# ISBN should be ISSN



## MThibault (Apr 2, 2003)

From the News Page:

"E. N. Publishing will also be responsible for the E.N. World Player's Journal, in partnership with Goodman Games, which should be appearing in retail stores about now. If you can't find it in your local game store, ask them to get it for you (ISBN 0-9726241-1-2)! "


Um guys, you want an 8 digit ISSN for a serial publication not a 10 digit ISBN.  International Standard Book Numbers are only used for monographs and works in a finite series.  International Standard Serial Numbers are used for works that are published sequentially with the intention of continuing indefinitely.

The ISBN isn't attached to a title it is attached to a specific impression of a title -- the hardcover has a different ISBN than the softcover, for example.  You can have an ISBN on a specific issue of a serial (Conference Proceedings often do this) but the ISBN doesn't apply to the entire run of the publication.  An ISSN is attached to every issue of a serial publication, even if the name of the magizine changes.

Hellhound can get an ISSN (and more information) for you from here: 

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/issn/index-e.html

Cheers


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## Morrus (Apr 2, 2003)

The ISBN refers to issue 1 on the magazine.  It's written on the cover, by the bar code - definately says ISBN.


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## MThibault (Apr 2, 2003)

That's what I thought. 

You might want to get an ISSN before the next issue comes out.  If a retailer or distributer wants to carry the magazine they will acquire it and track it through the ISSN (which is the same number for every issue of the periodical).  Tracking through ISBN doesn't really work in most systems because you don't know what the ISBN of the next issue will be (so you can't make automated claims for missing issues) and you have to keep controll of all of the ISBNs of previous issues if you want to find them.  Basically, you can't have a master record in your stock-database or catalogue, you can only list individual issues.

Like I said, ISBNs are commonly used in addition to the ISSN on Conference Proceedings (which are annual frequency, and are usually devoted to a very narrow topic -- very exceptional, as far as serials are concerned) but the vast majority of periodicals use an ISSN exclusively.  All of the issues of a periodical are generally considered one SKU, so there is one Standard Number used to control that stock: the ISSN.

In short, you don't want retailers and distributors to have to change their procedures to accomodate your magazine.

If you can't use a Canadian ISSN, you can look here for a more local agency:

http://www.issn.org:8080/English/pub/network/centres

Cheers.


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## tensen (Apr 3, 2003)

ISSN's are mostly used by libraries to keep track of a magazine.
But the ISSN works for the whole series of the magazine... making it that much harder for a retailer to backorder a specific issue.  In the case of an ISBN, it specifies the printing as well as the issue, which makes it better suited for something that a retailer has to deal with.


In normal bookstores a retailer will get 25-50 of a magazine every month that it is released.  Whether a game store retailer might pick and chose on the magaiznes for the month.. ordering 5 copies of Issue #1, seeing it do well a order 10 of issue #2, and then want to reorder a couple of Issue #1.  And so forth.


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## MThibault (Apr 4, 2003)

Yes, well, if you want to be unconventional there are risks.  If the name of the serial changes or the numbering system, the ISSN remains with the publication, so a retailer/customer can be absolutely certain that this is the same magazine that they've come to trust and not a knock off.  In fact, with a title like E. N. World Player's Journal", which doesn't alphabetize the same in the two standard systems I would think that an ISSN would be even more important for ensuring that the publication is found easily and accurately in a catalogue or serials list.

To be honest, I've never met a retailer or distributor who looks up serials by ISBN.  Sure there could be some advantages in identifying back issues if you create a strong link between the title of the Journal and a central catalogue and all back issues are ordered directly from your catalogue.  But a store or a small library like mine, which cannot afford to (meaning mostly doesn't have the space to) subscribe to every magazine, relies heavily on ISSNs for finding the proper information about a journal when ordering single issues.

When I order a single issue (current or back issue) of journal from one of my suppliers I provide the ISSN, the proper title information based on the ISSN search, and Volume/Issue number.  The issue numbering (Vol/no.) identifies the exact issue I need so the ISBN is reduntant in that respect unless you duplicate your numbering for some reason.  The ISBN will not give you any useful information about other issues in the serial, so if you have a sample copy or a listing for a single issue you can't take the standard number to your supplier and set up a standing order.  Not easily, anyway.

I can't imagine a supplier/distributor who deals with a few hundred serials wanting to change their systems to accomodate one journal.  But check with your channels, I suppose, they might not care.

There's no reason why you can't use both, and you only need to apply for the ISBN once so it is actually not that much work for the benefit of doing everything possible to make sure that no sales are missed and that suppliers and customers are not inconvenienced.

It's not my magazine, though.

Cheers

Mike


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