---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 16:34:20 +0200
From: Sarah Kellman <skellman@SWETS.NL>
Subject: Swets Blackwell and ProQuest Form Strategic Partnership to Enhance
    Access to E-journals and Periodical Databases

PRESS RELEASE
Lisse, the Netherlands and Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
October 2, 2001

Swets Blackwell and ProQuest Form Strategic Partnership to Enhance Access
to E-journals and Periodical Databases

Reciprocal linking agreement enables seamless access to e-journals by
ProQuest® online users with SwetsnetNavigator subscriptions; distribution
agreement broadens Swets Blackwell representation of ProQuest online
service

Swets Blackwell and ProQuest Company's (NYSE: PQE) Information and
Learning unit announced today the beginning of a strategic partnership
with the signing of agreements that will allow both companies to provide
their customers with broader access to journal literature in electronic
form.  The partnership is effective immediately.

Reciprocal Linking Agreement Makes More Journals Accessible

In the first of two simultaneous agreements, seamless linking from the
ProQuest® online information system will be provided to the nearly 6,000
full-text e-journals available via Swets Blackwell's SwetsnetNavigator
service.  ProQuest CrossLinks(tm) technology and Swets Blackwell's
multi-level linking technology will enable direct linking to articles in
e-journals available via the SwetsnetNavigator system.  Library customers
who subscribe to both ProQuest and SwetsnetNavigator will be able to
access their e-journal subscriptions directly through ProQuest.

"This linking agreement brings together two of the most widely used
content delivery systems for libraries around the world:  ProQuest for
full-text subscription databases and SwetsnetNavigator for e-journals,"
said Joe Reynolds, president and CEO of ProQuest Information and Learning.
"Both companies provide quality sources, and the partnership is a great
and natural fit.  Libraries--our mutual customers--will soon be able to
seamlessly link between the two systems to find the full text.  This
ability will greatly enhance the library user's experience.  Finding
information in one search rather than multiple searches in multiple
sources makes for a more efficient and effective research process.  This
is a big win for ProQuest, Swets Blackwell, our customers, and their
patrons, students, and faculty."

Customers who subscribe concurrently to ProQuest's ABI/INFORM® database
and SwetsnetNavigator will gain seamless access to nearly 200 more
business and management journals.  Subscribers to ProQuest's Medline with
Full Text with a concurrent subscription to SwetsnetNavigator will be able
to link directly to some 1,500 additional health science journals.

Distribution Agreement Expands Reach of ProQuest and Swets Blackwell's
Offerings

In the second step of the partnership, Swets Blackwell has been appointed
to distribute the ProQuest online information system to the corporate
market in the USA, Canada, and most countries in Europe, the Middle East
and Africa. Swets Blackwell will also have broader non-exclusive
distribution rights in the academic library market in most countries in
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

News Media Contacts:
Tina Creguer                                            Sarah Kellman
Director, Communications/PR                             Communications
Executive
ProQuest Information and Learning                       Swets Blackwell
1-800-521-0600, ext. 3805                               +31 252 435 584
734-761-4700, ext. 3805                         press@nl.swetsblackwell.com
pr@il.proquest.com