R.R. Bowker, Booksurge Team Up for POD Service

R.R. Bowker has formed a joint venture with Booksurge to develop a print-on-demand service that combines Booksurge's printing and fulfillment capabilities with Bowker's marketing clout.

Publishers who sign up for the service will have their titles placed in Bowker's central database, where they can be ordered through a host of Bowker online services including booksinprint.com, e-booksinprint.com, globalbooksinprint.com and publishershomepages.com . Angela D'Agostino, v-p, business development and marketing, for Bowker, who is spearheading the POD effort, said publishers can use the service to keep old books in print or to test the popularity of new titles. Mitchell Davis, v-p of marketing for Booksurge, said the company "guarantees" 48-hour turnaround from the time the order is placed to delivery. Booksellers and librarians can order a single copy of one title or multiple copies of several different titles, Davis added.

Publishers will be charged a one-time fee for listing books in the database, ranging from $99 for listing a single title to $59 per title for 1,000 titles. Publishers determine the price for the book and receive 30% of the retail sale. Bowker has set a minimum 20% discount for bookstore and library orders. Davis said the deal with Bowker provides "an excellent answer" to Booksurge's problem of getting its service noticed by booksellers and librarians.