ISBN

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International Standard Book Number
File:EAN-13-ISBN-13.svg
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code
AcronymISBN
OrganisationInternational ISBN Agency
Introduced1970; 56 years ago (1970)
No. of digits13 (formerly 10)
Check digitWeighted sum
Example978-3-16-148410-0
Websiteisbn-international.org

International Standard Book Number
File:EAN-13-ISBN-13.svg
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code
AcronymISBN
OrganisationInternational ISBN Agency
Introduced1970; 56 years ago (1970)
No. of digits13 (formerly 10)
Check digitWeighted sum
Example978-3-16-148410-0
Websiteisbn-international.org

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique.

An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and variation (except reprintings) of a publication. For example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book will each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is ten digits long if assigned before 2007, and thirteen digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007.{{efn|name=conversion|Publishers were required to convert existing ISBNs from the 10-digit format to the 13-digit format (in their publication records) by 1 January 2007. For existing publications, the new 13-digit ISBN would only need to be added if (and when) a publication was reprinted. During the transition period, publishers were recommended to print both the 10-digit and 13-digit ISBNs on the verso of a publication's title page, but they were required to print only the 13-digit ISBN after 1 January 2007. The method of assigning an ISBN is nation-specific and varies between countries, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country.

The initial ISBN identification format was devised in 1967, based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) created in 1966. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO 2108 (the 9-digit SBN code can be converted to a 10-digit ISBN by prefixing it with a zero digit '0').

Privately published books sometimes appear without an ISBN. The International ISBN Agency sometimes assigns such books ISBNs on its own initiative.

Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), identifies periodical publications such as magazines and newspapers. The International Standard Music Number (ISMN) covers musical scores.

History[edit]

The Standard Book Number (SBN) is a commercial system using nine-digit code numbers to identify books. In 1965, British bookseller and stationers WHSmith announced plans to implement a standard numbering system for its books. They hired consultants to work on their behalf, and the system was devised by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College Dublin. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee on Documentation sought to adapt the British SBN for international use. The ISBN identification format was conceived in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker (regarded as the "Father of the ISBN") and in 1968 in the United States by Emery Koltay (who later became director of the U.S. ISBN agency R. R. Bowker).

The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the ISO and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO 2108. The United Kingdom continued to use the nine-digit SBN code until 1974. ISO has appointed the International ISBN Agency as the registration authority for ISBN worldwide and the ISBN Standard is developed under the control of ISO Technical Committee 46/Subcommittee 9 TC 46/SC 9. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978.

An SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit "0". For example, the second edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has "SBN 340 01381 8", where "340" indicates the publisher, "01381" is the serial number assigned by the publisher, and "8" is the check digit. By prefixing a zero, this can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8; the check digit does not need to be re-calculated. Some publishers, such as Ballantine Books, would sometimes use 12-digit SBNs where the last three digits indicated the price of the book; for example, Woodstock Handmade Houses had a 12-digit Standard Book Number of 345-24223-8-595 (valid SBN: 345-24223-8, ISBN: 0-345-24223-8), and it cost US$5.95.

Since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained thirteen digits, a format that is compatible with "Bookland" European Article Numbers, which have 13 digits.

Overview[edit]

A separate ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation (except reprintings) of a publication. For example, an ebook, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover edition of the same book will each have a different ISBN assigned to it. The ISBN is thirteen digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, and ten digits long if assigned before 2007. An International Standard Book Number consists of four parts (if it is a 10-digit ISBN) or five parts (for a 13-digit ISBN).

Section 5 of the International ISBN Agency's official user manual describes the structure of the 13-digit ISBN, as follows:

File:ISBN Details.svg
The parts of a 10-digit ISBN and the corresponding EAN-13 and barcode. Note the different check digits in each. The part of the EAN-13 labeled "EAN" is the Bookland country code.
  1. for a 13-digit ISBN, a prefix element – a GS1 prefix: so far 978 or 979 have been made available by GS1,
  2. the registration group element (language-sharing country group, individual country or territory),
  3. the registrant element,
  4. the publication element, and
  5. a checksum character or check digit.

A 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts (prefix element, registration group, registrant, publication and check digit), and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts (registration group, registrant, publication and check digit) of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces. Figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits.

EAN format used in barcodes, and upgrading[edit]

Currently the barcodes on a book's back cover (or inside a mass-market paperback book's front cover) are EAN-13; they may have a separate barcode encoding five digits called an EAN-5 for the currency and the recommended retail price. For 10-digit ISBNs, the number "978", the Bookland "country code", is prefixed to the ISBN in the barcode data, and the check digit is recalculated according to the EAN-13 formula (modulo 10, 1× and 3× weighting on alternating digits).

Partly because of an expected shortage in certain ISBN categories, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided to migrate to a 13-digit ISBN (ISBN-13). The process began on 1 January 2005 and was planned to conclude on 1 January 2007. As of 2011, all the 13-digit ISBNs began with 978. As the 978 ISBN supply is exhausted, the 979 prefix was introduced. Part of the 979 prefix is reserved for use with the Musicland code for musical scores with an ISMN. The 10-digit ISMN codes differed visually as they began with an "M" letter; the bar code represents the "M" as a zero, and for checksum purposes it counted as a 3. All ISMNs are now thirteen digits commencing 979-0; 979-1 to 979-9 will be used by ISBN.

Publisher identification code numbers are unlikely to be the same in the 978 and 979 ISBNs, likewise, there is no guarantee that language area code numbers will be the same. Moreover, the 10-digit ISBN check digit generally is not the same as the 13-digit ISBN check digit. Because the GTIN-13 is part of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) system (that includes the GTIN-14, the GTIN-12, and the GTIN-8), the 13-digit ISBN falls within the 14-digit data field range.

Barcode format compatibility is maintained, because (aside from the group breaks) the ISBN-13 barcode format is identical to the EAN barcode format of existing 10-digit ISBNs. So, migration to an EAN-based system allows booksellers the use of a single numbering system for both books and non-book products that is compatible with existing ISBN based data, with only minimal changes to information technology systems. Hence, many booksellers (e.g., Barnes & Noble) migrated to EAN barcodes as early as March 2005. Although many American and Canadian booksellers were able to read EAN-13 barcodes before 2005, most general retailers could not read them. The upgrading of the UPC barcode system to full EAN-13, in 2005, eased migration to the ISBN-13 in North America.

See also[edit]

  • ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number)
  • BICI (Book Item and Component Identifier)
  • CODEN (serial publication identifier currently used by libraries; replaced by the ISSN for new works)
  • DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
  • ESTC (English Short Title Catalogue)
  • ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number)
  • ISMN (International Standard Music Number)
  • ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)
  • ISSN (International Standard Serial Number)
  • ISTC (International Standard Text Code)
  • ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code)
  • ISWN (International Standard Wine Number)
  • LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number)
  • Lebanese ISBN Agency
  • License number (East German books) [de] (Book identification system used between 1951 and 1990 in the former GDR)
  • List of group-0 ISBN publisher codes
  • List of group-1 ISBN publisher codes
  • List of ISBN identifier groups
  • OCLC number (Online Computer Library Center number)
  • Registration authority
  • SICI (Serial Item and Contribution Identifier)
  • VD 16 (Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts, "Bibliography of Books Printed in the German Speaking Countries of the Sixteenth Century")
  • VD 17 (Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachraum erschienenen Drucke des 17. Jahrhunderts, "Bibliography of Books Printed in the German Speaking Countries of the Seventeenth Century")

External links[edit]

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