New ProQuest Service Preserves and Enhances Discovery of University Multimedia Collections

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Libraries and universities with proprietary audio and video collections can now preserve and provide access to these information resources through a new service from ProQuest. ProQuest Video Preservation and Discovery Service (VPDS) is a continuum of services designed to make fully discoverable video and audio content to which the Library has rights.  VPDS is a full service offering that includes digital conversion, transcription, metadata creation, and optional hosting and streaming.  VPDS creates transcriptions and indexes A/V content stored on tapes, hard drives, and other media, making high-demand content easily accessible through library discovery channels. All formats of video – even those that are obsolete -- are eligible for the service.  

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"This service addresses a genuine frustration for libraries," said Jane Burke, ProQuest Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives. "There's growing demand by users for multimedia research content and libraries have it. However, it's highly siloed and scattered. VPDS conquers that barrier, making multimedia collections easy to find and access. Libraries can now put more of their collections to work for their users."

VPDS leverages ProQuest's renowned expertise in preservation and in rich metadata development that maximizes discovery. Once hidden and unavailable content is integrated with the rest of the library collection and made accessible in its discovery layer, catalog, and Institutional Repository, as well as making it usable in the classroom.

VPDS' flexible menu of options includes digitization, hosting and streaming. For transcription ProQuest offers options for fully automated or manual correction to meet budget and time constraints. Libraries pick and choose the services they need to fill gaps in current capabilities and processes, maximizing value for their researchers. Plus, options are available to enhance A/V sharing and management through streaming, and clip development. VPDS' capabilities are scalable and can manage even massive content collections.

In developing VPDS, ProQuest worked with seven leading academic libraries in a pilot project that successfully digitized, transcribed and indexed more than 500 items. Those libraries include Dartmouth University, University of Illinois Champaign, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

ProQuest can work with institutions on sample content, project size and pricing to help them assess the service and evaluate its ability to meet their needs. To learn more visit www.proquest.com.

About ProQuest (www.proquest.com)

ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company's products are a gateway to the world's knowledge including dissertations, governmental and cultural archives, news, historical collections and ebooks. ProQuest technologies serve users across the critical points in research, helping them discover, access, share, create and manage information.

The company's cloud-based technologies offer flexible solutions for librarians, students and researchers through the ProQuest^®, Bowker^®, Dialog^®, ebrary^® and EBL^® businesses – and notable research tools such as the Summon^® discovery service, the ProQuest Flow™ collaboration platform, the Pivot™ research development tool and the Intota™ library services platform. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices around the world.

SOURCE ProQuest

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