ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. A 10-digit number that uniquely identifies all books and establishes the identify of 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.
The ten-digit number is divided into four parts of variable length, each part separated by a hyphen, and is as follows: 1) Group or Country identifies a national or geographic grouping of publishers;2) Publisher identifier identifies a particular publisher within a group;3) Title identifier 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.
There are over 160 ISBN agencies worldwide, and each one is appointed as the exclusive agent responsible for assigning ISBNs to publishers residing in their country. The United States ISBN Agency is the only source authorized to assign ISBNs to publishers supplying an address in the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico. The ISBN Agency assigns ISBNs at the direct request of publishers, e-book publishers, audio cassette and video producers, software producers and museums and associations with publishing programs.
Since 2007, every ISBN consists of thirteen digits (see pic).
And now you know.....
P.S. The ISBN number shown above was given to my book CLINGING TO DECEIT, which will be available worldwide in bookstores (soon). It is a first edition book and my first novel. You can request a copy by giving these number 978-1-4685-5815-9 to a bookstore clerk, or by visiting AuthorHouse.com in the near future.
ElenaMartina
