Bowker Partners With Booksurge To Offer POD Services

Posted on June 21, 2002

R.R. Bowker, a provider of bibliographic information and the official agency for assigning ISBNs in the United States, has partnered with Booksurge, LLC, to make available Booksurge's print-on-demand service to publishers. Booksurge is a digital publishing, printing and bookselling operation based in Charleston, S.C. Booksurge fulfills orders utilizing a book printing system and software that allows for on-demand fulfillment of any size book order. Booksurge's services compete with those from Lightning Source which also offers print-on-demand services to publishers combined with distribution through Ingram Books.

Bowker is partnering with Booksurge by creating a direct ordering option for users of its industry websites: booksinprint.com, e-booksinprint.com, globalbooksinprint.com, bookwire.com and publishershomepages.com. This gives Booksurge a new sales distribution channel through several popular bibliographic databases.

"This is a remarkable service that is made possible by the emergence of new digital technologies which enable low-volume, low-cost book printing," said Michael Cairns, president of New Providence, N.J.-based R.R. Bowker. "By eliminating the need for publishers to carry excess inventory, Booksurge's on-demand printing capability creates a valuable strategy for monetizing backlist, out-of-print or going-out-of-print titles. Moreover, it provides the unprecedented flexibility for publishers to test the market response to a new title without making a major financial commitment to a large print run."

"Bowker should be applauded for taking the industry's first progressive step toward helping publishers manage a transition to on-demand book distribution," said Mitchell Davis, vice president of marketing for Charleston, S.C.-based Booksurge. "This system has a revenue model that addresses the efficiencies inherent in a bookselling and distribution system with no inventory. Publishers both large and small will benefit greatly from Bowker's market reach with this service."