The New ISBN 13

by Jan Militello

ISBN Expansion

Beginning January 1, 2005, the ISBN is being expanded from 10 digits to 13. The new ISBN 13 consists of a 3-digit prefix followed by the core 9-digit number and the recalculated check digit. A prefix of 978 will be used for all existing titles and for the pool of ISBNs already assigned to publishers but not yet used.

Upon request during a two-year transition period from January 1, 2005-January 1, 2007, Bound to Stay Bound MARC records will include pairs of ISBN 13 and ISBN 10 grouped in repeated MARC 21 020 fields, with the ISBN 13 preceding the ISBN 10 and with each ISBN qualified as appropriate (trade, library, paperback) as in the following example.

020    |a9780395776087 (trade)
020    |a0395776082 (trade)

A prefix of 979 will be used for all new ranges of ISBNs assigned to publishers after January 1, 2007, or after the last of the 978 prefixes have been used, whichever occurs first. Upon full implementation of ISBN 13, beginning January 1, 2007, only ISBN 13 will be supplied in new bibliographic records.

If you have not already done so, you may want to check with your circulation software vendor regarding its plans for meeting the 2007 conversion deadline for input, validation, and searching of ISBN 13.

Ordering by ISBN

Beginning January 1, 2005, orders using the ISBN may be placed with Bound to Stay Bound using either ISBN 10 or ISBN 13.

Searching the BTSB Bookstore by ISBN

Beginning January 15, 2005, searches using the ISBN at the BTSB Bookstore may be conducted using either ISBN 10 or ISBN 13.

Catalog Cards

Beginning January 1, 2005, the first ISBN 13 contained in Bound to Stay Bound bibliographic records is printed on catalog cards.

Further information about the ISBN expansion:

ISBN FAQ for Librarians
http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/ISBN.html

Library of Congress Plan to Accommodate 13-digit ISBN
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/13digit.html

Guidelines for the Implementation of 13-digit ISBNs
http://www.isbn-international.org/en/download/implementation-guidelines-04.pdf