The Bear's Den Info Files: ISSN: Sounds Like a News Network, But No...

As I said earlier, I know that some of this stuff I've been posting is pretty dry and somewhat esoteric, but occassionally a collector or dealer needs some of this info to properly research a book/magazine  in order to be sure they're getting the right one (is that the one I thought it was? Or was I thinking about this one...)

The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is an eight-digit number which identifies periodical publications as such, including electronic serials. Considering that ISBNs are 10 or 13 digits, ISSNs should logically be a simpler process, right? I thought so too. Oh boy was I ever WRONG...

The ISSN is a numeric code which is used as an identifier: it has no signification in itself and unlike the ISBN does not contain in itself any information referring to the origin or contents of the publication.

The ISSN takes the form of the acronym ISSN followed by two groups of four digits, separated by a hyphen. The eighth character is a control digit calculated, according to a formula similar to that used to generate an ISBN Check digit, on the basis of the 7 preceding digits; this eighth control character may also be Roman numeral "X" if the result of the computing is equal to "10".

The ISSN is linked to a standardized form of the title of the identified serial, known as the "key title", which repeats the title of the publication, qualifying it with additional elements in order to distinguish it from other publications having identical or very similar titles. EG: Although they were published before the institution of the ISSN, S.F. Adventures (running 9 issues beginning 1952) would have required a different ISSN than S.F. Adventures (running 12 issues beginning 1956)
Fantastic Stories Quarterly (only 4 issues in 1950 and 1951) would have required a different ISSN than Fantastic Story Magazine (19 issues from 1951 thru 1955)

If the title of the publication changes in any significant way, a new ISSN must be assigned in order to correspond to this new form of title and avoid any confusion. A serial publication whose title is modified several times in the course of its existence will be assigned each time a new ISSN, thus allowing precise identification of each form of the title : in fact it is then considered that they are different publications even if there is a logical link between them.
Example: over the long course of it's history, Astounding Science Fiction retitled itself to Analog/Astounding and then Analog Science Fiction. Although it was the same publication, each name change would have required the issue of a new ISSN identifier.

Comic Books? (BIG Bear-sized sigh here)...A Whole 'Nother Story Altogether... SOME comic series are issued an ISSN. Others aren't. Limited Series comics, planned and released as a finite number of issues, are not issued an ISSN OR an ISBN BUT! (sigh) Graphic novels are issued an ISBN, and if the previously mentioned short run Limited Series' are compiled into one binding (thus creating a form of Graphic Novel  - where the individual issues become chapters in the book), the resulting publication would be issued an ISBN and not an ISSN...Suffice it to say that several major Comic Book organizations are working on setting up an identifier system for use in the hugely variable world of comic books.

Different ISSN numbers are assigned for the different versions of a publication (paper, online, floppy disk, CD-ROM, microform...) - even if the title and content are identical. Only reproductions issued as substitutes to the original retain the same ISSN.

Wrapping up (and after researching I'm feeling the need to be wrapped up myself in a cozy jacket with 87" sleeves that buckle in the back): Contrary to other types of publications, the world of serial publications is particularly changeable and complex : the lifetime of a title may be extremely short; many publications may be part of a complex set of relationships, etc. These particularities themselves necessitated the introduction of the ISSN.

The Bear's Den Info Files: ISBN Numbers

Now, Kirk & Spock tried to get a "Piece of the Action" (loved that episode) by confusing their captors (and the viewing audience) with Fizbin, but here we're talking about ISBN, pronounced the same way in common parlance.

"ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number", and is a number, not to be confused with the BarCode or UPC number: although the ISBN number of a book often appears to be PART of the BarCode, (seen posted along the top of the BarCode) they are NOT the same as the UPC number.

The ISBN number CAN be included in the information embedded in the BarCode graphic upon request; this makes for easier inventory control by publishers, distributors and retailers who use BarCode scanner systems.

There are over 160 ISBN Agencies worldwide. One agency per country is designated to assign ISBNs for the publishers and self-publishers located in that country, and that country only.

The ISBN identifies the title or other book-like product (such as an audiobook) to which it is assigned, but also the publisher to be contacted for ordering purposes. If an ISBN is obtained from a company other than the official ISBN Agency, that ISBN will not identify the publisher of the title accurately. This can have implications for doing business in the publishing industry supply chain.

ISBNs are assigned to publishers and self-publishers as follows: in blocks of 1 or 10 or 100 or 1,000 or 10,000 or 100,000 numbers. Their purpose is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors. ISBNs are a powerful and important tool to publishing industry. When participating in the ISBN standard, publishers and self-publishers are required to report all information about titles to which they have assigned ISBNs.

In general, books of most all kinds, pamphlets, maps and such require an ISBN unless they are extremely specialized/unique publications. Comic books, since they are serials, do not get ISBNs. However, graphic novels are eligible for ISBNs. Different media formats of the same book will each require their own ISBN: A hardcover has a different ISBN than the trade paperback release or the mass market paperback or the e-book etc

Books in a series won't have sequential ISBNs because they are released months or years apart, and the publisher is using their ISBN allotment block in the meantime on other books being released during that interval.

New Editions vs. Reprints

A reprint means more copies are being printed with no substantial changes. Perhaps a few typos are being fixed. A new ISBN is not required. However, a new edition means that there has been substantial change: content has been altered in a way that might make a customer complain that this was not the product that was expected. Or, text has been changed to add a new feature, such as a preface or appendix or additional content. Or, content has been revised. Or, the book has been redesigned. A new ISBN number would be required. Example: Demon Seed is a science fiction novel by the best-selling author Dean Koontz first published in 1973,

and then completely rewritten and republished in 1997:

Each required a different ISBN identifier; although they shared the same title, author and basic storyline, the treatment of the storyline was quite different.

A bit of history:

In 1967, W. H. Smith (the largest single book retailer in Great Britain) implemented the Standard Book Numbering (SBN) system; its plan to move to a computerized warehouse numbering system for books it carried. In response, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee on Documentation (TC 46) set up a working party to investigate the possibility of adapting the British SBN for international use. A meeting was held in London in 1968 with representatives from Denmark, France, Germany, Eire, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and an observer from UNESCO. Other countries contributed written suggestions and expressions of interest. A report of the meeting was circulated to all ISO member countries. Comments on this report and subsequent proposals were considered at meetings of the working party held in Berlin and Stockholm in 1969. As a result of the thinking at all of these meetings, the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was approved as an ISO standard in 1970.

Since then, practically all printed books have been assigned an ISBN number, and this has become an integral and valuable part of the printing/publishing industry.

Parts of the ISBN:

For more than thirty years, ISBNs were 10 digits long. On January 1, 2007 the ISBN system switched to a 13-digit format. Now all ISBNs are 13-digits long. A 10-digit ISBN cannot be converted to 13-digits merely by placing three digits in front of the 10-digit number. There is an algorithm that frequently results in a change of the last digit of the ISBN.

The four parts of a standard 10 digit ISBN are as follows:

1. Group or country identifier which identifies a national or geographic grouping of publishers;

2. Publisher identifier which identifies a particular publisher within a group;

3. Title identifier which identifies a particular title or edition of a title;

4. Check digit is the single digit at the end of the ISBN which validates the ISBN.

The five parts of a standard 13 digit ISBN are as follows:

1. The current ISBN-13 will be prefixed by "978"

2. Group or country identifier which identifies a national or geographic grouping of publishers;

3. Publisher identifier which identifies a particular publisher within a group;

4. Title identifier which identifies a particular title or edition of a title;

5. Check digit is the single digit at the end of the ISBN which validates the ISBN.

Now, the last part, the Check Digit, sometimes appears as an upper case X; The check digit is always a single digit. However, when a publisher determines that the check digit (arising from a complicated calculation using the previous numbers that I'm frankly baffled by) 'weighs out' to be a 10, they substitute the two digit 10 with the single digit Roman numeral X.

Oh, and serial publications like monthly magazines get a different identifier number, an ISSN...more on that in another post.

Now, I know that some of this stuff I've been posting is pretty dry and somewhat esoteric, but occassionally a collector or dealer needs some of this info to properly research a book/magazine in order to be sure they're getting the right one (is that the one I thought it was? Or was I thinking about this one. Which one did my customer want? This edition, or the re-written new edition?)