ISBN (International
Standard Book Number) is a unique machine-readable identification number
allotted to a book or editions of a book before publication which helps to
identify its publisher, edition and volume number without mistakes. In
addition, it enables separate identification of similar publications, such as
the same publication made available separately in different product forms.
BACKGROUND HISTORY
The present ISBN is
based on the work of Gordon Foster of Trinity College, Dublin who first created
a 9 digit code called ‘Standard Book Numbering (SBN)’ for W. H. Smith
Booksellers in 1966. Later on David Whitaker popularized the use of this code in
United Kingdom in 1967 and Emery Koltay of R.R. Bowker started using it in
United States in 1968.
10-Digit
ISBN: The 10 digit ISBN format was developed by the International
Organization of Standardization (ISO) and was approved & published in 1970
as the first edition of International Standard ISO 2108. Subsequently, the second
and third editions of the Standard came out in 1978 and 1992 respectively.
13-Digit
ISBN: The fourth edition of ISO Standard 2108 published
in 2005 brought a major revision of changing the ISBN from 10-digits to 13
digits. However, the allotment of 13 digits ISBN started since 1st
January 2007. A 3 digit EAN (European Article Number) is added as pre-fix to
convert the 10-digit ISBN into 13 digits. So far EAN-978 & 979 have been
made available by GSI, a non-profit organization founded in 1974 in Brussels
(Belgium) that develops barcode for business communication worldwide. The fifth
and latest edition of ISBN Standard (ISO 2108) applicable to all monographic publications
has been released in 2017.
Points to Remember:
The following categories of publications require an ISBN:
·
All kinds of books including pamphlets, maps and atlases
·
Braille Publications
·
Educational videos, DVDs
·
Books on Cassettes and CDs.
·
Microform Publications
·
E-books
Note: Music sound Recordings, Serial publications, calendars and notebooks do
not require an ISBN.
|
Points to Remember:
Significant changes to a publication with respect to former editions
require a separate ISBN. The rules apply if significant changes are made to:
·
The title and/or subtitle of a publication
·
Textual content except minor corrections
·
Language
·
Publisher name or imprint
·
Author name
·
Product form (i.e. paperback to hard cover or PDF to EPUB)
|
Points to Remember:
A separate ISBN is generally assigned to:
· Each edition and variation (except re-printings) of a publication i.e. Paperback, hard cover
· Different media i.e. e-book,
· Different format of an e-book i.e. EPUB, PDF etc.
|
ISBN
ADMINISTRATION
International ISBN
Agency, appointed by ISO which is located in London (United Kingdom) works as
the registration authority for the ISBN system worldwide. The ISBN system is administered
at three levels: (i) International Agency (ii) Registration Agencies, and (iii)
Publishers
R. R. Bowker is the US
ISBN Agency, while Nielsen Book Services is the UK national agency for ISBN.
ISBN Allocation Office,
India: In India, ISBN system was put into operation since January 1985 and Raja
Ram Mohan Roy National Agency for ISBN is responsible for ISBN registration in
India and is affiliated to UK based International Agency. In 2011, ISBN
allocation office shifted from Kolkata to New Delhi. It is now located in the
Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD, Parliament street, New Delhi.
Elements/Parts of ISBN:
Since 1st January 2007, there are 5 elements/parts of ISBN which are
separated with either hyphen or spaces. Three of the 5 elements of ISBN are of
varying length while two are fixed in length.
- Prefix Element: 3 digits EAN (European Article Number) has become the first element of ISBN. Currently digits 978 or 979 are allotted as EAN. It is always 3 digits in length (Fixed length).
- Registration Group Element: It can be between 1 to 5 digits in length (variable length) and helps to identify individual country, geographical region or language area.
- Registrant/Publisher Element: It can be up to 7 digits in length (variable length) and helps to identify the publisher or imprint of a book.
- Publication/Title Element: It can be up to 6 digits in length (variable length) and helps in identifying particular edition and format of a specific title.
- Check Digit or Checksum digit: It is always the final single digit that is used for ‘error detection’ in an ISBN.
SELF CHECK EXERCISES
1. Which of the following publications does not require an ISBN?
a) Diaries
b) Educational videos
c) Books on CDs
d) Calendars
a) Diaries
c) Books on CDs
d) Calendars
A. a, and d are correct
B. b, and d are correct
C. a, c, and d are correct
D. b, c, and d are correct
2. A
separate ISBN is allotted for each __. Select the wrong statement:
A. New edition
B. New reprint
C. Different file format
D. Different media
C. Different file format
D. Different media
3. How
many parts are there in 13 digit ISBN number?
A. 7
B. 4
C. 5
D. 3
4. Which of the following publications does not require an ISBN?
a) Maps
b) Books on CDs
c) Music Sound Recordings
d) Pamphlets
a) Maps
c) Music Sound Recordings
d) Pamphlets
A. a, and b are correct
B. b, and c are correct
C. a, and c are correct
D. only c is correct
5. In
ISBN 978-0-670-08595-8, 670 stands for ___ group?
A. Registration
group
B. Registrant
C. Publication
element
D. Check digit
6. Which
of the following are true about publication element of ISBN?
a) Variable length
b) Up to 5 digits
c) Fixed length
d) Up to 6 digits
c) Fixed length
d) Up to 6 digits
A. a, and d are correct
B. a, b, c, and d are correct
C. b, c, and d are correct
D. b, and d is correct
7. The latest edition of ISBN Standard (ISO-2108) published in __?
A. 2005
B. 2015
C. 2017
D. 2019
8. Select the United Kingdom's national agency for ISBN?
A. R. R. Bowker
B. Whitaker
C. Nielsen Book Services
D. None of the above
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