We all use ISBNs constantly, but they are still a mystery to many. This is a basic primer on the International Standard Book Number (that’s the first thing you want to know – what the acronym actually stands for). This means that this is a global system and publishers in Alaska are using the same system as publishers in Botswana.

Anatomy of a number

There are five parts of an ISBN:

1. The new ISBN 13 contains the prefix 978, which will change once those numbers have been depleted.
2. The second part is a group or country identifier. For example, English speaking countries start with 0 or 1, French speaking areas start with 2, German speaking areas start with 3, Japan starts with 4, and so on. There is a complete list of country identifiers here:
   http://www.isbn-international.org/en/identifiers/allidentifiers.html.
3. The next set of numbers identifies the specific publisher who purchased the block of ISBNs.
4. Then comes the numbers that identifies the actual title.
5. Finally there is a single check digit, which validates the ISBN.

Here are answers to some of the most common misperceptions & questions:

• If you are revising a book and there is a substantial change of text, the book should be assigned a new ISBN. A rule of thumb is that 15-20% of the text or content should change to treat the book as a new edition.
• A price change does not require a new ISBN.
• Reprinting without changing the text or binding does not require a new ISBN.
• Changing the format (i.e. audio) or binding (i.e. a new paperback edition) does require a new ISBN.
• Changing the title of a book does require a new ISBN.
• If you have run out of numbers under your identifier you can have an additional identifier assigned.
• You cannot reassign ISBNs for books that are out of print. It would be like identify theft of the dead.

Bonus Question:
Why do some ISBNs end in an “X”?
In the case of the check digit, the last digit of the ISBN, the upper case X can appear. The method of determining the check digit for the ISBN is the modulus 11 with the weighting factors 10 to 1. The Roman numeral X is used in lieu of 10 where ten would occur as a check digit.

(cited from: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp#Q5)

A Word About issues related to Out-of Print ISBNs

All of the database information used by our national accounts is driven by the ISBN. Because the ISBN represents the DNA of each individual title, the use and reuse of ISBN’s must be carefully managed. This is particularly true when it involves titles being declared out of print. Many retailers are also involved in selling used books, so while you may declare books out of print, the titles and ISBN’s can remain active in the marketplace long after you have stopped printing the current edition.

Before declaring a title OP consider the following scenarios:

• If you are planning to let an active title run out of stock but may be considering doing a reprint – without editorial changes – we recommend declaring the title out-of-stock indefinitely. Using this designation will allow us to resuscitate a title in account systems if/when you decide to reprint.
• If you want to re-activate an OP title with even minor editorial updates, a price change, or a new cover you will have to issue a new ISBN. This will ensure that the title is not confused with older editions that may still be in the marketplace. (Note: price changes on in-print titles do not necessitate new ISBNs.)
• If you have announced a title and ISBN to NBN/BIBLIO, this information has appeared in a catalog, and you subsequently canceled the title, do not reuse the ISBN for a new title. Once the ISBN is loaded into account systems it is permanently identified with one title, description etc.

One Last Note About the ISBN 13 Converter

We’ve been touting the ISBN 13 converter for some time, but did you know it can also convert ISBN 13s to ISBN 10s? Despite everyone’s best efforts to have the ISBN 13 standard by 2007, there are still many people using the ISBN 10, so if you need to use both numbers this is a handy tool:

http://www.isbn.org/converterpub.asp

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