ISBN is a special code that allows you to easily identify a particular print publication. This is especially important today, when the number of books published annually amounts to billions.
ISBN is an abbreviation derived from the English-language phrase International Standard Book Number, that is, the international standard book number.
ISBN function
An ISBN is a unique digital code unique to the edition for which it was developed. This nature of the code makes it possible to uniquely identify a particular book, regardless of where in the world the person to whom it came to is located. This greatly simplifies all types of work related to the systematization and classification of books, including their sale, librarianship and other similar areas of activity.
The required number of ISBNs is provided to publishers producing books by the National ISBN Agency. Since the number shown is the official code assigned to a particular publication, its unauthorized use, such as transferring it to another publisher or applying it to a book other than the one for which it was intended, is prohibited and subject to liability.
ISBN character
The code in question usually includes the abbreviation ISBN and ten digits, of which the first nine are necessarily Arabic, and the last, tenth, can be either Arabic or Roman. All digits present in the code are divided by hyphens into four groups, each of which has its own semantic meaning.
So, the first group of numbers is intended to identify the region of distribution of the publication, which corresponds to a certain language group, and the second - to identify the publisher that issued the book. In Russia, the number of digits included in these two groups of ISBN numbers may vary.
The third group of numbers included in the ISBN identifier is the unique code for the book. Its length can be from 1 to 6 characters, while in total the number of characters in the second and third groups, that is, in the code of the publishing house and publication, on the territory of Russia must be equal to eight digits. But the fourth group usually consists of only one digit: it is used to verify the correctness of the rest of the code.
Please note that ISBN codes are assigned exclusively to books. Thus, it cannot be applied to sheet music, calendars, atlases and other similar printed materials. As for periodicals, there is a special analogue for them, called ISSN - an abbreviation for the English-language phrase International Standard Serial Number, that is, the international standard serial number.