Books in Print

Originally served as a Series-Title-Author index to PTLA and relied on PTLA for its information until the 1970s when it extended beyond the publishers' catalogs in PTLA. Database access today: http://www.booksinprint.com.  

There were several supplements/additions to the Books in Print family:

• Paperbound Books in Print (semi-annual, 1955-1996): paperback originals and reprints (see this page for more information )

• Subject Guide to Books in Print (annual, 1957-): indexes titles from BIP

• Publishers' Library Bindings in Print (annual, 1962-1968, title varies as Publishers' Library Editions in Print (1962), Publishers' Library Bindings in Print (1963-1965), and Children's Books for Schools (1966-1968); superseded by Children's Books in Print, below): indexes titles bound for libraries, especially children's books

• Forthcoming Books in Print (bimonthly, 1966-): list of new titles and titles planned for release in the next 5 months

• Children's Books in Print (annual, 1969-; supersedes Publishers' Library Bindings in Print, above): titles considered by publishers to be intended for children and young adults

  • Children's Books in Print: Subject Guide (annual, 1989-): indexes fiction and non-fiction titles from Children's BIP

• El-Hi Textbooks and Serials in Print (annual, 1985-): classroom materials not covered in BIP

• Books in Print Supplement (annual, 1973-): mid-year updating service for BIP

• Books Out of Print (annual, 1983-?): based on reports from publishers who were asked to verify oop status of titles from BIP; moved online at some point in the 1990s  

• Law Books and Serials in Print (annual, 1985-)

  • Earlier as Law Information (1982-1983) & Law Information Update (1983-1984), which pick up where the retrospective publication Law Books, 1876-1981 (1981) leaves off 

• Medical and Health Care Books and Serials in Print (annual, 1985-)

  • Earlier as Medical Books and Serials in Print (1972-1984)

An interesting series of errors occurred with the 1968 Books in Print, explained as having occurred "during the conversion of a data bank including more than 250,000 entries from manual to computer processing," "Books in Print" Addendum to Correct 1968 Volume, PW, Dec. 2, 1968, at 17.  An Addendum volume to the 1968 BIP was issued to purchasers of the volume in early 1969. The PW article about the errors also has detailed information about the BIP production schedule that are useful for understanding how the work was made. 

Sources:

• • Robert Balay, ed., GUIDE TO REFERENCE BOOKS, 11th ed. (American Library Association 1996). 

  • Ad for Books in Print and Subject Guide to Books in Print, PW, Sept. 29, 1969, at 24.

Bowker Announces New Index, "Books in Print", PW, May 15, 1948, at 2093. 

Daniel Melcher, New Composing Technique Speeds Production of the New Bowker "Books in Print" Index, PW, Sept. 11, 1948, at 1038-1043. 

Daniel Melcher, Editing a Major, New Trade Tool, "Subject Guide to Books in Print", Dec. 9, 1957, at 12-17. 

Daniel Melcher, Computerizing Bowker's Current Bibliographies, PW, June 10, 1968, at 76-78.