Frequently Asked Questions About the ISBN System

Why should I use an ISBN? 

If you are a publisher or bookseller, it may be in your own interest to do so since you want

to sell books. If your books cannot be ordered and distributed by using an ISBN and if they

are not included in bibliographic data products, you may find that your books do not sell.

People will assume your books do not exist, and even if they do know they exist they may

consider it too much of a bother to handle them in a non industry way.

Do I have to have an ISBN?

From the point of view of the international ISBN system there is no legal requirement to

have an ISBN, and it conveys no legal or copyright protection. In a number of countries

,

though

,

 the use of ISBN is prescribed by law.

Do books need an ISBN if they are not going to be sold?

It is desirable that 

all

 books are identified by ISBNs.

Should an auction catalogue be assigned an ISBN? What about exhibition catalogues?

Where a catalogue is produced to provide background information on items available for

sale at auction, it should not be assigned an ISBN. Effectively, the catalogue is regarded

as marketing material (even if it does not include prices) and is outside the scope of ISBN

assignment. By contrast, catalogues that accompany exhibitions and provide textual

information on particular artists or themes are applicable for ISBNs. 

Who assigns ISBN registrant elements?

Only a registration agency appointed by the International ISBN Agency can assign ISBN

registrant elements to individual publishers. Neither these registrant elements, nor any of

the corresponding ISBNs

,

 can be sold or given to any other publisher.

If I change the price of my book, should I assign a new ISBN?

No.

Does a change of format require a new ISBN? 

Yes, different formats need different ISBNs.

I am publishing a book in a foreign language. Should it have an ISBN of the country in whose

language the book is written? 

No. It is the country where the publisher is based that determines the group identifier, not

the language of the text itself.

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