The spreadsheet with the block of numbers
Years ago the publisher bought a block of ISBNs and someone made a spreadsheet: one row per number, with the title and format typed next to it as each was used. Since then, three people have added to it. Some rows say 'reserved for paperback?' Some say 'cancelled'. One number is next to two different titles because a book changed name between announcement and publication.
Now the editorial assistant needs numbers for a new hardback, its ebook and an audiobook. They pick the next three blank rows. One of them, it turns out, was quietly used last year for a special edition typed straight into the distributor's portal and never written in the spreadsheet.
Why ISBN records go wrong
An ISBN is simple, but it identifies one specific format of one specific edition, and that link has to hold for as long as the book exists. A spreadsheet has no idea whether a number has been used anywhere else.
- Numbers are assigned in the spreadsheet and also directly in portals.
- A cancelled format leaves a number whose status nobody records.
- Title changes between announcement and publication create two rows for one book.
- New editions are sometimes given the old number and sometimes a new one, inconsistently.
- Nobody checks the register against what the data agency holds.
What a muddled ISBN log leads to
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Number used twice | Two products share an identity and sales or stock merge |
| Number assigned but not registered | The book is missing from trade databases |
| Cancelled format with live number | A phantom edition shows as available |
| Edition given wrong number | Retailers show reviews and prices for the wrong version |
| Block runs out unexpectedly | A launch waits while more numbers are bought |
The rules on when a change of format or content needs a new ISBN are set by the ISBN agency, and your own team applies them. The register just makes sure the decision is recorded and followed.
How we build the ISBN register
- Your ISBN blocks imported, with check digits verified for every number.
- Each number linked to a title record and a format, rather than a free-text note.
- A status per number: available, assigned, announced, published, cancelled, with the date and who changed it.
- An assignment step where a person requests numbers for a new title's formats and a second person approves, if you want that check.
- A comparison each week between the register and the ISBNs your metadata feed and distributor hold, listing any number that appears in one place and not the other.
- A warning when the remaining available numbers in a block fall below a level you choose.
If you already hold titles in a title management system, the register can live inside it or next to it. We connect to what you have rather than adding another place to type.
Assigning numbers on an ordinary day
The editorial assistant creates the new title, ticks hardback, ebook and audiobook, and asks for numbers. The register offers three available ones, which are checked against every known use before they are shown. Once approved, they appear on the title record and flow into the metadata when it is sent.
The special edition that was typed into a portal shows up on the weekly comparison as a number the register did not know about. Someone links it to its title once and the gap is closed. If a format is cancelled, its number is marked, with a note, and never offered again.
When the accountant or the ISBN agency asks what you have used, you print a report rather than reading a spreadsheet aloud.
Do you recognise this ISBN log?
- Your ISBN list is a spreadsheet that several people edit.
- Numbers have been assigned directly in portals without being recorded.
- You are unsure of the status of some numbers marked 'reserved'.
- Title changes have left duplicate rows.
- You have found out a block was nearly used up only when you needed more.