Frequently Asked Questions

Confused about how the ISBN-13 transition effects your business? BISG has answers to all of your questions.

See also: TOP FIVE MOST COMMON MISTAKES

BASIC INFORMATION

What is the ISBN?
How has the ISBN been changed?
Why has the ISBN been changed?
What does the new ISBN look like?
Who is affected by the ISBN change?
What is EAN?
Does the ISBN change affect the bar code on books?

TRANSITIONING THE ISBN FROM 10 TO 13 DIGITS

How have 10-digit ISBNs been affected by the ISBN change?
How is an ISBN-10 converted into an ISBN-13?
How is hyphenation handled for ISBN-13?
Who should convert ISBN-10s to ISBN-13 for books originally published with ISBN-10s?
What if my organization is unable to convert ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s internally?
When should 10-digit ISBNs be converted to ISBN-13s?
Which ISBN should be displayed on the outside of cartons (case packs) containing multiple copies of a specific book?
How has the ISBN change affected the way ISBNs are assigned to future publications?

ABOUT THE ISBN SYSTEM EXPANSION: ADDING THE '979' PREFIX

How has the numbering capacity of the ISBN system been expanded?
How and when will the '979' ISBN-13 prefix be introduced?
Can ISBN-13s beginning with '979' be converted to ISBN-10s?
Do these changes affect the EAN price add-on?

What is the ISBN?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a unique identifier assigned to every book which provides a standard way to identify books in global trade.

How has the ISBN been changed?

The International Standards Organization (ISO) approved changing the length of the ISBN from 10 to 13 digits effective January 1, 2007. This change has required that all book industry trading partners now use 13 digits instead of 10 when transacting business for new and backlist titles. By industry agreement, the 10-digit ISBN is referred to as "ISBN-10" and the 13-digit ISBN is referred to as "ISBN-13".

Why has the ISBN been changed?

The ISBN standard was changed to expand the numbering capacity of the ISBN system and to alleviate numbering shortages in certain areas of the world. Changing the ISBN to 13 digits fully aligns the numbering system for books with the global GTIN identification system that is widely used to identify most other consumer goods.

What does the new ISBN look like?

The ISBN-13 is exactly equivalent to the 13-digit Bookland EAN (EAN-13) currently displayed below (and encoded within) every book's Bookland EAN bar code.

Figure 1:
Bookland EAN (with 10-digit ISBN above the barcode)

In the bar code example above:

the ISBN-10, in human-readable text above the bar code: 0-7356-2153-5
becomes the ISBN-13/EAN-13 below the bar code: 9780735621534
note that the ISBN prefix and check digit change: 978- -4
while the core 9-digits remain the same: 735621535

Note:
Every ISBN ends with a check digit whose computed value is based on all preceding digits. The check digit must be recalculated every time the numbers in the ISBN change, as when the '978' prefix is placed in front of the 9-digit core. [See the UCC Check Digit Calculator for more information about conversion rules]

Who is affected by the ISBN change?

Everyone who currently uses ISBNs will be affected by this change. This includes publishers, booksellers, libraries and educational institutions throughout the world. Any organization that stores and exchanges ISBNs in automated systems will have to ensure that their systems can accommodate the new ISBN-13 format.

What is EAN?

EAN stands for "International Article Number" and is the 13-digit standard for product identification in global trade. EANs are distributed by EAN International, an organization that also establishes the standards and rules for assigning numbers to products and encoding these numbers in readable bar codes, electronic data interchange (EDI), and RFID messages.

EAN International designated the prefixes '978' and '979' for the identification of books within the global EAN identification system. The prefixes were assigned to the fictitious country of "Bookland" so that the book identifiers would be compatible with other EANs worldwide.

For the past 20 years, the book industry has used the 13-digit Bookland EAN (EAN-13) to encode book identifiers in bar codes for scanning by retailers at point of sale. EAN International established the prefixes '978' and '979' for the identification of books and book-like products within the global EAN system.

EAN International, based in Europe, and GS1 (formally the Uniform Code Council), based in North America, have joined forces to coordinate global standards for the identification of all types of goods and services under the EAN.UCC system.

Does the ISBN change affect the bar code on books?

No. There has been no change to the Bookland EAN bar code itself or to the number encoded within it. The human-readable ISBN displayed above the Bookland EAN bar code has changed, however, with the currently printed ISBN-10 being replaced by the new ISBN-13.

Figure 2:
Bookland EAN (with 13-digit ISBN above the barcode)

All books that are presently marked with the Bookland EAN bar code on Cover 4 are correctly bar coded both for the present and the future. There is NO new bar code for books.

Please note that BISG has adopted a policy recommending there be only one bar code, the Bookland EAN bar code, on Cover 4 (the back cover) of any book.

How have 10-digit ISBNs been affected by the ISBN change?

All ISBN-10s officially changed to ISBN-13s on January 1, 2007. This has been accomplished by prefixing all ISBN-10s with the Bookland EAN prefix '978' (not '979') and recalculating the check digit.

'978' can be thought of as the area code to which all ISBN-10s belong. All ISBN-13s that begin with '978' can be presumed to have corresponding ISBN-10s. This logic allows trading partners to readily translate between ISBN-10s and ISBN-13s.

For example:

the ISBN-10: 1-4028-9462-7
can be converted to the ISBN-13: 978-1-4028-9462-6
and back to the ISBN-10: 1-4028-9462-7

How is an ISBN-10 converted into an ISBN-13?

There are standard rules for converting an ISBN-10 into an ISBN-13:

Begin with any 10-digit ISBN:
094001685-0

Eliminate the check digit:
094001685-

Add the prefix '978':
978-094001685-

Calculate a new check digit:
978-094001685-9

The ISBN-10: 094001685-0
Converts to the ISBN-13: 978-094001685-9

See Conversions & Calculations for a complete listing of conversion rules.

Note:
Any ISBN-13 prefixed with '978' can be converted to an ISBN-10. There is no ISBN-10 equivalent, however, for an ISBN-13 beginning with '979'.

How is hyphenation handled for ISBN-13?

Beginning January 1, 2007, ISBN agencies will provide only 13-digit ISBNs comprised of the following five elements:

Element 1: Identifies the EAN prefix (currently either '978' or '979')
Element 2: Identifies the country or language agency
Element 3: Identifies the publisher prefix
Element 4: Identifies the title or specific edition of a publication
Element 5: Identifies the check digit

The elements must be separated clearly by hyphens or spaces when displayed in human readable form. Of the five elements, the middle three will be of variable lengths; the EAN prefixes as currently defined (i.e., '978' or '979') and the check digit lengths will remain fixed.

The Library of Congress ISBN Converter can be used to determine the proper hyphenation for any ISBN. Click here to access the Library of Congress online converter.

For more information about ISBN-13 hyphenation rules and the evolving data and information associated with the rules see the ISBN Users' Manual.

Who should convert ISBN-10s to ISBN-13 for books originally published with ISBN-10s?

All book industry trading partners are encouraged to convert ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s (and visa versa) as needed to accommodate their internal system requirements and particular position within the ISBN-13 transition.

After January 1, 2007, however, only ISBN-13s should be stored and sent between trading partners to communicate the book identifier.

What if my organization is unable to convert ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s internally?

Publishers and book suppliers will need to provide ISBN-13s to any trading partner (retailer, distributor, etc.) who is unable to convert and assign new ISBNs on their own.

When should 10-digit ISBNs be converted to ISBN-13s?

By January 1, 2007, all ISBN-10s should be converted to ISBN-13s within all systems.

Which ISBN should be displayed on the outside of cartons (case packs) containing multiple copies of a specific book?

Cartons should be labeled with the same human-readable ISBN used to mark the books inside. If you are marking your books with only a human-readable ISBN-10 (pre 01/01/07) or only a human-readable ISBN-13 (post 01/01/07) then only the human-readable ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 should be printed on the product label. Conversely, if you are marking your books with dual human-readable ISBNs (i.e. both an ISBN-10 and an ISBN-13 printed above the bar code and on the copyright page) the product label should be marked with dual human-readable ISBNs as well.

Please remember, however, that regardless of the format used to print the human-readable ISBNs on books and carton labels, the expression of the ISBN within the Bookland EAN bar code remains the same. See PAGE 6 of BISG's Guidelines for Shipping Container Labeling for more information.

How has the ISBN change affected the way ISBNs are assigned to future publications?

Beginning January 1, 2007, ISBN agencies will begin allocating ISBNs beginning with the ISBN prefix '979'. Because '979' ISBN-13s do not have equivalent ISBN-10s, those publishers who receive '979' ISBNs will be required to publish books with an ISBN-13 for which no equivalent ISBN-10 will apply.

Many existing publishers hold large blocks of unassigned ISBN-10s and will have a significant supply remaining after January 1, 2007. Although these publishers may continue to use these ISBN-10s until the block is exhausted, they should convert them to their ISBN-13 formats when assigning them to product in preparation for 2007 introduction into the market.

Some publishers plan to assign dual (10- and 13-digit) ISBNs to publications until they are satisfied that their trading partners are prepared to handle ISBN-13s alone. See BISG's ISBN-13 For Dummies for more information about dual numbering.

How has the numbering capacity of the ISBN system been expanded?

The numbering capacity is being expanded by introducing the second ISBN prefix, '979', into the global marketplace. Think of introducing '979' as analogous to introducing a new area code for books. Now, instead of only one area code ('978'), there are two ('978' and '979'). When this occurs, the same 9 digit core will be used with both '978' and '979' ISBNs.

For example, two ISBNs (potentially from different publishers) will share the same middle 9 digits. The only difference between the two numbers would be the prefixes (one would be '978', one '979') and the check digits.

978-123456789-X
979-123456789-0

Once this occurs, an ISBN will not be unique unless the '978' and '979' prefixes are used. This is why it is critical that all systems (both paper-based and computer-based) be able to accommodate the full 13 digit identifier by January 1, 2007.

How and when will the '979' ISBN-13 prefix be introduced?

Ranges of ISBNs beginning with '979' are not expected to be assigned to publishers in North America before mid-2007. However, ISBNs prefixed with '979' may begin to emerge as soon as January 1, 2007 on titles imported into North America.

Can ISBN-13s beginning with '979' be converted to ISBN-10s?

No. '979' ISBN-13s do not have corresponding ISBN-10s.

Do these changes affect the EAN price add-on?

No. The transition to ISBN-13 will not affect the price add-on. However, a BISG initiative did raise the limit of the Bookland EAN barcode price add-on. Click here for more information.

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