Dear Dilsia, Below is an explanation of ISBN numbers--why they started and what they mean. The same info, plus lots more, can be found at the official ISBN.org site: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp#Q16 Someone asked a while ago about 13 numbers in the ISBN code. Apparently that's something new that will start in 2007--I suppose because so many books are bing published. The breakdown of the 13 numbers and their meaning can be found at the isbn.org site. hth Cindy http://www.aw-wrdsmth.com/FAQ/isbn_upc.html ISBN - The International Standard Book Number. The ISBN is a machine-readable identification number, which marks any book unmistakably. "The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify 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." 159 countries and territories are officially ISBN members. ISBNs are assigned in the United States by the U.S. ISBN Agency. R.R. Bowker is the independent agent in the U.S. for this system. The ISBN itself is a 10-digit number that is divided into four parts separated by hyphens. The first part of the ISBN is a group or country identifier. The second part is a publisher identifier. The third part is a title identifier. The last digit is a check digit used to validate the ISBN. In other words, the ISBN is a code that identifies your book around the world. Sample: 0-89658-314-7. In this sample: * The first digit (0-) means the book was published in the United States. * The second group of numbers (89658-) identifies the publisher. 89658 is the code assigned to Voyageur Press of Stillwater, MN. * The third group of numbers (314-) identifies the specific book. In this example, 0-89658-314 is the 1995 hardcopy edition of a book called Frogs. * The last number (7) is used to validate the preceding numbers. ISBNs are coordinated worldwide... Once an ISBN is assigned, the information must be reported by the publisher the firm R.R. Bowker for listing in the United State's ISBN database. ONCE ASSIGNED, AN ISBN CAN NEVER BE REUSED. An ISBN can never be reused and every revision of a title must have a new ISBN. That means if a book is available in both hardcover and softcover, both versions have their own ISBN. For example, the softcover edition of Frogs (0-89658-427-5) has a different ISBN than the hardcover edition (0-89658-314-7). Price changes do not require a new ISBN. ISBN - The International Standard Book Number. The ISBN is a machine-readable identification number, which marks any book unmistakably. "The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify 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." 159 countries and territories are officially ISBN members. ISBNs are assigned in the United States by the U.S. ISBN Agency. R.R. Bowker is the independent agent in the U.S. for this system. The ISBN itself is a 10-digit number that is divided into four parts separated by hyphens. The first part of the ISBN is a group or country identifier. The second part is a publisher identifier. The third part is a title identifier. The last digit is a check digit used to validate the ISBN. In other words, the ISBN is a code that identifies your book around the world. Sample: 0-89658-314-7. In this sample: * The first digit (0-) means the book was published in the United States. * The second group of numbers (89658-) identifies the publisher. 89658 is the code assigned to Voyageur Press of Stillwater, MN. * The third group of numbers (314-) identifies the specific book. In this example, 0-89658-314 is the 1995 hardcopy edition of a book called Frogs. * The last number (7) is used to validate the preceding numbers. ISBNs are coordinated worldwide... Once an ISBN is assigned, the information must be reported by the publisher the firm R.R. Bowker for listing in the United State's ISBN database. ONCE ASSIGNED, AN ISBN CAN NEVER BE REUSED. An ISBN can never be reused and every revision of a title must have a new ISBN. That means if a book is available in both hardcover and softcover, both versions have their own ISBN. For example, the softcover edition of Frogs (0-89658-427-5) has a different ISBN than the hardcover edition (0-89658-314-7). Price changes do not require a new ISBN. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Low, Low, Low Rates! Check out Yahoo! Messenger's cheap PC-to-Phone call rates (http://voice.yahoo.com) To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.