What Is an ISBN Number?

What Is an ISBN Number?

Certainly, you have come across ISBNs on print books.

Some other book formats, such as eBooks or audiobooks, also have an ISBN.

If you’re in the course of writing or publishing a book, then your interest in learning more about ISBN is in every way justified.

It’s essential to know whether your book needs an ISBN and, if yes, why it is necessary.

Ideally, ISBN is beneficial in that it gives a publication a unique identifier, increasing efficiency in book handling, including eliminating copying errors, saving time and staff costs, etc.

Moreover, it allows clear differentiation of various product formats and book editions, easing the ordering process by customers.

Overall, ISBNs foster organized book distribution and sales management processes, which is a plus for everyone on the chain, from the author, publisher, distributor, sellers, etc.

In this brief guide, we highlight some essential information you need to know about ISBN to give you a better understanding.

Areas covered include;

• What Is an ISBN Number?
• Do You Need an ISBN?
• History of ISBN Numbers
• What Does the 13-Digits ISBN Mean?

What Is an ISBN Number?

An ISBN is a unique number, usually, a 13-digit figure identifying published books, detailing the registrant, title, format, edition, etc.

This helps publishers, libraries, brick-and-mortar bookstores, online retailers, etc., in the listing, ordering, and managing sales and stocks of the published books.

Actually, you can use the ISBN without the word number at the end as the initials ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number.

ISBN is a unique identifier in that it cannot be reused once assigned.

Moreover, if you publish the same book in different formats, such as hardcover, eBook, audiobook, etc., each product will have its unique ISBN.

Note that every new edition of the book or even different eBook formats (Kobo, MOBI, EPUB, etc.) also require a unique ISBN.

As its name suggests, the administration of ISBNs is overseen by an international body – the ISBN Agency, located in London.

However, there are regional agencies worldwide (National ISBN Agency), which the international body mandates to assign ISBNs for books published within their respective nations.

Ideally, book publishers are responsible for acquiring the ISBNs, but you could also do so if you’re self-publishing.

The ISBN can be purchased individually or in blocks of 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000.

But in Canada, the ISBNs are free. However, publishers must be permanently and physically located in Canada to obtain one.

Do You Need an ISBN?

It depends. If you plan to sell the book, then you need the ISBN.

The book distributors, sellers, libraries, etc., require the code to help organize and identify their stock, so without an ISBN, they may not be open to selling your book.

However, there are circumstances where you may not need the ISBN, e.g., if you intend to sell the book directly to the customers.

Also, if you’re selling eBook versions through online retailers such as Amazon, they usually assign unique books identifiers, so having an ISBN is not mandatory.

However, if you sell the eBook through various online merchants (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.), you bear the inconvenience of having a different code unique to each store.

In a nutshell, the ISBN is essential mainly for retailing purposes.

But as the International ISBN Agency notes, some countries have made ISBN a legal requirement for identifying publications, so you may need it whether you want to sell the book in print or not.

History of ISBN Numbers

The history of ISBNs traces back to 1965 when Great Britain’s largest book retailer W.H. Smith, decided to computerize its warehouse and have a standardized book numbering system.

They hired consultants who helped them devise the Standard Book Numbering (SBN) system in 1966 and implemented it in 1967.

Soon the Technical Committee on Documentation for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) held discussions with global representatives to discuss the possibility of adopting SBN internationally.

Subsequent meetings and proposals led to the approval of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) as an ISO standard in 1970. Effectively, ISBN became ISO 2108.

What Does the 13-Digits ISBN Mean?

Since its adoption, ISBN contained ten digits until the agency revised it into a 13-digit figure in 2007.

This was to increase capacity to handle the rising number of publications made worldwide.

The revision involved adding a 3-digit prefix (978) to the initial ten digits.

Subsequently, all new publications much have a 13-digit ISBN. An algorithm is used to convert the 10-digit number into a 13-digit for prior publications, using a conversion tool availed by the agency.

The 13-digit number has five sections, namely;

• Prefix element– This is a three-code, either 978 or 979, universal to all publications.
• Registration group element – This may be between one and five digits and represents the country or language of the publication
• Registrant element – This may be up to seven digits code, which identifies the publisher
• Publication element – This may be up to six digits code, representing the edition or format of the book
• Check digit – This is the last (13^th) number that confirms the ISBN has been verified. Formerly, this last digit (check digit) ranged from 1-10 but now ranges from 0-9. Note: In the former system, Roman X replaced digit 10 to maintain the 10-digit number count.

Conclusion

ISBN is a crucial identification number, especially for print publications, enabling supply chain players (bookstores, libraries, online retailers, etc.) to organize their stocks and manage their sales.

Besides, as an author, the ISBN can help you track the performance of your different book editions and formats.

Certainly, there couldn’t have been a better way of identifying and managing publications than this. W.H. Smith made a wise move by rolling out the SBN system, but ISO made an even wiser decision by adopting the standard internationally.

Whether you want to publish books the traditional way or self-publish eBooks and retail through online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc., we hope you now have a better idea of what ISBN is, plus when and why you need it.