Search for ISBN-10s

[ownedbycats]

Is there any way to do a search for isbn: identifiers that have ten digits rather than thirteen? (To make it even more confusing, some of the ISBN-10s might still have the dashes.)

[ownedbycats]

I tried this:

identifiers:"~isbn:\d{10}"

The regex tested fine and the search bar is green, but doesn't match anything. Should I do something else?

[capink]

Try this:

identifiers:"=isbn:~^\d{10}$"

[ownedbycats]

That works! Thank you.

I wonder why it requires the begin and end modifiers.

[capink]

Because without them it will return any isbn that contains (but not limited to) 10 consecutive digits. The modifiers make sure it counts all from start to finish and matches only those limited to 10.

[ownedbycats]

Wouldn't it match all my books that contain ISBNs, then? (I convert them all to 13s.) Instead, i got no matches.

[capink]

Without the modifiers it should match all isbns. Note that my expression is different from the one you posted, not only by including the modifiers, but also relocating the tilde.

[ownedbycats]

When I put my original one in but moved the tilde to the location yours is in I got all my ISBN-13s.

[davidfor]

It is the second tilde. That is running the regex against the values found for each ISBN identifier. Without it, the search is a character match.

The ISBN is a special identifier and you can just use:

isbn:~^\d{10}$

[theducks]

ISBN 10 can end in an 'X' (mod 11 check digit)

[Quoth]

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.

[theducks]

I had a bit of discussion over at Kiwidude's ISBN PI years ago as I had done a home grown POS to sell books.

The first grouping in ISBN(10) is Language. 0 being English
I use the term 'Grouping' as the only fixed part of an ISBN10 is the check digit
Language-Publisher-book number-check digit

BPH's have very low Publisher # and lots of book numbers. OTOH Vanity Presses may have only a single digit book number.

EAN assigned 978,979 to be compatible with retail assignments (the starting digits have additional meaning and made up counterfeits in commerce streams cause all sorts of grief)

[ownedbycats]

I keep the Library Codes plugin around just for converting my 10s to 13s. It looks a little neater in the column.

[ownedbycats]

I was trying to make a second regex to account for ISBNs with spaces/dashes. Did I make a mistake with the regex or the search syntax here?

https://regex101.com/r/vJUZpu/1

identifiers:"=isbn:~\d{1}(-|\s)\d{3}(-|\s)\d{5}(-|\s)\d{1}"

(I also need to figure out how to account for the X check digit)

[davidfor]

It worked here but picked up some other. You probably need to anchor it to the start and end:

identifiers:"=isbn:~^\d{1}(-|\s)\d{3}(-|\s)\d{5}(-|\s)\d{1}$"