Bowker Publishes First Consumer-Focused Research Report for Book Industry

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ--(Marketwire - July 28, 2009) - Members of the U.S. book publishing industry now have access to the first complete consumer-based research report with detailed analysis of who is buying books and what motivates them to make their purchases.

Bowker's "2008 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Report" includes in-depth book data, demographics, psychographics, genre category breakdowns and distribution channel analysis. The report also includes first quarter 2009 trends, documenting that mass merchandisers picked up market share while bookstores had the largest decline.

Additionally, it includes data from Bowker's 2008 book production statistics, which benchmark the number of new titles produced in the U.S. according to a variety of genres and publishing formats.

The report can be ordered now by visiting www.bookconsumer.com. Pricing starts at $999 for a single-use PDF or print copy, but the company is offering a 10% discount for orders by July 31, 2009. In addition, members of the news media are entitled to a 50% discount if they are interested in purchasing the report.

"This report is a breakthrough in the U.S. publishing industry because it places crucial business intelligence into the hands of book publishers regarding who is buying books, what kinds of books they're buying, what is motivating them to make those purchases and where they're going to buy those books," said Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publisher services for New Providence, N.J.-based Bowker, the global leader in bibliographic information management solutions.

According to Gallagher, some of the detailed insights contained in the new report include the following:

--  57% of book buyers are women yet women purchase 65% of the books sold
    in the U.S.
--  Mystery books are the most popular genre for book club sales, with 17%
    of all purchases of mystery books coming directly from book clubs
--  Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other
    demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet
--  21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort
    of online promotion or ad
--  Women made the majority of the purchases in the paperback, hardcover
    and audio-book segments, but men accounted for 55% of e-book purchases
    

"Our report also provides a peek into the growing trends of e-books and e-book devices for digital delivery of book content, as well as the growth of social networks for discovery and interaction with this content," added Gallagher. "These represent the bright spots of opportunity in an otherwise challenging economic climate for U.S. book publishers."

The report was produced in collaboration with Publishers Weekly, the leading publication serving all segments of the U.S. book industry.

Lightning Source, the global leader in print on demand book manufacturing and distribution, will manufacture the Annual Report on demand. Copies of the report will be printed as they are needed, allowing Bowker to fill every order of the report from virtual inventory.

PubTrack Consumer, a service of Bowker, is the publishing industry's premier resource for understanding consumer book buying behavior. Data are derived from a nationally representative panel of U.S. adult men, women and teens that complete weekly online surveys about their book purchase behavior.

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