Published: December 13, 2011

New Policy Statement is intended to clarify best practices and outline responsibilities in the assignment of ISBNs to digital products

Last Wednesday, December 7, 2011, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) published Policy Statement POL-1101: Best Practices for Identifying Digital Products.

Policy Statement POL-1101 is applicable to content intended for distribution to the general public in North America, but could be applied elsewhere as well. BISG recommends implementation of this Policy Statement as soon as practical, with a target for new product introductions of no later than March 2012.

The following organizations have indicated support of Policy Statement POL-1101:

• Book Industry Communications (BIC)
• BookNet Canada
• IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association
• National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
• U.S. ISBN Agency

Below are specific statements from some of the companies above.

Book Industry Communications (BIC):

After a long process of research and data gathering, the Book Industry Study Group in New York has now published its policy statement on the identification of digital products.

We are happy to report that the findings have supported BIC's view and that of the International ISBN Agency that in order to future-proof the extended supply chain a high level of granularity is necessary in the identification of digital products; and that the guidance given in the statement does not differ in any significant way from the advice we gave to BIC members in our own code of practice two years ago. If anything, it goes further than we did in defining individual products and the processes which should be followed to ensure unique identification. Consequently we are happy to endorse the BISG document as representing best practice.

National Information Standards Organization (NISO):

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is pleased to support and endorse the Book Industry Study Group's new policy statement, Best Practices for Identifying Digital Products. This helpful publication will help to clarify the increasingly complex problems associated with the identification of electronic books in the supply chain.

The rules for assigning International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) have been inconsistently applied to electronic books and this variability is beginning to create problems with distribution systems based upon ISBN. The new BISG policy statement, when broadly adopted, will standardize the rules for applying ISBNs to e-books and alleviate today's confusion.

Todd Carpenter, NISO's Managing Director, served as a member of the working group that developed the guidance. "With the onset of mass e-book distribution, we need to be clear what we are identifying and how products differ, so that it does not cause confusion in the marketplace," said Mr. Carpenter. "The lack of a clear code of practice for identifying e-book products is leading to multiple versions of these products being distributed with the same ISBN, despite a variety of meaningful differences in the products. I am pleased by the outcome of these recommendations and hope that publishers act quickly to adopt them."

U.S. ISBN Agency:

In its role as the ISBN Agency for the United States and its territories, Bowker, a leading global provider of bibliographic information solutions and services, welcomes the BISG Policy Statement on Best Practices for Identifying Digital Products. "While there are a few areas where the US ISBN Agency would have chosen a slightly different approach, in particular around how Digital Rights Management (DRM) affects digital product identification, we believe this document offers the publishing community good guidance and information on how to identify e-books in the supply chain," said Beat Barblan, Director of Identifier Services at Bowker.

"We commend the BISG for its relentless efforts to bring all stakeholders to the table and to keep the discussion going until a policy statement acceptable to all parties was hammered out. Bowker has been an active participant in this process and we hope that the BISG community will continue to fine tune best practices as we move forward in an increasingly complex world of digital publishing."

If you have questions about the Policy Statement, please contact Angela Bole, BISG Deputy Executive Director, at angela@bisg.org or 646-336-7141.