International Standard Book Number
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] numeric commercial book identifier. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.[1]
An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation (except reprintings) of a book. For example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, and 10 digits long if assigned before 2007. The method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country.
The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) created in 1966. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO 2108 (the SBN code can be converted to a ten digit ISBN by prefixing it with a zero).
Privately published books sometimes appear without an ISBN. The International ISBN agency sometimes assigns such books ISBNs on its own initiative.[2]
Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), identifies periodical publications such as magazines; and the International Standard Music Number (ISMN) covers for musical scores.
Notes
- ↑ Occasionally, publishers erroneously assign an ISBN to more than one title—the first edition of The Ultimate Alphabet and The Ultimate Alphabet Workbook have the same ISBN, 0-8050-0076-3. Conversely, books are published with several ISBNs: A German second-language edition of Emil und die Detektive has the ISBNs 87-23-90157-8 (Denmark), 0-8219-1069-8 (United States), 91-21-15628-X (Sweden), 0-85048-548-7 (United Kingdom) and 3-12-675495-3 (Germany).
- ↑ In some cases, books sold only as sets share ISBNs. For example, the Vance Integral Edition used only two ISBNs for 44 books.
References
- ↑ "The International ISBN Agency". Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ↑ Bradley, Philip (1992). "Book numbering: The importance of the ISBN" (PDF). (245KB). The Indexer. 18 (1): 25–26.
External links
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