Quote:
Originally Posted by bgalbrecht
ISBN numbers can change if the publisher changes or if other details of the book change.
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Oh yes, I meant the identical text. If the publisher changes or other details of the book change, the ISBN
ought to change, so peeps can tell that there is a difference. I'm almost sure that different printings ("1st printing," "2nd printing," etc.) do not affect the ISBN; but at the same time, I'm just as sure that a new
edition will cause a change in the ISBN, or at least it should.
An illustration of why that is important: back in the pre-ebook days, after much looking and comparing models I bought some bookcases. They were really just what I wanted. When I ran out of room on those bookcases for all of the books that I was accumulating, I special-ordered three more bookcases, made by the same manufacturer with the same model# as the ones that I had bought before. However, they had made a major change in the design so weren't just like the bookcases that I had ordered before! Not only did they have a design feature that I didn't want, they didn't match the bookcases that I already had. The upshot is: they should have changed the model #, so people would know (or suspect) that there was a difference in the bookcases. I did end up keeping them, largely to keep the (real nice) people from the furniture store having to return them to the manufacturer, or whatever. I actually called the manufacturer and told them how I didn't appreciate them making the change, but still keeping the same stock number. Instead of the representative apologizing, it was obvious that she was not happy about me complaining about it!