Q&A for How to Understand an ISBN Code

It allows for error detection when typing in an ISBN. There are a few different methods out there for different ISBN types and even things like barcodes. The check number appears last in an ISBN.

Yes, many books have a 13-digit ISBN number and a 10-digit ISBN number. Older books may even have a 9-digit ISBN number.

No, the ISBN code does not contain a genre identifier.

The publishers get a block of ISBN codes assigned to them, according to the number of books they will likely publish. Each publisher has their own system for assigning a specific number to each work.

No. The code does not include a date code. If you have a long list of ISBNs, sorting them by the registrant or publication element might roughly correspond to their publication date, but then only within a publisher's assigned block.

It's just the check number, it doesn't mean anything in particular. The check number is calculated the same way through every book and it just means that the formula got 0.

No. It is a unique identifier for books, enabling publishers, retailers, and libraries to track and manage them efficiently. Copyright is a legal protection granting the creator exclusive rights to use and distribute their work. While an ISBN aids in distribution and sale, it does not offer legal protections like copyright. To gain copyright protection, a work must be original and fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

A barcode is a machine-readable representation of data that can be scanned by optical devices or smartphones. An ISBN is a unique identifier assigned to books and other published materials, helping to standardize and facilitate the identification and cataloging of books. Think of an ISBN as a book's fingerprint that helps others locate it easily.

Yes. Each format, such as paperback, hardcover, trade, or library edition, typically has its own unique ISBN.

That's not a good idea. ISBNs are unique identifiers that are assigned to each specific edition of a book, so even if two books are part of the same series, they could have very different ISBNs. Additionally, publishers may use different ISBNs for different formats (e.g., hardcover vs. paperback) or for different printings or editions of the same book. If you want to find the ISBNs for the other two volumes of the series, it's best to search for them by title or author on a website like Amazon or the publisher's website. You can also try contacting the publisher or a bookstore.

Use the ISBN. You can go to isbnsearch.org and enter the ISBN number to find out the print number of the book.

The publisher of a book can be found on the title page, which is usually in the first few pages of the book. It's the page that shows the year of copyright.

Either Google hasn't indexed any web pages about that book, or it has, but the pages only list ISBN-13 (the ones that begin with 978-) and you're searching by ISBN-10, or vice-versa. "Verbatim search" may help - sometimes Google unhelpfully decides you don't actually want to see pages that match your search exactly.

One way you'll know if a book is a trade paperback or not is by looking at the back cover and the title page. Here you would typically find the strippable notice. Examples of non-fiction trade paperback books. The self-publishers that write and publish non-fiction will usually publish trade paperbacks.

No, the ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, it’s international.

In most cases, a bar code does not provide information concerning where a product was purchased. The most common bar code is the UPC code, found on all packaged goods at grocery stores. It only identifies the product (first five digits) and the company (second five digits).

Not always. The ISBN is tied to a specific edition of the book by a specific publisher. Usually, there is only one cover for any given edition of a book. However, sometimes one edition of the book will have multiple covers.

According to ISBN's website, each new edition of a previous book is considered a new book and will get its own ISBN.