How to Find ISBN Numbers
An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique number assigned to a book to help catalog and identify it according to its title and publisher. The numbers come in two varieties: the older 10-digit version and the more recent 13-digit variety, which was implemented in 2007 to expand the ISBN system's numbering capacity and alleviate shortages of numbers in certain regions. After 1970, each printed book was assigned an ISBN, which even identifies specific editions of certain books, such as whether it is hardcover or paperback. Finding a book's unique ISBN is an extremely easy task. They can be found several places on the book itself and are readily available from retailers and publishers.
Instructions
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1
Check the book's back cover; the ISBN will be printed atop the bar code. Newer books have will have both a 10-digit and 13-digit ISBN, and they'll be clearly labeled.
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2
Search the book's copyright page. This can be found in the first few pages of the book. It contains the publisher's information, author's information, copyright dates and the ISBN, which will be labeled.
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3
Search a retailer's catalog. Both online and in-print catalogs almost always contain the book's information, which will include the ISBN.
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4
Search through an online database. There are several websites that contain ISBN data and require only that you enter the book's name to retrieve its ISBN--or its multiple ISBNs if it has multiple editions.