STRIKING THIR TEEN

摘要

The most elemental identifier of a book, the international standard book number (ISBN) allows publishers, booksellers, and libraries to label works in a consistent way and to distinguish not only among different titles but also among different versions of the same title, such as newer editions, various bindings, audio products, and electronic versions. This time next year, all ISBNs will be 13 digits long. The publisher prefixes may change; the numbers will be hyphenated differently. We cannot overstate the impact of this change for all of us who transact in the book industry.