You don’t have to be a small Omani publisher to make ISBN errors.
I just finished reading Vikram Seth’s double-biography Two Lives, about the lives of his Indian uncle and Jewish German aunt. Published by forward-thinking HarperCollins, the book’s copyright page lists both the ISBN-10 and ISBN-13:
ISBN-10: 0-06-59966-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-59966-9
Unfortunately, the ISBN-10 is only nine digits long, and the ISBN-13 is twelve. No, it’s not the checksum that’s missing, but the leading “0” in the item number. Thankfully, the ISBN listed on the book jacket has it right:
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-059966-9
ISBN-10: 0-06-059966-9
The ISBN-13 transition will undoubtedly be full of small errors like this, confirming the natural skepticism of used and rare booksellers toward software and systems that lock users into the ISBN system.
Posted by Anirvan
