Every book you have ever come across has a barcode at the back of the book along with a 13 digit number, this number is called the ISBN number. The full form of ISBN is International standard book number. It is basically an identification number for the literary work. This number is used by every publisher, distributor or a book seller on the internet for listing recording their sales and to maintain the stock.
The composition of the ISBN number is made up of five elements, the first one being the prefix element which are the first three digits of the number. Then there is a registration group element which is for identifying the country or language the Literary work originates from. The third element of the ISBN is a registrant element which traces the work back to the publisher and is up to seven digits. Then is the publication element which can be upto 6 digits and is used to identify the edition of the publication. Lastly, there is a check digit which is responsible for validating the rest of the numbers.
The ISBN number is essential in the world of publishing and literary works as without this number, a literary work cannot be distributed through any e-commerce website or even through a Bookstore. Bookstores usually verify the ISBN and will not sell the book without a valid ISBN registration as this number is crucial to track back, the origin of the literary work. It becomes an identification for the book without which the sale of the work through any distribution channel is impossible.
