The Transition To
ISBN-13
Agenda
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Book Industry Study Group
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ISBN-10 Transitions To ISBN-13
 What is the transition?
 Why is the transition happening?
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ISBN-13 and the Bar Code
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Global Trade Item Number - GTIN
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
The Transition To ISBN-13
BISG
Book Industry Study Group
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
About BISG
Industry-wide trade association for policy,
standards, and research, composed of:
Publishers
Libraries
Booksellers, Retailers
Wholesalers, Distributors
Printers and Paper Manufacturers
Consulting, Service & Tech Companies
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
BISG, BISAC, and the ISBN
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BISAC is a division of BISG
BISAC has promoted ISBN and its use in the
book industry supply chain for over 30 years
BISG and BISAC are partnering with other
industry organizations to prepare for the
ISBN-13 transition
 AAP
 US ISBN Agency
 ABA
 ACTS and NASTA
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
The Transition To ISBN-13
ISBN-10
Transitions To
ISBN-13
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN (ISBN-10) Origin
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International Standard Book Number
Developed over 30 years ago to provide a
unique, standard identifier for books
Prior to the ISBN, publishers either did not
assign numbers to books or assigned
proprietary numbers
When ISBN was introduced, transactions
between organizations in the book industry
were largely manual
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN – How We’ve Benefited

ISBN-10 as a standard product identifier has
enabled significant efficiencies all along the
book industry supply chain
 Publishing
 Distribution
 Retailing
 Industry-wide Reporting
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Now, ISBN-13 opens the door to efficiencies
on an even broader scale, through
compatibility with global standards
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-10 Transitions To ISBN-13
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As of January 1, 2007, the ISBN will be redefined in length and construction
 It will become a 13-digit identifier (ISBN-13)
rather than a 10-digit identifier (ISBN-10)
 Initially, ISBN-13 will be identical to today’s
Bookland EAN - 9780940016736
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As the current supply of numbers is
exhausted, some new ISBN-13s will be
prefixed with ‘979’ instead of ‘978’
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-10 Components
0-940016-73-7
10
 Part I – Language Group
0
 Part II – (Assigning) Publisher
940016
 Part III – Title
73
 Part IV – Check Digit
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-10 Transitions to ISBN-13
0-940016-73-7
978-0-940016-73-6
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 EAN Country Prefix
978 (979)
 Part I – Language Group
0
 Part II – (Assigning) Publisher
940016
 Part III – Title
73
 Part IV – Check Digit
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Bookland EAN is the ISBN-13
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For over 20 years, the Bookland EAN has
been used as a mechanism to convey the
ISBN-10
Now it will become the ISBN-13
ISBN-10
Bookland EAN
ISBN-13
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-13 – Why Is It Happening?
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To increase available numbers for books
 There are many new publishers, especially small
presses, who need ISBNs
 Publishing in areas where there was little activity
has increased significantly
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Introducing a new prefix to increase the
available numbers has been compared to
introducing new area codes to provide
more telephone numbers
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-13 – Why Is It Happening?
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To become part of the global numbering
system for product identification
 Trade booksellers offer many non-book products
 General retailers sell books
 ISBN-13 represents a step in standardization
just as ISBN-10 did 30 years ago
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ISBN-13 becomes part of the EAN.UCC
global product numbering system
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-13s Are EANs
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EANs are the 13-digit product identification
numbers used globally
 EAN is the “International Article Number”
 Originally “European Article Number”
 General retailing is aligning with global practice
through “2005 Sunrise”
 Compliant organizations are able to handle 13digit identifiers in addition to the UPC
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In format, construction, and allocation
ISBN-13s are EANs
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Converting ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s
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The conversion procedure is the same one
used for 20 years to encode the ISBN-10
for the Bookland EAN
You may:
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Convert existing ISBN-10s to ISBN-13s
with EAN prefix 978
Convert ISBN-13s with EAN prefix 978
back to ISBN-10 equivalents
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Conversion Don’ts
Do not:
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Attempt to convert ISBN-13s with EAN
prefix 979 to ISBN-10s!
 There is no ISBN-10 equivalent for an ISBN-13
beginning with 979
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Attempt to make ISBN-13s by prefixing an
existing ISBN-10 with 979!
 The result is either invalid or duplicates a valid
ISBN-13 assigned elsewhere
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Handling the Full ISBN-13
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Can we base internal systems on ISBN-10
and just convert to ISBN-13 for the
“outside world”?
 Significant reason not to – eventually, new
ISBN-13s will begin with ‘979’
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But what if our systems work on a SKU or
“title code”?
 Then only cross reference tables and displays
need be transitioned to the full ISBN-13
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Phasing in the ISBN-13
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A phased transition, as compared to an
abrupt cutover, is always encouraged
Dual numbering wherever ISBNs are
displayed for human reading is strongly
advocated during the transition
 Show both ISBN-10 and ISBN-13
 In books and in printed documents
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Dual Numbering – On Cover 4
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An example of dual numbering
ISBN-10 1-4028-9462-7
ISBN-13 978-1-4028-9462-6
 Displaying ISBN-10 until publication dates of
January 2007 is recommended
 Some publishers are electing to begin showing
both formats now
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
The Transition To ISBN-13
ISBN-13
The Bar Code
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
No Change In The Bar Code
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The ISBN-10 transitions to the ISBN-13 in
January 2007, but there is no change in
the Bookland EAN bar code itself
Until
January 2007
ISBN-10
ISBN-13
Bookland EAN
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Beginning in
January 2007
Two Changes in Bar Coding
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Display only the Bookland EAN on Cover 4
(back cover)
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One – Discontinue two bar codes on Cover 4
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Two - Replace the Price Point UPC on mass
market paperbacks and some juvenile titles
These changes are possible as a result of
the “2005 Sunrise” initiative
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General retailing is making its own transition and
will be able to use Bookland EAN bar code
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
The Transition To ISBN-13
GTIN
Global Trade Item Number
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
What is the GTIN?
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The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is
actually a family of identifiers that
includes:
 UPC – Used by general retailing in the US
 EAN – Used by retailing globally
 ISBN-13 – Becoming the standard for books
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“GTIN Format” means expressing any of
these identifiers in fourteen digits by
prefixing them with zeros
 This number is correctly called “EAN/UCC-14”
 It is widely referred to simply as “The GTIN”
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
How Is The GTIN Used?
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It is the item identifier for transactions in
the global supply chain, such as:
Product Data (Metadata)
Receiving
Ordering
Invoicing
GTIN is not a product identifier for marking
individual items
GTINs appear today on cartons (cases) in
general retailing; they are especially
noticeable in grocery stores
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
How Is The GTIN Built?
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At the item level, by placing the ISBN-13
(or any other EAN) in a 14-digit field and
prefixing with ‘0’
ISBN-13
978-0-940016-73-6
GTIN
09780940016736
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Prefixes ‘1’ – ‘8’ have significance as
packaging level indicators
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Why The GTIN?
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Adopting the 14-digit GTIN standard aligns
the book industry with national and global
supply chain practices
 Enables participation in global product data
synchronization (data distribution)
 Permits the book supply chain to use package
level choice (cartons, stacked on pallets)
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Data Synchronization – GTIN
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The GTIN is the standard identifier for
Global Data Synchronization (GDS)
Data synchronization means establishing
sources of standardized product data
 Data with known, validated attributes
(properties)
 Data that may be used by all participants in a
supply chain
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Packaging Level Indication – GTIN
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The leading digit of the GTIN permits
specifying packaging level (unit, case,
pallet)
Packaging level is a major factor in general
retail supply chains (case pack handling)
 Most ordering is by case pack
 The case pack identification in GTIN format is
evident in the bar codes on cases in grocery
store aisles
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
GTIN – BISG Policies
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BISG endorses only a 14-digit field length
for electronic communications
 Communications practices are outward facing –
they affect trading partners
 A single standard for electronic communication
is essential to minimize confusion and duplicate
provisions for electronic communications
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BISG recommends a product identifier
field of at least 14-digits in all databases
 If a system is SKU-based, then cross reference
tables and displays (screen and hard copy)
should comply
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
ISBN-13 – In Summary
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The ISBN will be redefined from ISBN-10
to ISBN-13 as of January 1, 2007
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The ISBN-13 is the same as the number
encoded in the Bookland EAN
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Conversion routines and workarounds will
aid the transition, but handling the full
ISBN-13 will be necessary with ‘979’ prefix
There is no change in the bar code itself
It is important in your planning that you
consider expressing the ISBN-13 in 14digit GTIN format
NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005
Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
Thank you for the opportunity
to discuss the ISBN-10 to
ISBN-13 transition with you!
www.bisg.org/isbn-13
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NASTA – Biloxi – July 25, 2005