3 ms·
Wow, that sounds like a horrible idea. It's like the new owner of an ISBN demanding libraries to burn the book previously sold under that ISBN.
by DocTomoe 5y ago
Wow, that sounds like a horrible idea. It's like the new owner of an ISBN demanding libraries to burn the book previously sold under that ISBN.
- qwerty456127 5y agoWait, do you mean an ISBN can be re-used and is not a unique identifier of a very specific book?
- simne 5y agoI have seen two different books with same ISBN. I'm not sure this is mistake or normal thing.
- DocTomoe 5y agoIn Europe, this seems to be the standard model, especially with small publishers who have maybe 10 ISBNs and cycle their catalogue regularly.
- number6 5y agoAccording to the site [0] it can not be re-used. [0] http://www.isbn.org/faqs_general_questions http://www.isbn.org/faqs_general_questions And yes... this is the official agency for ISBN in the US; the International ISBN page only looks a little less scammy: https://www.isbn-international.org/ https://www.isbn-international.org/. Maybe they care more about analog media than digital...
- zvr 5y agoThis is not exactly what the page says. It says nothing about them be free to give the same ISBN to someone else. Typical case: a publisher gets hundreds of ISBNs in bulk. At some point they close their business. The agency can give the unused numbers to someone else. Determining which were unused is not always easy, since there is no requirement to inform them when one is assigned to a book -- therefore mistakes are made. The end result is that re-use is possible (and actually happens).
- number6 5y agoIn the end it's just some number on a book, but in an ideal world a ISBN is not reused and only assigned to one book. What can be done when a book is printed with the wrong ISBN? A new, unused ISBN must be assigned to the book, stickers or labels made and placed on the books, and all industry databases updated with the new, correct ISBN
- eythian 5y agoIt should not be re-used, but it is definitely a thing that happens sometimes, though rarely in my (used to work on library software) experience.