Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Book Industry Approves Policy Related to ISBN-13
Members of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) unanimously approved the Product Identification Policy statement presented at the organization's annual meeting on September 18, 2003.
Approved by the BISG Board of Directors and ratified by BISG Membership, the Policy Statement represents industry consensus regarding the upcoming 13-Digit ISBN standard and other changes to book identifiers. Several months of review and debate preceded the approval of BISG's first Policy Statement - the Product Identification Policy. Jeff Abraham, Executive Director of BISG stated that "BISG is excited to fulfill its mandate of providing a forum and process for the creation of industry consensus on key issues. We will continue to work with all industry sectors to educate the various parties and assist with the implementation phase of the policy."
The approved BISG Policy Statement endorses the use of the Bookland EAN as the only barcode to be used to identify books - replacing the price-point UPC where it is currently used. The policy endorses the 13-digit ISBN as proposed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with an implementation date of January 2007. Additionally, the Policy recommends that companies in the publishing industry become compliant with the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN), which would allow trading partners to specify packaging information when placing electronic orders.
As with other voluntary standards, the timing and specific details of implementing the new policy will be determined between and among trading partners. The complete policy statement is available online at www.bisg.org/docs/BISG_policy_001.pdf.
The policy was drafted by the BISG Policy Committee and will impact all sectors of the book industry, from publishers manufacturers through distributors and retailers. BISG formed the Policy Committee, chaired by Kevin Spall of RR Donnelley, earlier this year. The committee is composed of a dedicated team of executives from a cross section of the industry charged with addressing industry concerns and working towards industry agreement. Spall noted that "Over the next year, we intend to keep the Policy Committee active and working towards additional industry-wide cooperation."
Moving forward, BISG plans additional research related to mass merchandisers and other parties affected by the policy statement and will develop a road map for the purpose of educating the parties affected and implementing the policy.
About BISG:
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a not-for-profit research, policy and standards organization whose members come from every sector of the publishing community. The Study Group is a forum for managing change and enabling interaction among publishers, booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, manufacturers, authors, and suppliers. For more information, visit www.bisg.org.
Approved by the BISG Board of Directors and ratified by BISG Membership, the Policy Statement represents industry consensus regarding the upcoming 13-Digit ISBN standard and other changes to book identifiers. Several months of review and debate preceded the approval of BISG's first Policy Statement - the Product Identification Policy. Jeff Abraham, Executive Director of BISG stated that "BISG is excited to fulfill its mandate of providing a forum and process for the creation of industry consensus on key issues. We will continue to work with all industry sectors to educate the various parties and assist with the implementation phase of the policy."
The approved BISG Policy Statement endorses the use of the Bookland EAN as the only barcode to be used to identify books - replacing the price-point UPC where it is currently used. The policy endorses the 13-digit ISBN as proposed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with an implementation date of January 2007. Additionally, the Policy recommends that companies in the publishing industry become compliant with the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN), which would allow trading partners to specify packaging information when placing electronic orders.
As with other voluntary standards, the timing and specific details of implementing the new policy will be determined between and among trading partners. The complete policy statement is available online at www.bisg.org/docs/BISG_policy_001.pdf.
The policy was drafted by the BISG Policy Committee and will impact all sectors of the book industry, from publishers manufacturers through distributors and retailers. BISG formed the Policy Committee, chaired by Kevin Spall of RR Donnelley, earlier this year. The committee is composed of a dedicated team of executives from a cross section of the industry charged with addressing industry concerns and working towards industry agreement. Spall noted that "Over the next year, we intend to keep the Policy Committee active and working towards additional industry-wide cooperation."
Moving forward, BISG plans additional research related to mass merchandisers and other parties affected by the policy statement and will develop a road map for the purpose of educating the parties affected and implementing the policy.
About BISG:
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a not-for-profit research, policy and standards organization whose members come from every sector of the publishing community. The Study Group is a forum for managing change and enabling interaction among publishers, booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, manufacturers, authors, and suppliers. For more information, visit www.bisg.org.