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 Document Library:
Standards: ISBN-13
ISBN-13: For Publishers....
Publisher Relevant ISBN-13 FAQ
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) provides a standard way to
identify books in global trade. On January 1, 2007 the book industry transitioned
to 13-digit ISBNs, phasing out the use of 10-digit numbers.
Index
What changes have come to publishing as a result of ISBN-13?
-
The item number for books (ISBN)
has changed in length from 10
to 13 digits.
-
The ISBN-13 will now be used as the product identifier in both the
traditional bookselling as well as the general retailing markets
for books.
How
has the ISBN changed?
-
The ISBN has been expanded to 13 digits.
The ISBN is an international standard administered by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). As such, it
undergoes a formal review every five years. As part of the most
recent
review and revision, the ISBN was expanded from a 10-digit to
a 13-digit number effective January 1, 2007.
Why
did this happen?
-
Additional product numbers.
Just as phone companies encountered the need for additional area
codes to accommodate the growing demand for phone numbers, the
book industry projected a
need for additional item numbers. This need is greater in parts of
the world that have seen a recent increase in publishing and in
the small press area in the United States. The additional numbers are
expected to be needed by 2007.
-
Compatibility with worldwide product numbering. The
expansion of ISBN from 10 to 13 digits is part of an overall
consolidation of separate numbering systems into a single
worldwide plan.
How do I
find out what my new ISBNs are?
- There really are not any "new" ISBNs. The change to ISBN-13
incorporates the core of existing ISBN-10s.
- You already have (or can easily get) your ISBN-13s for current
titles. It is the number called the Bookland EAN which appears
underneath your Bookland EAN-13 bar code on the back of your book
(Cover 4),
or the inside front cover of mass market paperbacks (Cover 2).
How do we
calculate ISBN-13s in this format?
- To convert existing ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s, drop the final check
digit, add a leading '978' to the remaining 9-digit "core" and
calculate a new, modulus-10 check digit. [See
Conversions and Calculations for
more information]
What's the difference between '978' and '979' ISBN-13s?
- All ISBN-10s are really ISBN-13s with the prefix '978' and
with a newly calculated check digit (the last digit).
- When all numbers in a given '978' block have been assigned,
national ISBN agencies will begin assigning ISBN-13s with a
'979' prefix to subsequent requests. (Both '978' and '979' are EAN
prefixes assigned to "Bookland" and managed by the ISBN
authority.) There will be no 10-digit counterpart to an ISBN-13
with '979' as the prefix. Thus, '979' ISBNs
must always be treated as 13-digit numbers.
- Note that when converting an existing ISBN-10 to an ISBN-13,
you must always apply the prefix '978', and only '978'. You cannot create ISBN-13s from
ISBN-10s by prefixing them with '979'. There is no ISBN-10
equivalent for an ISBN-13 with prefix '979'.
What problems will be caused by the use of both '978' and '979'
prefixes?
- Prior to January 1, 2007, most organizations used to scan the Bookland EAN bar code, strip off
the '978' and check digit, calculate a new check digit and store
the resulting ISBN-10 in a database.
- This practice will not be usable for ISBN-13s beginning with
'979', since it will cause duplicate identifiers to be created in a
company's host systems. The resulting consequences of this would
be grave.
- It is very important to discontinue the practice of deriving
ISBN-10s from Bookland EANs before the ISBN-13 and '979' prefixes
come into use.
Where do I
need to be post January 1, 2007?
- You need to be fully prepared to operate in the ISBN-13 world
by January 1, 2007.
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