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Quoth · 02-06-2021, 10:41 AM

The main difference I think between 13 and 10 digit is:
Usually the 978 is first three digits of 13, I think it means Country = Books, bookland
The last digit on both is a checksum. The formula is public. Obviously the 10 and 13 digit code last digit will rarely match.

So it's possible to convert all 10 to 13. Sometimes both are listed for a book. A different format even of the exact same content has a different code. A revision, rather than simple reprint, even in same format has a different code.

The purpose of it is so retail outlets, libraries or end users can purchase a particular edition. That's why it was changed from 10 digits to be 13 to match UPC/UAN, the retail codes on baked beans or a tape measuring tool.

I'd update mine to 13 digits, if I was using them. I don't in the Library. I discovered in the 1990s doing physical library software that the library needed its own unique per item, not per title, barcode. The ISBN was only of use to add a new title to the database, after that it wouldn't be used for tracking. A real library often has multiple copies of the same title (books, audio, video, electronic files, games etc.).

So though I have barcode scanning on my phone, a wireless stock terminal with barcode scanning and a PC barcode scannner, I don't use ISBN at all. I actually don't even use it to order in a bookshop because I usually care more about getting the book than the format. The staff search by title and then confirm the author because titles are not at all unique. It's very rare that more than one edition or format is available for the bookshop to order, because the publishers tend to only print the Trade edition when hardback is nearly sold out (if there is a hardback) and then later the pocketbook/Mass Market edition for supermarket discount and when the Trade size is nearly sold out.

So that's why I don't have ISBN in my Calibre library. Amazon ebooks inherently are only from Amazon, hence any ISBN is likely the epub version sold everywhere else. The same ebook might have a different ISBN from each ebook retailer, or one from Smashwords or Ingram or 24bookprint. Google like Amazon has their own non-ISBN book ID, though you can use your own ISBN when publishing there.

So I'm curious how much use ISBN is in Calibre. I'd print a non-UPC type barcode based on Calibre unique record or some other per item code if I was using barcode scanning with Calibre and physical items. And I do have multiple copies or versions of the same paper book. But I only have PDFs and ebooks in Calibre.

02-06-2021, 10:41 AM	#11
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,161 Karma: 105212035 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	The main difference I think between 13 and 10 digit is: Usually the 978 is first three digits of 13, I think it means Country = Books, bookland The last digit on both is a checksum. The formula is public. Obviously the 10 and 13 digit code last digit will rarely match. So it's possible to convert all 10 to 13. Sometimes both are listed for a book. A different format even of the exact same content has a different code. A revision, rather than simple reprint, even in same format has a different code. The purpose of it is so retail outlets, libraries or end users can purchase a particular edition. That's why it was changed from 10 digits to be 13 to match UPC/UAN, the retail codes on baked beans or a tape measuring tool. I'd update mine to 13 digits, if I was using them. I don't in the Library. I discovered in the 1990s doing physical library software that the library needed its own unique per item, not per title, barcode. The ISBN was only of use to add a new title to the database, after that it wouldn't be used for tracking. A real library often has multiple copies of the same title (books, audio, video, electronic files, games etc.). So though I have barcode scanning on my phone, a wireless stock terminal with barcode scanning and a PC barcode scannner, I don't use ISBN at all. I actually don't even use it to order in a bookshop because I usually care more about getting the book than the format. The staff search by title and then confirm the author because titles are not at all unique. It's very rare that more than one edition or format is available for the bookshop to order, because the publishers tend to only print the Trade edition when hardback is nearly sold out (if there is a hardback) and then later the pocketbook/Mass Market edition for supermarket discount and when the Trade size is nearly sold out. So that's why I don't have ISBN in my Calibre library. Amazon ebooks inherently are only from Amazon, hence any ISBN is likely the epub version sold everywhere else. The same ebook might have a different ISBN from each ebook retailer, or one from Smashwords or Ingram or 24bookprint. Google like Amazon has their own non-ISBN book ID, though you can use your own ISBN when publishing there. So I'm curious how much use ISBN is in Calibre. I'd print a non-UPC type barcode based on Calibre unique record or some other per item code if I was using barcode scanning with Calibre and physical items. And I do have multiple copies or versions of the same paper book. But I only have PDFs and ebooks in Calibre.