The full text of ProQuest's database, which includes journal and newspaper articles and working papers, is now indexed in Google Scholar. This allows Google Scholar users to view abstracts of ProQuest's materials for free in their Google Scholar results and then to access the full-text of ProQuest's materials for free, if their public library has a subscription to ProQuest.

In a press release announcing the relationship, Proquest CEO Kurt Sanford explained:

ProQuest has rich, vast content that advances the work of researchers, scholars and students. Respecting the different ways researchers and librarians choose to conduct their research is essential to ensuring that content is simple to discover and use. We know Google Scholar is a popular starting point for researchers of all kinds. Our teamwork with Google will enable these patrons to be automatically recognized as authenticated ProQuest users and seamlessly link to their ProQuest collections, where they can connect with full-text scholarly content.

Access to the cached versions of pages in Yahoo search results (when available) is now hidden behind a less-than-obvious down-arrow to the right of the results' URL. Hovering over the down-arrow brings up the "Cached" pop-up seen in this illustration. (Note that not all results on your results list will include the down-arrow and therefore do not have a cached version available.)

To obtain this full-text free access, users will only need to enter their library user name (usually their public library card number) and password. For a list of all ProQuest materials, see http://www.proquest.com/customer-care/title-lists/tl-menu.html.

You can check your public library's Web site to see if they offer patrons access to ProQuest (or other databases). If you don't already have a library card you may be able to apply for one online, but most libraries require you to appear in person to pick up your new card.