate information more easily. The ProQuest Training
Center provides extensive support for librarians and end-users, and is
available from the company’s Web site (http://www.infolearning.com)
or from within the ProQuest online product.
More intuitive naming of what was previously known as “advanced search.”
The newly renamed “guided search” helps users of every skill level to build
sophisticated searches.
The addition of screens that indicate if the database subscription is a
trial or part of a consortia contract.
The ability for site administrators to create custom login URLs that direct
users to specific databases or database sets (rather than the entire ProQuest
file subscribed to), allow setting of search preferences (such as searching
full text or abstracts or searching newspapers only), allow setting interface
selection (standard vs. kid-friendly interface), and allow setting of initial
search mode (search by word, publication, to topic).
Source: Bell & Howell Information and Learning, Ann Arbor, MI, 800/521-0600,
734/761-4700; http://www.infolearning.com.
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