ISBN (identifier)
More actions
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a machine-readable commercial identifier for books and book-like publications. The wiki uses ISBNs in book citations to allow readers to locate the cited edition via library catalogues, booksellers and Special:BookSources.
This page exists as the link target for the "ISBN" label that CS1 citation templates emit when a book reference includes an isbn= parameter.
Format
Modern ISBNs are 13 digits, prefixed with 978 or 979. Older 10-digit ISBNs are still valid and uniquely convertible to the 13-digit form. The wiki convention is to use 13-digit ISBNs where available, with hyphens grouping the registration prefix, registration group, registrant, publication and check digit (for example, 978-0-521-81125-5).
Use on the wiki
ISBNs are passed to {{Cite book}} via the isbn= parameter:
{{cite book |last=Openshaw |first=Jeanne |year=2002
|title=Seeking Bauls of Bengal
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-81125-5}}
The citation template renders the ISBN as a clickable link to Special:BookSources, which lists library and bookseller resolvers for that specific edition.
Common errors
CS1 validates ISBN checksums. An invalid check digit (the final digit, computed from the preceding twelve) produces a Check |isbn= value: checksum error and places the page in Category:CS1 errors: ISBN. Resolution is to recompute the check digit or to look the correct ISBN up via WorldCat or the publisher's catalogue.
Some regional, self-published or older Bangladeshi and Indian publishers issue numbers that look like ISBN-13 but are not valid registered ISBNs (no 978/979 prefix, or non-checksumming bodies). These cannot be passed via isbn= without triggering the error. Either omit the parameter or pass the number via id= as a free-form publisher identifier.