International Standard Book Number is a number not a barcode. ISBN refers to a distinctive, numeric business identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Number (SBN) code. ISBN was developed by Gordon Foster in 1996.

ISBN Formats

• ISBN 10 The 10-digit ISBN format was created by the International Organization for Standardization and make known in 1970 as International Standard Organization ISO 2108

• ISBN 13 ISBN 13 consists of 13 digits compatible with Book land EAN 13 and developed in January 1, 2007

ISBN Structure

                             ISBN 10                                                                                 ISBN 13

ISBN number contains 4 or 5 sections:

• A GS1 prefix 978 or 979 designating industry, in this case, 978 indicates book publishing.

• Group Identifier

• Publisher Code

• Item Number

• Checksum character or a check digit

 Group, Publisher, Title and Check digit are separated using either a hyphen or a space. All parts of ISBN contain varied number of digits except check digit.

Applications of ISBN

• Book publishers, distributors and retailers implement ISBN for automate ordering and inventory systems.

• ISBN is also used to monitor sales data in publishing industry.

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