What is the ISBN?
The Internet Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced
"is-ben"), is a unique identifier for books, intended to be used
commercially. There is another quite similar system, the
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), for periodical
publications such as magazines. The ISBN system was created in the
United Kingdom in 1966 by the booksellers and stationers W H Smith
and originally called Standard Book Numbering or SBN. It was
adopted as international standard ISO 2108 in 1970.
ISBN represents the International Standard Book Number. It is a
10 didgit number that identifies books published nationally and
internationally. It identifies one title or edition of a title that
is specific to a publisher. It allows for more efficient marketing
of products by booksellers, libraries, wholesalers and
distributers
ISBN is an abbreviation for International Standard Book Number.
In short, a book's ISBN acts as its fingerprint -- a unique
identification number for every title in circulation. The book's
ISBN is usually found both on the back of the book along with a
barcode, and also listed in the front matter of the book with the
book's citation information.
Book classification system - used in most libraries and book
stores. If you want to find a book, you search for its ISBN.
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