New Enhancements in ProQuest Obituaries

The following announcement was written by ProQuest:

Launch of New ProQuest Obituaries Search Tools Bring Researchers Closer to Their Ancestors

Name and location search enhancements target information across more than 10 million records

Ann Arbor, Mich. –May 29, 2008 – ProQuest introduces two new major enhancements for ProQuest® Obituaries, indexed expanded Name Search and enhanced Search Results Display. Both features allow for greater content discovery, as users can more easily search through indexed names and locations as well as the text of the obituary itself.

“We pride ourselves on being the leading provider of genealogical and local history online research solutions to libraries and their patrons,” said Chris Cowan, vice president of publishing. “These new search indexes further our commitment to providing the critical resources necessary to track personal histories.”

The new search and interface features will help reduce the time it takes to search and bring forward key result elements users need to review and locate family records.  The Name Search allows users to search across indexed names as they appear on the death notice, or expand the search to the full-text of the obituary.  The new Search Results Display highlights important information, such as full name, location of death, and relation of the name to the record—all in a clear and sensible format.

ProQuest Obituaries brings the ‘story of you’ to light more than ever before. An obituary is often the only “biographical sketch” ever devoted to an individual and can provide valuable genealogical clues including proper full name, maiden name, names of relatives, occupation, cause of death, and more. No other product offers access to obituaries and death notices from the complete historical runs of major national newspapers.

ProQuest Obituaries contains more than 10.5 million obituaries and death notices in full-image format from the entire uninterrupted runs of top U.S. newspapers. Dating back to 1849, ProQuest Obituaries draws records from over 150 years of titles spanning key population and immigration centers of the United States, including:

• The New York Times (from 1851)
• Washington Post (from 1877)
• Atlanta Constitution (from 1868 -1929)
• Los Angeles Times (from 1881)
• Chicago Defender (from 1909 -1975)
• Chicago Tribune (from 1849)
• Boston Globe (from 1872 - 1923)

ProQuest Obituaries is constructed with the level of accuracy needed specifically for finding people.  ProQuest's editors combed the electronic files of seven newspapers and extracted both the paid death notices and the obituaries of lesser-known people. Editors manually checked and entered names, and producers digitally enhanced the original images. This allows for precision results, even if the researcher doesn’t know the exact first name or year of death.

Users can search by name of the deceased person, by date, and by keyword in the full-text contained in the obituary and death notice, using terms to describe location, cause of death, occupation, hobbies, family members, other personal information, and more.

For more information on ProQuest Obituaries visit www.proquest.com.

About ProQuest
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 is part of Cambridge Information Group (www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com).

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®  and CSA Illumina™ online information systems, Chadwyck-Healey™ electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, eLibrary® and SIRS® educational resources, Ulrich's® Serials Analysis System, COS Scholar Universe, and Serials Solutions® 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.   For more information, visit www.proquest.com, www.proquest.co.uk, and www.csa.com.

Comments

[Karl]

This is more a question then a comment, but is there any way to access proquest records other than your local library (which in my case doesn't have it)? Or can individuals pay for access to it?

[Dae Powell]

I can't wait until they get to Dallas and Houston, Texas. I've gotten most of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram completed, but I've been at it since 1990. I also have it cross-referenced to the Texas Death Certificate Numbers, which may be a bit beyond what ProQuest has done.

Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Dick Eastman]

ProQuest is available only through libraries.

If your local library doesn't have it, ask about nearby libraries or regional libraries or state libraries. Many of them even offer remote, in-home access.

[catpurrson]

You can contact the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri, and obtain a library card for $20 a year. This will give you remote access to the ProQuest obits (plus lots of other databases).

[Jason Presley]

Will ProQuest ever expand beyond the same major cities they've been covering for the last 3 years?

[Bob Palzer]

I've accessed obits from Proquest through my local public library and was excited about this new development. I'm trying to look up some obits for persons who died in the LA area and hoping I would be able to find them in the LA times. However, information from that newspaper only goes back to 1985. Am I doings something wrong or is my library only paying for a more limited collection of Proquest Newspapers? I'd be grateful to anyone who can answer this question. Thank you.

Bob Palzer

[Janice Schultz]

I am a librarian with Mid-Continent Library. Please check with your own public library about availability before seeking a library card with us or another institution.

[David French]

Hi,

I tried to find a library close to me that has the ProQuest Obituaries. After calling ProQuest, come to find out there are none in the whole state of North Carolina! They also do not make a list of who has their service available which I find odd for an "information" company citing "privacy" concerns. These are libraries who are their customers. Why the need for privacy? They should consider making subscriptions available to individuals who live in areas where their service is not available. Also, I understand that the cost of ProQuest for libraries are prohibitive for many smaller libraries.

David

[David French]

Hi,

I tried to find a library close to me that has the ProQuest Obituaries. After calling ProQuest, come to find out there are none in the whole state of North Carolina! They also do not make a list of who has their service available which I find odd for an "information" company citing "privacy" concerns. These are libraries who are their customers. Why the need for privacy? They should consider making subscriptions available to individuals who live in areas where their service is not available. Also, I understand that the cost of ProQuest for libraries are prohibitive for many smaller libraries.

David

[james gross]

see the following link for a partial list of libraries carrying the proquest obituaries database.

http://datavamp.wordpress.com/