It claims that the expansion of its service into the UK will deliver the most comprehensive and competitive information service for information researchers, library professionals and retail buyers.
Bowker has more than 130 years of experience in data management and its Bowker's Books In Print database is the established authority for book information in the US.
In a statement, Bowker said it will not renew its licence for UK data with Nielsen Bookdata, which expires on March 30 2005.
Michael Cairns, president of RR Bowker, said: "We have enjoyed our partnership with Nielsen BookData and look forward to working with it on business initiatives in which our interests are compatible. However, we believe we will be in a better position to satisfy our customers' data requirements if we manage the collection effort directly. We are looking forward to working with the UK publisher community on this effort."
Launched in 1995, Global Books In Print is seen as one of the leading databases of English language titles, and is already used extensively around the world in publishing, retail and library sectors as a reference source. In addition to providing up-to-date, comprehensive English-language title information, Global Books In Print is expanding to include non-English-language titles, beginning with Spanish-language titles from 23 markets.
Bowker said that by moving to direct collection of data in the UK, it believes it can deliver a better product by using established systems and processes ensuring a more timely and accurate representation of publisher data.
"We have already made considerable progress in this effort and we are confident that we have the knowledge, experience and capability to develop an alternative bibliographic database for UK publishers," Cairns said.
Founded in 1872, RR Bowker is a subsidiary of privately owned Cambridge Information Group based in Bethesda, Maryland. Its UK offices are located in East Grinstead, Sussex.
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