Bowker's Andy Weissberg Named to Board of Directors for International ISBN Agency

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ--(Marketwire - April 28, 2009) - Andy Weissberg, vice president of identifier services and corporate marketing for Bowker, has been appointed to the board of directors for the International ISBN Agency, the organization that promotes, coordinates and supervises the worldwide use of the ISBN system.

The selection of Weissberg was made last week at the agency's board meeting in conjunction with the annual London Book Fair.

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a unique machine-readable identification number, which marks any book unmistakably and accompanies that individual title from its production on throughout the entire publishing supply chain. ISBNs have been in use for more than 35 years and are officially recognized in 170 countries worldwide.

"I'm humbled and delighted to be appointed to the International ISBN Agency board because this is an exciting opportunity for me to participate in leadership conversations about some of the most important issues confronting the global book publishing industry," said Weissberg. "With the explosion of digital media and the proliferation of distribution channels for books, it is more important than ever that we have title identifiers that conform to international standards of use and acceptance."

Weissberg replaces Annie Callanan, chief executive officer of Bowker, on the board of directors due to a recent expansion of Callanan's executive responsibilities. Bowker, the global leader in bibliographic information management, is the exclusive ISBN agency for the U.S. publishing industry.

"We are very sorry to lose Annie Callanan from the ISBN Board but delighted to welcome Andy Weissberg as her replacement," said Brian Green, executive director of the International ISBN Agency. "In the relatively short time that Andy has been involved with the US ISBN Agency, he has worked tirelessly to promote and facilitate the use of ISBNs and we look forward to working closely with him in the future."

"The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or edition from one specific publisher that is unique to that edition or format, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, search engines, wholesalers and distributors," said Weissberg. "The role played by the International ISBN Agency of assuring uniformity in book title identifiers is more important today than at any time in its past."

About Bowker

Bowker is the world's leading source for bibliographic information. The company provides searching, analytical, promotional, 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™, AquaBrowser®, 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 Melbourne, Australia. For more company details, please visit www.Bowker.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Daryn Teague Teague Communications (661) 297-5292