ProQuest Acquires London School of Economics International Bibliography

ProQuest, an information technology firm supporting global research, has acquired the London School of Economics' classic International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS).

Established in 1951, IBSS is the Abstracting and Indexing database for social science and interdisciplinary research, currently holding more than 2.5 million bibliographic references to journal articles as well as to books, reviews and chapters. IBSS expands by more than 120,000 new additions each year.

"As the information world becomes more complex, the role of accurate, comprehensive A&I - the guideposts to content - becomes more essential," said Marty Kahn, ProQuest CEO. "IBSS is a natural fit for ProQuest because of its authoritative A&I that directs researchers to the best, most credible content in their field."

According to company officials, IBSS was compiled until 1989 at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, under the auspices of the International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation (ICSSD), a UNESCO-affiliated NGO. In 1989 it moved to the Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science and for several years it has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. In addition, print volumes are published annually and will continue to be available from Routledge.

"As our funding for IBSS is coming to an end, the acquisition by ProQuest assures a secure future for this essential research tool," said Jean Sykes, Chief Information Officer at LSE. "We're delighted that IBSS has found a home in a company that understands both the content and its users. We feel absolutely confident that this step will increase the access to and usefulness of IBSS."

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