Hence this task falls to the group/national agencies, and due to varying economic factors

the fees charged by each agency are likely to be different. 

What if I only want one ISBN? 

In some countries ISBNs are available as single numbers (for author publishers). In these

cases neither the registrant element nor an individual ISBN from that allocation will

uniquely identify a particular publisher. In other countries the ISBNs can only be obtained

in blocks, and the minimum assignment is therefore ten ISBNs. Please refer to the national

ISBN agency that is responsible for your language area, geographical region or other

appropriate grouping.

My country does not have an ISBN agency responsible for it 

 what should I do?

ISBN is a mature standard that has been implemented in over 160 countries and has

revolutionised approaches to the storage, retrieval, and use of bibliographic data and has

helped to optimise retailer efficiency and enhance distribution. We recommend that you

contact the ministry of culture or any associations that are responsible for, or have

influence on, the book trade to let them know of the desire to implement the ISBN system

in your country. You should encourage them to contact the International ISBN Agency for

advice on the requirements for establishing an agency. If this approach does not prove

fruitful, further guidance from the International ISBN Agency may be sought. As a

short term measure in order that your publications may still be assigned ISBNs and

handled internationally, you may wish to contact a distributor based in another country that

is willing to handle your stock and assign ISBNs on your behalf (see also section 5.9). 

Will people in other countries be able to search for my books in search engines in those

countries? If not, then how can I make this possible?

No. In order to make this possible you will have to contact the respective ISBN agency and

ask them for details of how to be entered into their national catalogue for books in

circulation (i.e., books in print). Sometimes you will have to obtain a distributor from that

country or have an address in that country before this is possible. In some circumstances

the book will also have to be in the language of that country.

The next series of questions concern the changes in the structure of the ISBN and the

revision of the standard.

What was the main objective in revising the ISBN and its structure?

The main purpose of the ISBN revision project was to increase the numbering capacity of

the ISBN system. As a result of electronic publishing and other changes in the publishing

industry, the numbering capacity of the ISBN system is being consumed at a much faster

rate than was originally anticipated when the ISBN system was designed for printed books

in the late 1960s. 

What are the changes to the ISBN system?

The length of the ISBN is changing from ten digits to thirteen digits. The ISBN will now

include an initial prefix element consisting of a three digit number made available by EAN

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