On January 1, 2007, the updated international standard ISO 2108 comes into effect, according to which ISBN numbers will change from 10-digit to 13-digit.
Current ISBN numbers will be preceded by the prefix 978, and the check digit will be recalculated, taking into account the new prefix. The resulting 13-digit ISBN will be identical to the Bookland/ISBN number used in the EAN-13 barcode. Changing the ISBN length from 10 to 13 digits does not affect the barcode symbol or the information contained within it. During the transition period, publishers may print both 10-digit and 13-digit numbers on books simultaneously, although only one of them will be valid at any given time (until December 31, 2006, the 10-digit one; from January 1, 2007, the 13-digit one).
Example number:
ISBN-10: 83-900210-1-3
ISBN-13: 978-83-900210-1-0
After January 1, 2007, publishers will be assigned only 13-digit numbers by the ISBN agency. However, this does not mean that publishers who have been assigned a 10-digit number will not be able to use it after January 1, 2007, as this number can be used until the pool of numbers contained within it is exhausted. If a publisher exhausts their pool of 10-digit ISBNs, e.g., in mid-2007, the next pool they receive will consist of 13-digit numbers.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka”, No. 4/2006.