10. Practical uses of ISBN

The ISBN is used in all branches of the book sector.

  ISBN in publishing houses
    is used for:

• identifying firm publication projects from the manuscript to the printer
• title identification in publishers' catalogues and advertisements
• listing in printed directories, electronic directories and in Internet-sites
• stock control
• copyright management
• management of royalties
• processing of orders
• accounting and billing
• monitoring sales data
• producing statistics
• handling of returns

• building bibliographic databases for the book trade like Books in Print
• building databases of titles in stock
• ordering services based on electronic communication systems like EDI (electronic data interchange) or via the Internet
• stock control
• monitoring internal logistic processes
• accounting and billing
• producing sales data
• returns administration
• producing subject lists and catalogues

• ordering at the publishers or wholesalers
• processing orders from libraries
• stock control
• monitoring internal logistic processes
• accounting and billing
• administration of rebinding processes

• bibliographic searches
• tracing addresses
• ordering and re-ordering processes based on electronic communication systems like EDI (electronic data interchange) or via the Internet
• stock administration
• accounting and billing the end consumer
• electronic point-of-sale system (EPOS)

• ordering
• copy-cataloguing
• lending statistics
• national lending right
• interlending
• union catalogues