BISG in the News

BISG Moves Forward On ISBN,

Other Fronts

By John Mutter (Publishers Weekly) -- In what several participants called a "historic" vote at its annual meeting last month, the Book Industry Study Group unanimously approved three recommendations that assure that the book industry will stay in conformity with changing standards and technology in the wider commercial world. Among the many benefits: there will be more ISBNs available, ISBNs and bar codes will be compatible with trading partners around the globe, and all books will be easily scannable at most store checkout registers.

The group endorsed the move from the current 10-digit ISBN to a 13-digit ISBN, which will be the sole form of ISBNs as of January 1, 2007. Beginning January 1, 2005, the use of both types of ISBNs is recommended. (Current 10-digit ISBNs can become 13-digit ISBNs by adding 978 as a prefix. These 13-digit ISBNs are identical to the numbers encoded in current Bookland EANs. Eventually, ISBN-13s will also be created with a 979 prefix.)

The group also endorsed the use of the item-specific Bookland EAN bar code as the only bar code to be printed on books and book-related products. It will appear on the back of all books, as well as the inside cover of strippable paperbacks. (Price-point UPC bar codes, currently used on the back covers of most mass markets, will no longer appear.) The price add-on bar code, which indicates the book's price, will be retained as part of the Bookland EAN bar code on books intended for sale by U.S. retailers.

The BISG task force on bar codes recommended that the single bar code approach go into effect on frontlist titles as of the third quarter of 2005. For backlist titles, the approach should be phased in and completed by the third quarter of 2007. The task force found that by next July, 85% of all affected retailers will be able to receive, store and scan products with EAN bar codes.

On another front, BISG recommended that companies become compliant with the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), an "umbrella number" of EAN/UCC numbers that identifies both products and services and converts all such numbers into 14-digit numbers. (The 13-digit ISBN adds a prefix of zero to become a GTIN-14 number.)

Also at the annual meeting, BISG approved a recommendation that seeks to address privacy concerns relating to RFID (radio frequency identifier) technology. The group advanced its plans to conduct a comprehensive study of used book sales. It is also creating a Manufacturer Executives Interest Group—modeled on the Distribution Executives Interest Group—that aims to address the issues between publishers, printers and manufacturers. It is also launching, in association with the Georgia Institute of Technology, a program that allows publishers anonymously to compare their warehousing performance with that of other companies in the business.

In BISG personnel news, the group elected several new officers: Joe Gonnella of Barnes & Noble is the new chair. Andrew Weber of Random House is the new vice-chair.