ISBN

[Eliot Moss, GRC A351B, x5-4206 30-Jan-1989 0906]

While I have no special expertise, I do know that ISBN = International
Standard Book Number, that some number of leading digits indicate the
publisher (I believe that smaller publishers have numbers consuming more
digits, analogous to the Class A, B, C Internet addressing scheme), with
following digits indicating the specific item. The last digit is a check
digit, and is actually base 11, not 10 (X is used for 11). How the check
digit is calculated in terms fo the other digits, I do not know. The ISBN is
adequate for ordering an item, since different forms of the same publication
(e.g., hardbound vs. paperback) have different numbers. Serial publications
(e.g., magazines) have similar numbers, ISSNs (International Standard Serial
Numbers), but these indicate only the publication, not the specific issue.
It is easy to see how standards such as these facilitate identification and
ordering of publications, just as Library of Congress cataloging assists
libraries. (But what about libraries outside the United States? I may get to
experience such this summer in England. It promises to be interesting at
least.) One last comment -- the 3 x 5 cards are just now disappearing from
the libraries at the University of Massachusetts, replaced by several
terminals that can be used to search the online card catalog. The system
requires no training to use and seems to be effective. It is probably more
accurate than the old cards, too, for certainly some cards are misplaced.
Furthermore, the computer can do other than pure alphabetically ordered
searches. Progress marches on!  (:-)

					Eliot Moss
					Asst Prof
					Dept of Comp and Info Sci
					Univ of Mass
					Amherst, MA  01003
					Moss at cs.umass.edu