Edition ISBN: what is an ISBN code and why is it needed?

Let’s consider what an ISBN code is and what it does. Knowing the answer to this question is especially important for those who want to publish a book on their own in the hope that a certain readership will get acquainted with it. The abbreviation ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, which translates from English as: International standard book number.

ISBN – edition passport

ISBN is a unique book edition number entered to automate work with it and its subsequent sale in retail chains. This number complies with the international standard ISO 2108 and GOST 7.53-2001 and has been used since 1966. Almost all countries of the world participate in this standard, including Russia, which joined this standard in 1987. Only the Russian Book Chamber has the right to assign an ISBN number to a publication in our country after registration with the National ISBN Agency. To do this, it is enough for an individual, if he has a passport, to fill out a questionnaire. For legal entities, a completed application form and copies of certificates from the State Register of Legal Entities and from the tax office are sufficient.

Together with the LBC index and the UDC index, the ISBN number is included in the so-called Publishing Package. These three indexes locate the book in the library collections of all countries that have signed this international standard, forming a kind of storage cipher. If the circulation of the publication is small, and the author himself undertakes to distribute it (for example, among his friends or in local small libraries), then you can get by with the LBC and UDC indices, and the copyright mark.

So is an ISBN needed? You can publish a book without it, no one forbids it, but not a single self-respecting store will sell a book without this code, which is the official certificate of the book edition. The same applies to libraries for which this index is simply required.

But on the other hand, the author of the book can publish the book anywhere at his own expense and quite legally buy the ISBN. The value of the index ranges from 2,500 rubles to 3,500 rubles. Even at a lower price, they are traded by hand. But when you buy an ISBN from private sellers or from small publishers without a contract, you can fall for a scam. There are times when the same ISBN can be found in a variety of publications that have nothing in common.

And there are also just gross fakes, calculated on the fact that no one will check the specified index. As a rule, publishers offer to buy the entire Publishing Package for this price.

ISBN transcript

ISBN what does this mean? This is a digital code that is often combined with a barcode.

• The first three digits (978) were introduced into the code after 2007 when switching to the barcode system.
• The next number indicates the country of publication (Russia is indicated by the number 5).
• Followed by a group of numbers representing the publisher’s code.
• The serial number of the book in this publisher.
• Check digit, intended for additional verification of the correctness of the calculation of the index.

ISBN practice

What is an ISBN for?

• Firstly, for a clear orientation in the global book market.
• Secondly, this index allows publishers and trade organizations to track the movement of book stocks and their consumer sales.
• Thirdly, it is used for stocktaking, cataloging and acquisition, interlibrary loan, database searches, and so on.

By numbering books, publishing becomes more efficient and bookselling more efficient. In addition, it is much easier for the publisher and the author to defend the copyright for the book if necessary with this index.

A book can have two ISBNs. This is, for example, if we are dealing with one of the volumes of a multi-volume edition. One number belongs to this book, and the second – to the multivolume as a whole.

In addition, two ISBNs can be found on translated books – one for the translated and one for the original. In these cases, the translation index is indicated.

Sometimes it happens that two publishers release the same book at the same time with different ISBNs. The author or trader can then choose the index of their choice.

Electronic scientific and educational publications, like printed publications, also have an ISBN number, which are assigned in the same order.

The contract with the publishing house on the publication of the book includes, in addition to the work on design, printing and distribution, the obligation to assign ISBN. This clause is necessarily included in the terms of the Agreement, and therefore the frequently encountered in practice request of the publisher to separately pay for the receipt of the ISBN of the publication has no basis.

ISBNs and ISSNs

In published publications, in addition to ISBN, the ISSN index is often found. What is this index and what is the difference between them? ISSN is used to register periodicals (newspapers, magazines, etc.). These are publications that exist in consecutive or integrated parts, which are usually indicated by numbering in chronological order.

Special mention should be made of the materials attached to the monograph, which do not have a separate commercial value and are not sold separately. They do not need their own number, but may indicate the ISBN of the monographic work they are accompanying.

More detailed information about obtaining an ISBN, including all the rules for issuing it, can be found on the website of the Russian Book Chamber. You can also check its originality there.

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Updated Wed, 12/30/2020 – 11:32