The first ISBNs to be prefixed by 979 are likely to be assigned in the second quarter of 2008, according to a recent press release from the International ISBN Agency. The news is important for the publishing industry because until now, all 13-digit ISBNs have been prefixed by 978, allowing systems to contain both 10- and 13-digit ISBNs for all books. Once the 979 prefixes are introduced, there can be no 10-digit equivalents for 13-digit ISBNs as this might lead to duplication of numbers and confusion in the supply chain. It is therefore essential that book trade and library systems now become entirely prepared to process the full 13-digit identifier.
While making the announcement, Brian Green, Executive Director of the International ISBN Agency, commented, “The arrival of 979-prefixed ISBNs means that everyone in the book supply chain, including publishers, distributors, booksellers and libraries, will have to make certain that their systems can deal with the full 13-digit ISBN.”