Wake Students Study Online at School, Home

Wake Countyhigh school and middle school students useBell & Howell'sProQuest to quickly search newspapers, magazines, journals, encyclopedia and more for homework, term papers and research.

"It really cuts down on the search time, and time for a student is very critical," says Kay Sun, anEnloe High Schoolsenior.

Unlike search engines, ProQuest provides access to specific, reliable sources.

"Instead of holding the journal in your hand, you're getting to them [in digital form]," says Sue Moody, anEnloe High School librarian.

For students who do not have the Internet in their schools, ProQuest offers a slightly different version for home use. It is specifically tailored for students in four age ranges.

Searches can be by topic, by word or by publication. Millions of pages have been digitized offering finger tip resources not available two years ago.

"I would have to have physically gone to a large university library to have gotten to it," Moody said. "I could never have dreamed to have gone and gotten it off a computer."

Enloe students have home access and like it.

"I would use it on research as for a research paper or for back-up information," Sun said. "And I can pursue it for my own interests."

More than 130 titles are available, and many are posted to the Internet before they hit newsstands.

The ProQuest "home" service costs less than $10 a month.