# ISBN

> Source: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/isbn

Last updated: 2026-09-06
Category: Publishing & selling
Also called: International Standard Book Number

An ISBN is the 13-digit International Standard Book Number for one edition of a book in one format; paperback, hardcover and ebook each need one.

## Definition

An **ISBN** (International Standard Book Number) is the unique identifier that lets the book trade — retailers, wholesalers, libraries, distributors — order, list and track a specific product. It has been 13 digits since 2007, starting 978 or 979, and its parts encode a country or language group, the publisher, the title and a check digit.

One ISBN describes **one edition in one format**. A paperback, a hardcover, an ebook and an audiobook of the same book need four numbers; a corrected reprint does not, a revised edition does. The number goes on the copyright page and, as a barcode, on the back cover.

ISBNs come from national agencies. In the US Bowker sells them (one is expensive; blocks of ten or a hundred are far cheaper per number); in the UK, Nielsen; in Canada and many other countries they are free from the national library. Retail platforms offer free ISBNs too, but those list the platform as publisher of record.

## In Bindery

Bindery’s clean files upload to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books and Kobo, and its bookstore pack puts a barcode on the wrap cover; the ISBN itself comes from your national agency or the retailer.

## Related

- [Barcode (EAN-13)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/barcode)
- [Imprint](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/imprint)
- [Copyright page](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/copyright-page)
- [Print on demand](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/print-on-demand)
- [Business Book Maker](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/formats/business-book-maker)
- [Turn a PDF Into an Ebook](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools/pdf-to-ebook)
- [Book Publishing Glossary — 59 Terms Defined](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary)
- [Bindery — the Claude-powered book studio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/bindery)

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More from Infinite Library, as one map for AI agents: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/llms.txt