4 ms·

A second issue is that ISBNs identify a specific SKU (different formats will have different ISBNs, different printings may even get different ISBNs, etc), but b

by wiml 3y ago

A second issue is that ISBNs identify a specific SKU (different formats will have different ISBNs, different printings may even get different ISBNs, etc), but book-related projects typically want some way to identify "the same book" across all these different formats, printings, sometimes even editions and translations and collections. OCLC IDs are identifying a different space than ISBNs are.

raybb 3y ago
What you're referring to is sometimes referred to as a "work" vs "edition" https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing#work-edition https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing#work-edition
- ahi 3y ago
  It gets much much more complicated than that. There are never ending discussions about FRBR: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. https://www.ifla.org/references/best-practice-for-national-bibliographic-agencies-in-a-digital-age/resource-description-and-standards/bibliographic-control/functional-requirements-the-frbr-family-of-models/functional-requirements-for-bibliographic-records-frbr/ https://www.ifla.org/references/best-practice-for-national-b... * Work is defined as the intellectual or artistic content of a distinct creation. It refers to a very abstract idea of a creation e.g. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and not a specific expression. * Expression is the intellectual or artistic realization of a work. The realization may take the form of text, sound, image, object, movement, etc., or any combination of such forms. * Manifestation is the embodiment of an expression of a work. For example a particular edition of a book or a specific music recording. * Item is a single exemplar of a manifestation. Cataloguing is generally done, based on an item directly available to a cataloguer
Tomte 3y ago
The biggest problem of all is that there are many ISBNs that have been reused for either a later edition of "the same" book or for a totally different book, which should never happen. Sometimes it is because people are sloppy, sometimes people try to save a little money (because ISBNs cost money).

by wiml 3y ago

raybb 3y ago

What you're referring to is sometimes referred to as a "work" vs "edition" https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing#work-edition https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/editing#work-edition

ahi 3y ago
It gets much much more complicated than that. There are never ending discussions about FRBR: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. https://www.ifla.org/references/best-practice-for-national-bibliographic-agencies-in-a-digital-age/resource-description-and-standards/bibliographic-control/functional-requirements-the-frbr-family-of-models/functional-requirements-for-bibliographic-records-frbr/ https://www.ifla.org/references/best-practice-for-national-b... * Work is defined as the intellectual or artistic content of a distinct creation. It refers to a very abstract idea of a creation e.g. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and not a specific expression. * Expression is the intellectual or artistic realization of a work. The realization may take the form of text, sound, image, object, movement, etc., or any combination of such forms. * Manifestation is the embodiment of an expression of a work. For example a particular edition of a book or a specific music recording. * Item is a single exemplar of a manifestation. Cataloguing is generally done, based on an item directly available to a cataloguer

Tomte 3y ago

The biggest problem of all is that there are many ISBNs that have been reused for either a later edition of "the same" book or for a totally different book, which should never happen. Sometimes it is because people are sloppy, sometimes people try to save a little money (because ISBNs cost money).