ProQuest Acquires RefWorks

ProQuest, a Cambridge Information Group company, has acquired RefWorks LLC, a leading provider of web-based research management, writing and collaboration services for the academic and research communities. Cambridge Information Group has had an ownership position in RefWorks since May 2001. Complete ownership will enable ProQuest to integrate RefWorks into its COS business -- which serves the same market -- creating powerful, single-source networking and management tools for scholars around the world.

"RefWorks has been an important asset for many years. Now, this acquisition allows us to take another step in our larger mission to advance the research process," said Boe Horton, ProQuest Senior Vice President. "In this case, we're reducing barriers to efficient work by giving researchers direct ways to connect with each other and the tools they need to leverage those connections."

Jeff Baer, ProQuest Vice President and General Manager of what is now known as RefWorks/COS, will lead the newly merged group. RefWorks' acclaimed tools -- best known for their ability to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information -- are uniquely complementary to COS Scholar Universe. COS Scholar Universe is renowned for its networking capability, which provides direct access to more than 1.4 million active researchers from around the world working in over 200 disciplines. With RefWorks and COS joining forces, researchers will be able to turn to one source for tools that help them identify colleagues with similar research interests around the world, establish alliances and manage joint research projects.

RefWorks CEO Earl Beutler will remain a consultant to support strategic projects from RefWorks/COS. The remaining senior management team of RefWorks will report directly into Mr. Baer. The other RefWorks staff will be combined with the COS staff to create a single, integrated organization.

"We're delighted that the senior management staff that has made RefWorks the standard in academic collaboration tools will now be a part of its future as RefWorks/COS," said Mr. Baer. "We're creating a powerful suite of tools that will drive research forward. It's an exciting road ahead."

Customers of both COS and RefWorks can continue to use their current contact numbers.

ProQuest provides seamless access to and navigation of more than 125 billion digital pages of the world's scholarship, delivering it to the desktop and into the workflow of serious researchers in multiple fields, from arts, literature, and social science to science, technology, and medicine.

ProQuest's vast content pools are available to researchers through libraries of all types and include the world's largest digital newspaper archive, periodical databases comprising the output of more than 9,000 titles and spanning more than 500 years, the pre-eminent dissertation collection, and various other scholarly collections. Users access the information through the ProQuest(R) and CSA Illumina(TM) online information systems, Chadwyck-Healey(TM) electronic and microform resources, UMI(R) microform and print reference products, eLibrary(R) and SIRS(R) educational resources, Ulrich's(R) Serials Analysis System, COS Scholar Universe, and Serials Solutions(R) resource management tools. Through the expertise of business units Serials Solutions and RefWorks/COS, ProQuest provides technological tools that allow researchers and libraries to better manage and use their information resources.

COS provides direct access to more than 1.4 million active researchers working in over 200 disciplines. Searches in COS' flagship product -- Scholar Universe -- provide unparalleled exposure to the community currently studying a topic of interest. Exploring this research community expands awareness and access to cross-disciplinary research perspectives, publications, research methodologies, expertise, and collaborative opportunities. With COS Scholar Universe, faculty and students are directly connected to the communities of scholarly research.

RefWorks is an international company that provides research management solutions, helping researchers become more effective in their work by aiding in the management, organization, collaboration and dissemination of research information. Thousands of researchers in over 900 organizations globally use the RefWorks service daily. Founded in 2001 by a team of experts in the field of bibliographic database management, RefWorks supports hundreds of online databases and output styles covering a broad range of subject areas.

SOURCE: ProQuest