Educational Publishing Association Teams Up With Bowker to Offer Free ISBNs to Educational Publishers in 2008

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - 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 (dgladney@AEPweb.org). 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.

Contact Information: Contact: Dave Gladney Marketing Manager 856-241-7772