Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone. I had completely forgotten that message. <evil grin>
----- Original Message ----- From: "Estelnalissi" <airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 8:08 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: ISBN Problem
Dear Gary, Roger, Deborah, Cindy and Booksharian Friends,I'm sorry about blithering about ISBNs without checking the facts. Two days later it's hard to imagine what prompted me to write so definitely about something that was an unfounded guess. It was as if I deliberately went out to play in traffic. It was brash of me to go with a runaway impulse. I hope to earn back my credibility with you.In the aftermath, I have red your well founded information about ISBNs and have learned from and about my mistake.Always with love, Lissi----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger Loran Bailey" <rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx>To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 3:28 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: ISBN ProblemI doubt very much that the X in an ISBN refers to a library edition. What is a library edition anyway? I am aware of library binding. That is a kind of binding that is hardy enough to withstand extended use and is usually issued without a dustjacket. It is the kind of binding used on a lot of textbooks. Library binding is a misnomer, though, because it is used on a lot of books that are not intended for libraries at all and the books that are included in libraries, as far as I have observed, are as likely to have a standard hardcover binding -- in fact, more likely since those are the majority of books published -- as library binding. There may be some publishers that issue editions especially for libraries, but I have never observed that to be a standard practice. Based on the many and various books I have encountered there seems to be no characteristic that would predict that an ISBN will have an X at the end of it. I do not know what the last digit of the ISBN is actually for, but I can relate something from an article on the web that I once read. I don't remember on which web site this was, but it was an article explaining what the numbers in a ten digit ISBN mean. The first digit in English books is usually a 1 or a 0, but I think I have seen a few in which it was a 9. That first digit represents the language or country of publication. The next three digits represent the publisher. I forget what the next five digits represent. The last digit was identified as a check box numbered from one to ten and the X means ten, that is, it is a Roman numeral. No other comment was made on that last digit. That is about the extent of my own knowledge of what the digits in the ISBN mean, but I use them frequently to look up books. I use them frequently because that is the most certain way I know of to be sure that I am looking up the exact edition I want. In all that frequent use of ISBNs I have never noticed anything at all that would predict the last digit. The digits that are the most predictable are the digits two through four. Name a certain publisher and I can, depending on the publisher, accurately predict what the digits are going to be. If it is a Harlequin or anything published by the Thorndyke Publishing Company, for example, the first four digits of the ISBN are going to be 0373. If the publisher is Vantage Press it is going to be 0533. If it is Pathfinder Press it is going to be 0873. However, the binding, the publisher nor anything else that I can tell have anything to do with what the last digit might be._ _ _"Everything must justify its existence before the judgment seat of Reason, or give up existence." - Friedrich EngelsFollow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81 The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html----- Original Message ----- From: "Estelnalissi" <airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 2:35 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: ISBN Problem Dear Gary,The x applies to a library edition. If you are lucky enough to be able to tell by the feel if your book is a library book or retired library book by a library address that may have scanned in the preliminary pages or by the cellophane over the dust jacket or a pocket glued inside or remnants of it, go with the x. Otherwise, go with the ISBN that ends with a number. I believe the inside text is the same for both so either ISBN won't hiccup the system.Evan speculates that when the check sum of the ISBN digits add up to a two digit number, the x is used for the last digit. He also suggests that you check on the back cover in case one ISBN is printed near the bottom edge in which case you could go with that one. Sometimes an ISBN is on the dust jacket flaps as well.I'll be interested to hear if anyone else has more info on this topic. I've proofed books with two ISBNs which aren't followed by paperback, hardcover or library edition in parenthesis. I've used the methods described above as well as copying the numbers into the Amazon search as Susan suggests to see which product description matches my book, to decide which number to use.As a proofer, when I check in a book, the Bookshare tools fill in an ISBN, especially a 13 digit ISBN to replace the 10 digit ISBN in my book. Then, the last digit is different anyway and I defer to the 13 digit number provided.I love being in the company of so many people who care enough to make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed! We are a class act!Always with love, Lissi----- Original Message ----- From: Gary PetraccaroTo: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:57 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] ISBN ProblemI have a book with two different isbns. How do I find out which one applies?0-517-348020 0-517-14641-X To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxput the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. 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