1 Brian Green International ISBN Agency

ISBN and different formats  Under “Rules of assignment”, the 2005 revision of the ISBN standard (ISO 2108) says:  Different product forms (e.g. hardcover, paperback, Braille, audio-book, video, online electronic publication) shall be assigned separate ISBNs  Each different format of an electronic publication (e.g. ‘.lit’, ‘.pdf’, ‘.html’, ‘.pdb’) that is published and made separately available shall be given a separate ISBN.

Why identify different formats?  e-commerce systems require ISBNs  Bibliographic databases require ISBNs  Detailed sales/usage reporting requires ISBNS  At the time of the ISBN revision, identification by file format seemed adequate. We thought that the e-book supply chain would be similar to print books. Not so!

The changing ebook supply chain  For printed books, publishers assign ISBNs to each format and that ISBN remains constant throughout the supply chain  For ebooks, many publishers only produce a single generic file format (e.g. “.epub”), and intermediaries add technical rights protection (DRM) and may make different versions with different user functionality  Other players in the supply chain need to be able to identify these different versions (e.g. for discovery, EDI, usage reporting)  But not all publishers provide ISBNs for them

Publisher / distributor Library jobbersWholesalers LibrariesBooksellers Readers ISBN “X”

Publisher Library jobbers Wholesalers LibrariesBooksellers Readers E-book aggregator / manager Epub file+DRM (proprietary) Other formats Epub file Epub file+DRM (diff. proprietary) Other formats ISBN “A” Proprietary identifier ISBN “A” for all formats ISBN “A” + metadata Own ISBN-like identifiers

Publisher Library jobbers Wholesalers LibrariesBooksellers Readers E-book aggregator / manager Epub file+DRM (proprietary) Other formats Epub file Epub file+DRM (diff. proprietary) Other formats ISBN “A” ISBN “B”, “C” ISBN “D”, “E“

Why don’t some publishers want to assign ISBNs to each version?  Some of their arguments:  “We can’t manage the metadata bloat involved”  “Our sales channels (e.g. Amazon) do not require standard identifiers for ebooks as customers will find them through their preferred vendor”  “ISBNs are too expensive for us to assign to each format”  “We only “publish” one generic format (e.g..epub) and assign an ISBN to that”  “We are not responsible for formats provided by third part intermediaries”

New ISBN rule introduced in 2008  Since some publishers do not provide separate ISBNs for each version and some customers, especially libraries, need unique identification of products from different platforms with different functionality…  If a publisher does not identify each format with a separate ISBN, re-sellers may do so on their behalf  Not ideal but a necessary compromise until publishers assign their own ISBNs  Requires central bibliographic agency to collect and list ISBNs and related metadata

What do you believe is the biggest barrier to assigning ISBNs to digital products? Results gathered during a live BISG participant poll.

Why and when do we need standard identifiers?  Standard identifiers are essential when there is a need to communicate across a supply chain, e.g. for purposes of e-commerce, aggregating information, reporting sales or usage.  This was precisely the reason for introducing the ISBN standard (ISO 2108) in 1970 and the reason that it has been so successful in enabling trade developments  Do we want to risk losing all that with digital products?

Requirements now being researched by International ISBN Agency  At what level of granularity are standard identifiers required?  Generic file (e.g. epub)?  Format (e.g. pdf)?  Platform (e.g. ebrary)?  By whom?  For what functions?  Who should assign them?  What are the barriers?  Please let us know if you have a view, now or to 