As part of its plan to expand the range of services and information it provides to publishers, R.R. Bowker has acquired Simba Information, publisher of newsletters including Book Publishing Report, Educational Marketer and Professional Publishing Report. The company also publishes research reports and hosts industry conferences. Simba, based in Stamford, Conn., had been owned by Primedia Inc.

"We are already known for our ability to gather data from publishers and deliver it in a user-friendly database for libraries and booksellers," said Bowker president Michael Cairns. "This acquisition will allow us to take a large step toward our goal of offering valuable information back to the publishers." Other publisher services now offered by Bowker include Pubnet and Pubeasy, as well as the ONIX file formatting services.