In collaboration with the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), Bowker Identifier Services and the US ISBN Agency are pleased to announce the publication of a discussion paper on the Identification of Digital Content. The paper, available for download at http://www.bisg.org/docs/DigitalIdentifiers_07Jan08.pdf, was written by Michael Holdsworth who is working as a consultant in the UK and was with Cambridge University Press.
Executive summary:
Although there are strong similarities between the identification needs of physical books and of digital book content in the supply chain, new business models and new delivery channels challenge existing practice. There is a pressing need for clarity on the use of standards for the identification and description of digital products.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is considered fit for purpose for trading,discovery and reporting of digital products within the supply chain. Every digital manifestation traded separately should be assigned an individual ISBN and publishers should adopt the principle that products should be separately identified to the extent that they need to be so identified.
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI), though not in any way a substitute for an ISBN, is a valuable additional identifier which enables content to be “discovered” on the Web. Publishers and others should explore the possible opportunities for using the International Standard Text Code (ISTC) as a means of collocating different manifestations of the same textual work.Publishers should review their practices relating to the assignment of identifiers, particularly where a digital product is traded through an intermediary and accurate reporting of sales is required for royalty payments or management information.
The practice of using a single ISBN for all digital manifestations of the same work is strongly discouraged.The use of “ISBN-like” 13 digit identifiers other than those properly assigned by the ISBN agencies is strongly discouraged in all circumstances.
Tags: book identifiers, books, e-books, ISBN, publishing
February 28, 2008 at 4:35 am
Ever organization will maintain there own supply chain management services techniques for good business. now a days electronic companies are using the international standard book number for identification of there good, so that they can stop piracy.