1. Background

The question of the need for and feasibility of an international numbering system for books

was first discussed at the Third International Conference on Book Market Research and

Rationalisation in the Book Trade, held in November 1966 in Berlin.

At that time, a number of European publishers and book distributors were considering the

use of computers for order processing and inventory control, and it was evident that a

prerequisite for an efficient automated system was a unique and simple identification

number for a published item.

The system that fulfilled this requirement and became known as the International Standard

Book Number (ISBN) system was developed out of the book numbering system introduced

in the United Kingdom in 1967 by J. Whitaker & Sons, Ltd., and in the United States in

1968 by R. R. Bowker. 

At the same time, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical

Committee 46 on Information and Documentation set up a working party to investigate the

possibility of adapting the British system for international use. 

During 1968 and 1969 several meetings took place between representatives from various

European countries and the United States, and a report was circulated to all countries

belonging to ISO. 

As a result of these meetings the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was

approved as ISO standard 2108

1

 in 1970. In 1992 the third edition of this standard

replaced the second edition of 1978. 

The purpose of the international standard is to coordinate and standardise the international

use of ISBNs to identify uniquely one publication or edition of a publication published by

one specific publisher. 

The original standard has been revised as book and book like items begin to appear in

new forms of media, and the system is in use today in over 160 countries. 

Since 2001 a working group comprising nominated delegates from national standards

organisations, representing ISBN agencies, publishers, booksellers, libraries, and systems

vendors, has been developing the fourth edition of the standard. This fourth edition is

probably the most extensive revision of the ISBN to date. It has increased the numbering

capacity of the system, specified the metadata that should be supplied at the time of ISBN

assignment, developed rules for the administration and governance of the system as well

as specifying the registration authority for the standard. In achieving these objectives, the

structure and length of the ISBN has been changed for the first time since its inception.

This manual explains the functioning of the system and the steps necessary to ensure that

ISBNs are correctly assigned, and provides guidance for the transition period from the

ten digit structure to the newly expanded ISBN and beyond.

1

Obtainable from national standards organisations. 

6