Editing ISBN (section)

== EAN format used in barcodes, and upgrading ==
The [[barcode]]s on a book's back cover (or inside a mass-market [[paperback]] book's front cover) are [[European Article Number|EAN-13]]; they may have a separate barcode encoding five digits called an [[EAN-5]] for the [[currency]] and the [[recommended retail price]].<ref>{{Citation |title= Frequently asked questions |publisher=ISBN |place= United States |date= 12 March 2014 |url= http://www.isbn-us.com/blog/2014/03/12/isbn-information-frequently-asked-questions/ |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140416211950/http://www.isbn-us.com/blog/2014/03/12/isbn-information-frequently-asked-questions/ |archive-date= 16 April 2014 |df= dmy-all }} – including a detailed description of the EAN-13 format.</ref> For 10-digit ISBNs, the number "978", the [[Bookland]] "country code", is prefixed to the ISBN in the barcode data, and the check digit is recalculated according to the EAN-13 formula (modulo 10, 1× and 3× weighting on alternating digits).

Partly because of an expected shortage in certain ISBN categories, the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) decided to migrate to a 13-digit ISBN (ISBN-13). The process began on 1 January 2005 and was planned to conclude on 1 January 2007.<ref>{{Citation |publisher= Collections |contribution-url= http://www.collectionscanada.ca/iso/tc46sc9/isbn.htm |type= FAQ |title= ISO TC49SC9 |contribution= ISBN |place= Canada |access-date= 22 September 2004 |archive-date= 10 April 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070410204507/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/iso/tc46sc9/isbn.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref> {{as of|2011}}, all the 13-digit ISBNs began with 978. As the 978 ISBN supply is exhausted, the 979 prefix was introduced. Part of the 979 prefix is reserved for use with the [[Bookland|Musicland]] code for musical scores with an [[ISMN]]. The 10-digit ISMN codes differed visually as they began with an "M" letter; the bar code represents the "M" as a zero, and for checksum purposes it counted as a 3. All ISMNs are now thirteen digits commencing {{Not a typo|979-0}}; {{Not a typo|979-1}} to {{not a typo|979-9}} will be used by ISBN.

Publisher identification code numbers are unlikely to be the same in the 978 and 979 ISBNs, likewise, there is no guarantee that language area code numbers will be the same. Moreover, the 10-digit ISBN check digit generally is not the same as the 13-digit ISBN check digit. Because the GTIN-13 is part of the [[Global Trade Item Number]] (GTIN) system (that includes the GTIN-14, the GTIN-12, and the GTIN-8), the 13-digit ISBN falls within the 14-digit data field range.<ref>{{Citation | title = Standards | contribution-url = http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/transition.asp | contribution = Are You Ready for ISBN-13? | publisher = ISBN | access-date = 14 October 2005 | archive-date = 31 August 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080831082318/http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/transition.asp | url-status = live }}</ref>

Barcode format compatibility is maintained, because (aside from the group breaks) the ISBN-13 barcode format is identical to the EAN barcode format of existing 10-digit ISBNs. So, migration to an EAN-based system allows booksellers the use of a single numbering system for both books and non-book products that is compatible with existing ISBN based data, with only minimal changes to [[information technology]] systems. Hence, many [[bookstore|booksellers]] (e.g., [[Barnes & Noble]]) migrated to EAN barcodes as early as March 2005. Although many American and Canadian booksellers were able to read EAN-13 barcodes before 2005, most general retailers could not read them. The upgrading of the [[Universal Product Code|UPC]] [[barcode system]] to full EAN-13, in 2005, eased migration to the <nowiki>ISBN</nowiki> in North America.