| Media
Center Main
AEP News Archives
Industry News
Submit
industry news
Sign up to receive future
AEP press releases
Press Contact:
Dave Gladney
Marketing
Manager
856-241-7772
dgladney@AEPweb.org |
Educational
publishing association teams up with Bowker to offer free ISBNs to educational
publishers in 2008Strategic partnership designed to reduce
barriers for AEP members who wish to transition businesses to digital age and
enhance the discoverability of their products WASHINGTON, DC--JUNE 4,
2008--The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), the professional association
for publishers of educational materials, today announced that it has entered into
an unprecedented partnership with Bowker, the global leader in bibliographic information
management and the official U.S. ISBN agency, in which Bowker will provide all
AEP members free ISBNs from July 1 through December 31 of 2008 for any product
in their current catalog or on their backlist. The extraordinary agreement,
which essentially eliminates any cost barriers for educational publishers seeking
to transition their businesses into the digital age of online product tracking,
was announced at AEP's annual Summit in Washington, D.C., where this year's focus
is on helping educational publishers take advantage of digital technologies. Through
the deal, both parties hope to jumpstart the process of bringing standardization
to the K-12 education sector of the publishing industry by encouraging companies
in the community to assign unique ISBNs, available exclusively through Bowker,
to all of their existing products. "Consistent and reliable sales
data and statistics for educational publishing have historically been difficult
to come by," said Charlene Gaynor, CEO of AEP. "It's time for our industry
to join the digital era." According to Gaynor, educational publishers
often produce more than just books -- e.g., CDs, DVDs, computer software, Websites,
manipulatives, and games -- so assigning ISBNs to all of their products isn't
always part of the distribution process. By providing these tracking numbers free
of charge through a streamlined registration process, Gaynor hopes that more members
of the industry will take advantage of the technology that other sectors have
employed for several years now. Depending on the volume purchased, ISBNs
typically cost from $30 to $125 per number for publishers to purchase. Bowker
will offer deep discounting to AEP members who intend to assign large quantities
of ISBNs to digital-only formats as well as chapters and fragments which may also
be made available for discovery and trading within the supply chain. "Through
data standardization Bowker has assisted other niche markets, such as higher education
and Christian publishing, with creating industry metrics," said Annie Callanan,
President and CEO of Bowker. "By partnering with AEP, we hope to bring the
same success to the K-12 education sector." In addition to the data
tracking capabilities, publishers who register their titles with BowkerLink and
participate in the U.S. ISBN Agency's new education-specific sales tool, PubEasy
School, will also benefit from inclusion in a number of searchable databases such
as Books In Print, Books In Print on CD, BooksInPrint.com, GlobalBooksInPrint.com,
FictionConnection.com, Books Out Loud, Characters in Fiction, and Forthcoming
Books. Through these and other services like Amazon.com, customers can research
and compare materials between companies. This is particularly beneficial in the
education sector where teachers, schools and districts are constantly looking
for new and easier ways to find classroom materials. In order to participate
in this program, AEP members will need to register
on the AEP Web site before December 31, 2008. AEP and Bowker have released
a joint position paper on the subject entitled "How Standardization in the
K-12 Educational Publishing Industry Can Help Grow Business." To receive
a copy of this paper, visit www.AEPweb.org/pdfs/AEP_Bowker.pdf
or contact Dave Gladney. More details
on the partnership will be available as the parties explore new possibilities
for streamlining data collection and the ISBN registration process.
About
AEP The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) is the professional
association for publishers of supplemental educational materials. Its membership
represents the breadth of educational content developers and service providers
delivering progressive products in both print and electronic formats to today's
schools and colleges. Founded in 1895, AEP now assists its members in navigating
the global realities of publishing in the 21st Century through its professional
development programming, government relations efforts, and opportunities for collaboration
and partnership. For more information, visit www.AEPweb.org. About
Bowker Bowker is the world's leading source for bibliographic
information. The company provides searching, analytical, promotional, business
intelligence and ordering services to publishers, booksellers, libraries, and
patrons through national and international brands, including: Books In Print®,
Global Books In Print®, Syndetic Solutions™, Pubnet®, PubEasy®,
PubTrack™ and more. In the U.S., Australia and Puerto Rico, Bowker is also
the exclusive ISBN and SAN Agency and a DOI registration agency for the publishing
industry. Bowker is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey, with operations
in East Grinstead, England, and Port Melbourne, Australia. For more company details,
please visit www.Bowker.com. |
