R. R. Bowker

{{short description|American company providing bibliographic information on published works}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox publisher | image = RR-Bowker-logo-Jan-2023.png | parent = Cambridge Information Group | status = | founded = {{Start date and age|1868}} | founder = Frederick Leypoldt<br>{{small|Company named after Richard Rogers Bowker, who acquired Leypoldt's business in 1878.}} | successor = | country = | headquarters = Chatham, New Jersey | distribution = | keypeople = Beat Barblan, General Manager<ref name="PR Newswire 2016"/> | publications = Books | topics = | genre = | imprints = | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|www.bowker.com}} }}

'''R. R. Bowker LLC''' (trading as '''Bowker''') is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/78506-bowker-investigating-breach-of-isbn-site.html|title=Bowker Investigating Breach of ISBN Site|work=Publishers Weekly |access-date=November 6, 2018}}</ref> Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on published works to the book trade, including publishers, booksellers, libraries, and individuals; its roots in the industry trace back to 1868. Bowker is the exclusive U.S. agent for issuing International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs). Bowker is the publisher of '''''Books in Print''''' and other compilations of information about books and periodical titles. It provides supply chain services and analytical tools to the book publishing industry.<ref name="Milliot" /> Bowker is headquartered in Chatham, New Jersey, with additional operational offices in England and Australia. It is now owned by Cambridge Information Group.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bowker Moves Forward Under New Ownership|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20020114/18947-bowker-moves-forward-under-new-ownership.html|access-date=2021-06-24|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en}}</ref>

==History== The company was founded in New York City by Frederick Leypoldt, a German immigrant who worked as a bookseller and recognized the need for good bibliographic information to make the book business more efficient. He established the monthly ''Literary Bulletin,'' his first periodical, in 1868. In 1870 Leypoldt issued the first edition of his ''Annual American Catalogue'', the forerunner for ''Books in Print''. In 1872 he published the first issue of ''Publishers Weekly'', in 1873 the first ''Publishers' Uniform Trade-List Annual'' (later the ''Publishers Trade List Annual''), and in 1876 the first issue of ''Library Journal''. In 1878 Leypoldt's company was acquired by Richard Rogers Bowker. Leypoldt and Bowker also founded two influential standard book-industry references: ''Literary Marketplace'' and ''Ulrich's Periodicals Directory''.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Info Science"/>

In 1967, the Xerox Corporation acquired the R. R. Bowker company, and then, in 1985, sold it to Reed International (now RELX Group). That same year, in 1985, ''Publishers Weekly''—after 113 years as a part of R. R. Bowker—was transferred to the Cahners Publishing Company.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| title = Reed to Acquire Xerox Subsidiary| work = The New York Times| access-date = November 25, 2019| date = June 13, 1985| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/13/business/reed-to-acquire-xerox-subsidiary.html}}</ref> In 1991, Reed's reference division moved to Chatham, New Jersey.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Horner| first = Shirley| title =The Political Scene | work = The New York Times |department=About Books (column) | access-date = July 3, 2019 | date = February 6, 1994| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/06/nyregion/about-books.html | issn = 0362-4331| pages = 13 }}</ref> In 2001, Cambridge Information Group acquired Bowker.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cambridge Information Group Timeline |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141020173911/http://www.ulib.niu.edu/publishers/CIG.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-10-20 |url=http://www.ulib.niu.edu/publishers/index.htm |work=The Academic Publishing Industry: A Story of Merger and Acquisition |author= Mary H. Munroe |year=2004 |via= Northern Illinois University }}</ref> In 2007, Cambridge Information Group sold ''Literary Marketplace'' and other directories to Information Today Inc.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 8755-6286| volume = 18| issue = 9| pages = 1–70| last = Hane| first = Paula J.| title = Reed Elsevier Sells Bowker to CSA, ITI| work = Information Today; Medford| date = October 2001| id = {{ProQuest|214842745}}}}</ref> Cambridge Information Group merged Cambridge Scientific Abstracts with ProQuest Information and Learning to form ProQuest LLC, a privately held Delaware-domiciled limited liability company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. R. R. Bowker LLC was repositioned as an affiliate of ProQuest.{{clarify|date=April 2014}}<ref name="ProQuest site"/>

== Selected publications == * ''Books in Print'' lists nearly all books that are currently available in English and in the United States from major publishers. A resource for bookstores, libraries, and publishers, it is available in a print version, but is most often accessed electronically. Books in Print lists several million books, a number that is only exceeded by Amazon. It was first published in 1948.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} * ''The Library and Book Trade Almanac'' (formerly ''The Bowker Annual'') is a resource for librarians, publishers, and booksellers which provides reviews of "key trends, events, and developments" in the industry; statistics on book prices, numbers of books published, library expenditures, and average salaries; explanations of new legislation and changes in funding programs; and other information.<ref name="Book Trade Almanac"/>

==Services== Bowker is the United States provider of International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs), a code for identifying commercial books devised by Gordon Foster in 1967. An ISBN is currently placed on a book to uniquely identify it. ISBNs are available one at a time and in blocks up to 100,000 for a set fee.<ref name="Friedlander"/> ISBNs may be purchased and maintained at Bowker's My Identifiers website. Many countries, including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, to name a few, charge for ISBNs. Canada and Mexico provide ISBNs free of charge, as their ISBN agencies are government funded.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Government of Canada|title=ISBN Canada|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/isbn-canada/pages/isbn-canada.aspx|website=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=April 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Government of Mexico|title=Agencia Nacional ISBN México|url=http://www.indautor.sep.gob.mx/isbn|website=Secretaria de Cultura|access-date=April 10, 2016}}</ref>

== See also == * List of academic databases and search engines * ''American Architects Directory'' * Robert Freeman Asleson (1935–2010), former president of R. R. Bowker * ''Bowker's Law Books and Serials in Print'' * Jaques Cattell * Eric Moon (born 1923), former editor-in-chief of the ''Library Journal'', a publication of R. R. Bowker * ''Variety Film Reviews'' * ''Who's Who in American Art''

==References== {{reflist||refs=

<ref name="Milliot">[https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20020114/18947-bowker-moves-forward-under-new-ownership.html "Bowker Moves Forward Under New Ownership"], by Jim Milliot, ''Publishers Weekly'', Vol. 249, No. 2, January 14, 2002, p. 11; {{ISSN|0000-0019}}</ref>

<ref name="Encyclopedia of Info Science">''Encyclopedia of library and information science,'' Allen Kent (ed.), New York: Marcel Dekker (1970), pp. 133–148; {{OCLC|58646542}}</ref>

<ref name="ProQuest site">[https://www.proquest.com/about/history-milestones/ ProQuest website — "Company history"]</ref>

<ref name="Book Trade Almanac">''The Library and Book Trade Almanac 2009'' 54th ed., Medford, New Jersey: Information Today, Inc.; {{ISSN|2150-5446}}</ref>

<ref name="Friedlander">[https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/05/bowkers-andy-weissberg-on-isbns-and-the-future-of-the-book/ "Bowker's Andy Weissberg on ISBNs and the Future"], by Joel Friedlander, ''The Book Designer'', May 19, 2010, (accessed February 12, 2011)</ref>

<ref name="PR Newswire 2016">[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/report-from-bowker-shows-continuing-growth-in-self-publishing-300323896.html "Report from Bowker Shows Continuing Growth in Self-Publishing"] PR Newswire (accessed January 4, 2022)</ref>

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==External links== * [https://www.bowker.com/ Official website] * [https://www.booksinprint.com booksinprint.com] * [https://www.myidentifiers.com My Identifiers]

Category:Publishing companies established in 1868 Category:1868 establishments in New York (state) Category:Bibliographic database providers Category:Book publishing companies of the United States Category:Companies based in New Jersey Category:Library-related organizations Category:ProQuest Category:Xerox Category:ISBN agencies