Editing ProQuest (section)

=== 1960s–1990s ===
In 1962, [[Xerox]] acquired the company for 51,750 shares of Xerox common stock, worth about $7.9 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Microfilm Deal Slated by Xerox|work=The New York Times|date=February 21, 1962|id={{ProQuest|115685638}}}}</ref> Under Xerox's ownership, the name of the company changed several times, from '''University Microfilms''' to '''Xerox University Microfilms''', to '''University Microfilms International''', then shortened to '''UMI'''. In 1985, it was purchased from Xerox by [[Bell & Howell]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Winter|first1=Christine|title=Bell, Howell Acquires Two Data Firms|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/11/14/bell-howell-acquires-two-data-firms/|access-date=Sep 10, 2014|work=Chicago Tribune|date=November 14, 1985|archive-date=September 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911075117/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-11-14/business/8503180622_1_umi-gerald-schultz-bekins-records-management|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1986, UMI acquired Data Courier, owner of ABI/INFORM, from the [[Barry Bingham Jr.|Bingham]] family.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Feature: History Lesson: ABI/Inform| access-date = 2021-01-23| url = https://www.infotoday.com/online/jan02/ojala.htm| archive-date = April 30, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210430031359/https://www.infotoday.com/online/jan02/ojala.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>

In the 1980s, UMI began producing [[CD-ROM]]s that stored [[Bibliographic database|databases]] of periodicals abstracts and indexes. At a time when modem connections were slow and expensive, it was more efficient to mail database CD-ROMs regularly to subscribing libraries, who installed the discs on dedicated PCs. The ProQuest brand name was first used for databases on CD-ROM. An online service called ProQuest Direct was launched in 1995; its name was later shortened to just ProQuest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.proquest.com/brand/proquest.shtml|title=ProQuest (brand)|access-date=2008-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925022313/http://proquest.com/brand/proquest.shtml|archive-date=2008-09-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> The bibliographic databases are mainly sold to schools, universities and libraries.

In 1998, the company announced the "[[Digital Vault Initiative]]", purported to include 5.5 billion images digitized from UMI microfilm, including some of the best existing copies of major newspapers dating back 100 to 150 years, and Early English books dating back to the 15th century. While work continues to digitize the contents of the microfilm vault, ProQuest is already providing navigation of 125 billion digital pages, including nearly 20 million pages of newspaper content dating from pre-Revolutionary War America.

In 1999, the company name changed to '''Bell & Howell Information and Learning''', and then in 2001 to '''ProQuest Information and Learning'''; Bell & Howell renamed itself the ProQuest Company.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=17575 |title=Bell & Howell Becomes ProQuest Company |date=June 11, 2001 |publisher=Information Today |access-date=June 20, 2014 |archive-date=August 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082852/http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=17575 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Also in 1999, the company acquired [[Chadwyck-Healey]], a one-time microfilm publishing company that was one of the first to produce full-text CD-ROM databases. This acquisition gave Proquest ownership of a 100+ person publishing operation based in [[Cambridge]], England, and became the basis for a substantial overseas expansion.