I managed to remember an ISBN on the evening of the day I looked it up, and from the way people looked at me when I recited it, you'd've thought I'd performed some epic feat of memory, like...remembering the names and faces of people I've met multiple times.
My Dad, by contrast, still remembers the odd ISBN from when he worked at a bookshop in the early 80s, *and* he knows who people are.
#memory #ISBN
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Have you ever heard of a country of origin called “bookland”? Well, now you have:
Winners of the $10k ISBN visualization bounty — https://annas-archive.org/blog/all-isbns-winners.html
#HackerNews #Winners #$10k #ISBN #visualization #bounty #bounty #winners #data #visualization #tech #innovation
annas-archive.orgWinners of the ISBN visualization bountyWe got some incredible submissions to the $10,000 ISBN visualization bounty.
Phiresky’s Blog: Visualizing all books of the world in ISBN-Space. “International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) are 13-digit numbers that are assigned to almost all published books. Since the first three digits are fixed (currently only 978- and 979-) and the last digit is a checksum, this means the total ISBN13-Space only has two billion slots. Here is my interactive visualization of that […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/26/phireskys-blog-visualizing-all-books-of-the-world-in-isbn-space/
Las dificultades para caracterizar el mercado editorial en Chile: los problemas que presenta el registro de ISBN | vía #CIPERChile
CIPER Chile · Las dificultades para caracterizar el mercado editorial en Chile: los problemas que presenta el registro de ISBN - CIPER ChileMedio de investigación periodística independiente en Chile, enfocado en reportajes de actualidad y brindar información de calidad a la ciudadanía.
Wochenrückblick, Ausgabe 78 (2025-06)
Themen:
Spaß mit dem Katasteramt und etwas Herumnerden mit den Vermessern
Panorama-Stitcher: die Suche geht weiter
Die große TeamViewer Enshittification
GoToSocial
WikiTok
ISBN Visualization
CLI-Tool der Woche: nightlight
#Wochenrückblick #Kataster #Vermessung #GPS #Panorama #Lightroom #Hugin #AffinityPhoto #Panovolo #TeamViewer #RustDesk #GoToSocial #WikiTok #Wikipedia #ISBN #CLI #Raycast #Techno
Marcus Jaschen · Rückblick Kalenderwoche 2025-06
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ISBN Visualization rather like LSpace but with fewer trousers.
https://phiresky.github.io/isbn-visualization/?
A tool to show all books in ISBN space.
phiresky.github.ioISBN Visualization
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@marcell Wow this is so cool!
Wow fascinating, this had never occurred to me before, and I love it. #books #isbn
https://famichiki.jp/@tsturm/113931338281488573
FamichikiThomas Sturm (@tsturm@famichiki.jp)Visualizing all books in ISBN space: https://phiresky.github.io/blog/2025/visualizing-all-books-in-isbn-space/
ISBNs and barcodes
ISBNs and barcodes are related, but not the same. Clients sometimes ask us if they should buy ISBNs and/or barcodes. For barcodes, the answer is simple: no.
It’s a little more complex for ISBNs. This article will explain both, so that you can make an informed decision.
ISBNs
Every print book has an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies that particular edition of the book. It’s important to note that the ISBN identifies the edition of the book. The paperback will have a different ISBN to the hardback or the ebook.
Originally, ISBNs were ten digits. A new 13-digit format was introduced when it became clear that the supply of 10-digit numbers was getting short. It is possible to convert any 10-digit ISBN into the 13-digit equivalent.
Should you buy ISBNs?
Ebooks can have an ISBN, but some vendors (notably Amazon) don’t show the ISBN on the product pages. Those vendors that do require an ISBN will generally provide one for free if you don’t have your own. Any ebooks set up on Kobo that don’t have an ISBN assigned will be given a number which is not a valid ISBN, but has the same format.
Amazon KDP will provide a free ISBN for your print book if you wish. Ingram Spark will do the same for customers located in the USA, but not for customers located elsewhere.
Free ISBNs from vendors have some disadvantages. They can only be used at the vendor that supplied them. If you use free ISBNs and set up your paperback at more than one vendor, your paperback will have multiple ISBNs. If you buy your own ISBN (or use one of ours), you will be able to use the same ISBN everywhere.
Free ISBNs have the publisher name already fixed. Books using Amazon’s ISBNs list the publisher as “Independently Published”. Ingram Spark ISBNs list the publisher as “Indy Pub”. Our ISBNs list the publisher as “Shilka Publishing”.
If you buy your own ISBNs, you can set the publisher name. Obviously, you should avoid existing publisher names, but beyond that, you can choose any name you wish. Unfortunately, you need a separate number for each format (eg hardback, paperback, ebook), and they are expensive in many places unless you buy in bulk.
ISBNs must be bought from your country’s ISBN agency (eg Nielsen in the UK, Bowker in the USA). At the time of writing, UK ISBNs cost £93 for one, £174 for ten, £387 for 100, or £994 for 1,000. In some countries, such as Canada and France, they are available for free.
Barcodes
Every print book has the ISBN displayed on the back cover, both in human-readable format, and as a barcode. But note that there is no need to pay for a barcode. We have a free barcode creator, and there are other sites that will create a barcode for free. Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark will add a barcode if the cover does not already have one, and Draft2Digital insist that print covers do not have a barcode.
An ISBN barcode. Note that the barcode number matches the ISBN.Price in barcodes
It is possible to embed the price in a barcode. In this case, a second barcode is displayed to the right, with the currency (specified as a number) and price. Some printers may require the price to be included, but it is possible to set the price to “90000”, which means that the price is not set.
A barcode with a price code of 01399, which equates to £13.99 (0 is GBP, 1399 is 13.99)We recommend that the price is not included, for several reasons. The price has to specify the currency, but your book could be sold all over the world. The price in US dollars is of no use to buyers in Canada, the UK, etc.
A barcode with a price code of 90000, which equates to “no price set”In addition, having the price in the barcode complicates changing the price in the future. Any price change will necessitate updating the price section of the barcode (not the ISBN section). This means that you will need to update the barcode on the cover file and upload the new file.
If you hire us to help you publish your book, we’ll deal with all this for you. You can use your own ISBNs, or we’ll supply Shilka Publishing ISBNs for free. In either case, we’ll create barcodes were required.
#ISBN is a centralized system, you even have to pay not insignificant amount of money to get a number.
I can't even figure out how to self-assign a #DOI .
Is there anything else that helps identify #publications that doesn't have gatekeepers?
Like some equivalent of a #torrent infohash?
Would a #blockchain solution solve problems like collisions easier than any alternatives?
Exciting development in the #Alma #CommunityZone!
Addition of #ISBN-13 to #CZ records. 
Ex Libris teams are gradually adding ISBN-13 to records. The rollout is done every day as part of the #content updates routine.
Ex Libris Knowledge Center · Alma: Adding ISBN-13 MARC fields to CZ records
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.@mathias Interessant und gut für Tests. Mein Beispiel aus dem JS-Kurs zeigt ebenfalls die offenbar falschen #ISBN an.
https://datenverdrahten.de/test/isbn/
Erstaunlich, wie viele die Prüfziffer X haben. Habe bisher eher weniger davon gesehen. Vielleicht ein Indiz für die Konstruiertheit.
Since there's like *no* good apps for personal #library management (because apparently no one has personal libraries any more /s 
), I'm looking into building one myself for my own use.
Problem: I *think* it's easy to find book info by #ISBN #barcode through services. I mean, ISBNs are standard and handled by almost all services.
However, it's trickier to find that information for #DVD / #Bluray movies. Especially since I'm in Finland and the #UPC codes are usually limited to specific release in market area.
...oh, I found one service that does have (web-scraped?) UPC data for a handful of DVDs that I threw at it.
Whatever, I just need the titles.
This service has an API. How do I access this stuff for my tiny little personal app?
...you want HOW MUCH per month for this mildly garbled data? 
...OK ok ok. You at least have bulk lookup, right? Upload a spreadsheet, get garbage out?
...even that is kinda pricey and adds up to a shitload with the size of my library.
Unlock the mystery of ISBNs with our latest blog post! We’ll reveal the “secrets” to understanding and obtaining International Standard Book Numbers in our comprehensive guide. Get ready to navigate the world of books like a pro! #ISBN #BookLovers #Writing #Publishing
BDA Books - The Book Studio - Welcome to the BDA Books Blog · Demystifying ISBNs: A Comprehensive Guide to Obtaining and Understanding International Standard Book Numbers - BDA BooksUnderstanding the components of an ISBN is crucial. Let's break down the meaning behind each digit and how you interpret the data coded in the number.
TIL that, although the #ISBN is a unique identifier for a book, it is not reliable for online lookup b/c it's entirely possible for a #publisher to assign it to a book and then never tell anyone.
There's a web site to check whether a book has been published in a language, say English or German
Can anyone help me find it ?
Est-ce que le dépôt légal français (au moins pour les livres) rend disponible les métadonnées de ce qui est déposé ?
L'index existe, au moins pour les livres récents, via l'ISBN.
Le dépôt légal est un service public donc je me dis qu'on devrait pouvoir télécharger la base de données complète ou y accéder via une API.