Important Information about Changes to ISBNs
On January 1 2007, the 10-digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN) used to identify books was replaced globally with an expanded 13-digit ISBN. This 13-digit number is the same as the number you find beneath the barcode on the back cover of a book (the EAN). Pre-existing 10-digit ISBNs will be phased out over the coming years.
To prepare for this change Blackwell Publishing, Wiley and our distributors, John Wiley and Sons and Marston Book Services, have enhanced our information technology systems, and you will now see I3-digit ISBNs on our websites, in our catalogues, and printed on our new titles and reprints. Wherever possible, when ordering please quote the relevant 13-digit ISBN.
How This Change Affects You
1. Book authors and editors should be aware that the ISBN13 will appear on royalty statements from 2007 onwards. If you would like to know the 13-digit ISBN(s) for your book(s), these will be found on the book pages of the Blackwell and Wiley websites. Rest assured that most bookshops and websites are still able to process orders and queries featuring 10-digit ISBNs.
2. Regular adopters of Blackwell books may find it useful to note the new ISBNs for the books they use. Rest assured that most bookshops and websites are still able to process orders and queries featuring 10-digit ISBNs if you do not know the 13-digit ISBN.
Please note: As our stock of 10-digit ISBNs becomes exhausted, ISBNs will begin to appear with a 979- prefix. ISBNs with a 979- prefix will not have a pre-existing ISBN10 and transactions and inquiries relating to these books can only be processed using ISBN13. Publishers' identifier prefixes are unlikely to remain the same for ISBNs using the 979- prefix.
Want To Know More?
For further information about ISBNs and how the change affects the publishing and bookselling industry, the Book Industry Study Group has compiled an ISBN13 for Dummies Guide, which can be downloaded for free at: http://www.bisg.org/isbn-13/for.dummies.html .
You can also find out more at http://www.isbn-international.org/en/revision.html .
For more details about Blackwell Publishing's plans for ISBN13 compliance, please contact Laura.Montgomery@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com.
