By LJ Staff

ProQuest Information and Learning has acquired SIRS Publishing Inc., one of the few remaining independent publishers, whose database products such as SIRS Researchers, SIRS Discover, and SIRS Enduring Issues are staples in the K - 12 market and more than 50,000 libraries worldwide. Alan Aldworth, ProQuest president and CEO, said that SIRS's products will complement ProQuest's existing offerings especially in the K - 12 arena and will be a key part of the company's platform for growth. Headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, SIRS is an acronym for Social Issues Resource Series; its products have been designed to address curriculum-related, assignment-driven information needs that arise as students study social problems, controversies, legal issues, and ethics. The company has been in business for more than 30 years, and co-founder Eleanor Goldstein reportedly will remain with ProQuest as founding publisher, reporting to Barbara Beach, VP of ProQuest's K - 12 unit.