Cataloging and Identification of Books
By: Adam H. Kerman
Subject: Preparing books for cataloging and identification
Date: March 10, 2011
Updated: July 10, 2023 at 4:31 PM
<https://catalogingforpublishers.com/>
Revisions
1. Changes to definitions and bibliographic records section; CIP E-books program section corrected.
2. Email address to correct Bowker subjects added.
3. Expanded discussion of multivolume sets and when they share a single bibliographic record or when there is a separate record for each volume; definitions added
4. Expanded discussion of LCCN and the MARC 010 field.
5. Expanded discussion of the structure of UPC-A and how and where dual identifiers were used
6. Reorganization of PPBL, CIP, PCN, and PCIP sections; CIP E-books program section added
7. Reorganization of definitions; added definition of binding
8. ONIX for Books Revision 3.1, March 2023
9. GS1 General Specifications Standard Release 23.0, Ratified, Jan 23
10. Complete BISAC Subject Headings List December 2022 Edition
11. Obsolescence of BIC Codes by February 2024, replacement with Thema
12. Links changed to reflect yet another reorganization of the BISG Web site
13. LC celebration of CIP's 50th anniversary noted.
14. Correction in product barcoding history
15. Expanded "Product barcoding history" section.
16. GS1 General Specifications Release 21.0.1
17. Complete BISAC Subject Headings List December 2020 Edition
18. ISSN Uplink
19. UPCs and EANs URL updated
20. Improved discussion of PrePub Book Link registration
21. ONIX for Books Revision 3.0.7, October 2019
22. Thema version 1.4
23. New Definitions section, separated from the introduction
24. Domain for PrePub Book Link changed from service-now.com to servicenowservices.com July 17, 2020
25. GS1 General Specifications Release 20
26. Additional discussion of title and copyright page, and discussion of copyright notice
27. Improved discussion of LCCN
28. The birth and death years of George Joseph Laurer are noted.
29. Prefix 979 ISBNs to be issued to U.S. publishers buying large blocks of numbers in early 2020
30. Complete BISAC Subject Headings List November 2019 Edition
31. GS1 General Specifications Release 19.1
32. Link to Electronic CIP Publisher's Manual changed to archive site.
33. ONIX for Books Revision 3.0.6, March 2019
34. Expanded "Product barcoding history" section.
35. "U.S. Publishers", "Preparing the book for identification and cataloging", and "Subject schemas used by the publisher" sections extensively revised. Discussion of Sears Subject Headings, which are not assigned by the publisher moved to "Bibliographic records" section, with a reference from "U.S. Publishers".
36. New PrePub Book Link section with expanded discussion
37. New "U.S. publishers" section with revised subsections including "Preparing the book for identification and cataloging" and "Assigning subjects to the title". The latter discusses BISAC and Bowker subjects formerly in the "Bibliographic records" section. Sears Subject Headings are discussed in both locations.
38. Introduction extensively revised and now includes notes for identification, cataloging, and publisher.
39. Books in Print section renamed "Submitting title metadata to Bowker". SAN is now discussed in its own section, separate from Books in Print. Books in Print and Bookwire now in separate "Bowker's bibliographic databases of book titles" section.
40. Improved discussion of ONIX for Books message in "Bowker metadata submission" and "CIP data application" sections. ONIX for Books message is also discussed with CIP applications.
41. Noted that AACR2 has been incorporated into Cataloger's Desktop.
42. PrePub Book Link is the new system for submitting applications for both PCN and CIP. Historic discussion of Electronic CIP Program added; other ECIP Program discussion commented out. Discussion of Prefill with ONIX added. Library Cataloging Solutions commented out as it no longer offers PCIP.
43. URL of Web site of Mr. Laurer changed to archive site.
44. GS1 General Specifications Release 19
45. BISAC 2018 edition
46. Improved discussion of ISBN history, added information about check digit calculation
47. GS1 General Specifications Release 18, ISBN Users' Manual 7 ed.
48. Updated BISAC subsection to include guidance on selection, 2017 edition
49. Summaries are required for CIP Program submissions effective September 5, 2017
50. BowkerLINK URL now https
51. Improved discussion of uploading cover images
52. Emphasized that ISSN should appear near series title in CIP Program subsection in monographic series
53. Added "Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication Data" subsection noting Library Cataloging Solutions performs this work
54. BIC subject code development frozen; Thema version 1.3
55. Restored page headers and page numbers
56. Revision to history of product barcodes in ISBN and Bookland EAN subsections
57. Links to BISG documents changed yet again to reflect Web site reorganization
58. Introduction revised to improve discussion of place of publication
59. Correction to description of PCN program
60. RDA changes to CIP data added to CIP technical information
61. Improved discussion of encoding ISSN in EAN-13 barcode
62. Improved discussion of SAN
63. Improved discussion of ISSN and series title, encoding ISSN in EAN-13 barcode
64. Improved discussion of Bookland EAN
65. New "Bibliographic records" section, LCCN, MARC, and BISAC
66. Revised format for CIP data layout effective October 2015
Table of Contents
Cataloging and Identification of Books
U.S. publisher registration in the ISBN and SAN systems
Preparing the book for identification and cataloging
Title page, copyright page, colophon
Subject schemas used by the publisher
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
Converting ISBN-10 to ISBN-13; check digit calculator
Bowker's bibliographic databases of book titles
Submitting title metadata to Bowker
BowkerLINK, MyIdentifiers.com, fewer than 100 titles a year
ONIX for Books message, 100 or more titles per year
Serials and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), barcode for ISSN...
Encoding ISSN in an EAN-13 barcode
The bibliographic record, access points, and authority control
2) Main entry and added entries
3) Subject headings (subject added entries)
Machine-readable cataloging (MARC), Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN)
Obtaining the bibliographic record in advance of publication
Library of Congress cataloging services for eligible U.S. publishers
CIP application process automation with ONIX for Books messages
Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program
Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP)
Ongoing cataloging and identification considerations
Introduction
This memo gives advice to publishers on cataloging and identifying their books during publication, preparing them for library cataloging and for sale and distribution through the supply chain. To facilitate sales to libraries, a publisher is encouraged to obtain a bibliographic record to be printed in the book in advance of publication. Cataloging expense is a significant part of the cost of acquiring a book for a library's collection. Cataloging in advance of publication eliminates this cost to the acquiring library. Any publisher anticipating library sales should have the book cataloged in publication as a prerequisite.
To obtain the bibliographic record to be printed in the book in advance of publication, an eligible U.S. publisher may participate in the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) program at Library of Congress (LC) to obtain CIP data, or may use the services of a contract librarian to obtain Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP).
Definitions
Throughout this memo, identification means the publisher's standard description of the title for trade. The elements of identification include, but are not limited to, the title, author, binding, edition, and summary. It also includes publisher-assigned subjects from classification schemas such as BISAC and Bowker subjects.
Cataloging is the process by which a librarian creates a bibliographic record and its access points. Certain elements of the bibliographic record are based on the book's title page and copyright page. To create other elements like Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress call numbers and subject heading classifications, a librarian applies cataloging rules according to Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AARC2), or Resource Description and Access (RDA), intended to replace AARC2. An access point, based on an element of the bibliographic record, allows the bibliographic record to be retrieved.
Title means the name that identifies the book or another work.
A book may be published in multiple bindings and editions, each a separate item of trade identified by an International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
Binding is the format or medium a book is printed in. Typical examples are hardcover (trade cloth), softcover or paperback (trade paper), electronic (DVD, PDF), or an e-book format for a reading device. A binding may be an individual item of trade or it may be an element of a package, itself the item of trade containing multiple bindings.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a Global Trade Item Number, a unique international identifier for a monographic publication and each of its bindings and editions as separate items of trade. The Bookland EAN is a machine-readable symbol comprising two barcodes, an EAN-13 barcode symbolizing ISBN plus an EAN-5 Add-On barcode symbolizing the cover price.
A publisher is a business that produces, sells, markets, and distributes books. The self-published author, who is responsible for all aspects of writing, editing, and publishing, is also a publisher. The publisher is a distinct business from its partners in the supply chain — the retailer, the wholesaler or distributor, the warehouse, and the printer and binder.
The place of publication, which must be printed on the title or copyright page, is a location (a city at a minimum, but it can be a complete address) at which an editorial office capable of answering substantive bibliographic questions is maintained. The place of publication of a self-published author could be his home.
A U.S. publisher is one that lists a U.S. place of publication on its books. If the publisher has multiple places of publication, the U.S. location need not be the first-named.
Library of Congress (LC) is the national library of the United States of America.
MARC is the standard for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form, developed by LC in the late 1960s to facilitate the first distribution of machine-readable cataloging records for book materials.
The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a number assigned to an individual bibliographic record by the Library of Congress for all MARC records distributed by LC. LCCN is entered into the 010 field of a MARC record.
Cataloging in Publication is the creation of the bibliographic record by the CIP program in advance of the book's publication. Cataloging in Publication data (CIP data) is the bibliographic record as printed in the book. Preassigned Control Number is the LCCN assigned to the initial bibliographic record in advance of publication through the PCN program as printed in the book. Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP) is the complete bibliographic record produced by a contract librarian as printed in the book.
A series is a group of related resources with separate issues or volumes with a collective title applied to the group as a whole. The definition of series includes both serials and multipart sets.
A serial is a publication issued in parts, usually bearing issue numbers and/or dates, intended to continue indefinitely. Serials include monographic series and periodicals. A monographic series may be published irregularly. A periodical (i.e. magazine, newspaper, annual) is issued at a stated frequency. The International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) identifies the title of a monographic series or periodical.
A multipart set is intended to conclude after all issues or volumes have been published. The series title is not identified by an ISSN. There is discussion in CIP program, below, as to whether to use a collective bibliographic record for the multipart set as a whole or a separate bibliographic record for each volume.
U.S. publisher registration in the ISBN and SAN systems
The R.R. Bowker Company is the agency that registers U.S. publishers and their titles in the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) system (see below). Bowker publishes title metadata submitted by publishers and identified by ISBN in Books in Print and other publications. A publisher purchases a block of ISBNs with a common publisher identifier (registrant element) from Bowker; see ISBN structure below. A publisher operating separate and distinct offices or branches in different places may have an ISBN publisher identifier for each office or branch. However, the ISBN identifying a title is to be assigned only by the office or branch responsible for its publication.
Bowker also registers U.S. publishers in the Standard Address Number (SAN) system (see below). SAN identifies an address of the publisher used in trade.
Preparing the book for identification and cataloging
Before your book goes to press, it must be prepared for identification and library cataloging. The title page and copyright page (verso of the title page) as printed are the authorities for major elements of the book's identification and entries in the bibliographic record. The title page determines the form of name to be used for authors new to the catalog for which an authority record is then created and is the primary authority for the transcription of the title and subtitle, statement of authorship, function of other contributors, etc.
Choose BISAC and Bowker subjects. Assign ISBN to the title. If the title will be published in multiple bindings, each receives its own ISBN. Note that the machine-readable Bookland EAN (EAN-13 barcode), printed on the back cover or book jacket, symbolizes the ISBN.
A publisher that creates fewer than 100 titles a year submits advance book information (title metadata) to Bowker (see below) via a choice of Web interfaces. A publisher that creates 100 or more titles per year has a choice of methods, including ONIX for Books messages. Submitting correct advance book information is a crucial marketing and distribution step that must be error free. Errors could delay the book's timely publication and cause the publisher to incur needless expense.
Eligible publishers may receive cataloging services in advance of publication through the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) program (see below) at Library of Congress. The book may be cataloged by submitting an application with electronic galley. An ineligible publisher may still apply for an initial bibliographic record through the Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program (see below) at Library of Congress, then use the services of a contract librarian (see below) to receive a complete bibliographic record, Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP), to be printed in the book. It takes up to two months to receive CIP data from Library of Congress with a heavy workload. Library of Congress receives ONIX for Books messages (see below) from certain publishers to automate portions of the CIP process using externally available bibliographic data.
Title page, copyright page, colophon
The title page, at a minimum, identifies the book's title and its author. It is always a right-hand page in the book's front matter. The copyright page is the verso of the title page. It contains the colophon — the boilerplate language with legalese. An important part of the colophon is the copyright notice, a statement that the copyright owner claims ownership of the work. The notice includes
The copyright symbol ©, the word "copyright", or the abbreviation "copr.";
The year of first publication of the work; and
The name of the copyright owner.
The copyright notice is displayed thusly:
© 2017 John Doe
Copyright notice was required for all works first published before March 1, 1989, with some exceptions. If the notice was omitted or a mistake was made in using copyright notice, the work generally lost copyright protection in the U.S. Provisions of the Berne Convention became effective in the U.S. on March 1, 1989. Copyright notice, while still beneficial to the copyright holder, is optional for works published on or after that date. Copyright notice has never been required for unpublished works.
Use of the phrase "All Rights Reserved" was required to claim international copyright protection in countries that acceded to the 1910 Buenos Aires Convention. The phrase became superfluous as all such countries have also acceded to the Berne Convention.
Subject schemas used by the publisher
A publisher assigns BISAC subject headings to its book titles to communicate descriptive information about the item, and to assist bookstores in shelving and display. Bowker subjects are the proprietary subject heading schema in Books in Print, part of title metadata submitted by the publisher.
The Value of Subject Codes <https://selfpublishedauthor.com/content/value-subject-codes> is an introduction to what a publisher should consider when assigning subjects to the title.
Understanding Bowker Books in Print Subject Classification Schemas <https://selfpublishedauthor.com/content/understanding-bowker-books-print-subject-classification-schemas> is an introduction to BISAC subject headings, Bowker subjects, and Sears Subject Headings (see below). Sears Subject Headings, used in small libraries, school libraries, and children's libraries, are not assigned by the publisher. See the Bibliographic records section.
BISAC subject headings
A publisher's use of BISAC subject heading can help a bookstore determine where to shelve the item or how it can be searched for in the store's catalog. The BISAC subject headings schema is used by many companies throughout the supply chain to categorize books based on topical content. BISAC FAQ <https://www.bisg.org/BISAC-FAQ>. There isn't a standard location for placement of the subject descriptor, although it's suggested that it be placed on the lower left-hand corner of the back cover or jacket cover. The nine-character code itself, designed for electronic data interchange, should not appear on the book nor in catalogs. "Are there standards for the placement of the subject on the book?" <https://www.bisg.org/BISAC-FAQ#general-bisac-questions>
Complete BISAC Subject Headings List 2022 Edition <https://www.bisg.org/complete-bisac-subject-headings-list>; Selecting a BISAC Code <https://www.bisg.org/selecting-a-BISAC-code>
The subject headings are available to use on line with a limit imposed on lookups. An End Users' License Agreement is required to incorporate the list into a database, free to BISG members. Purchase the BISAC Codes <https://www.bisg.org/purchasedownload-complete-bisac-list>
Any BISAC subject headings received in an ONIX for Books message can be included in CIP data in the revised layout (see below).
The Subject Codes Committee of BISG <https://www.bisg.org/subject-codes-committee> maintains the BISAC Subject Headings. BISAC stands for Book Industry Standards and Communications.
Bowker subjects
Providing very detailed subject access, Bowker subjects are a proprietary schema used within Books in Print that uses the same phrasing and structure as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). There are over 80,000 subjects available consisting of either a heading (e.g., HIGH-PROTEIN DIET) or a heading with subdivision(s) appended via an underscore (e.g., UNITED STATES_HISTORY_CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865_BATTLEFIELDS). These are constantly updated to reflect new headings and changes in LCSH style and format. Bowker assigns these subjects to as many ISBNs as possible, not just those that have been catalogued by LC. To correct subjects, send an email message to michael.olenick@bowker.com.
Publishers outside the U.S.
Order blocks of ISBNs from the national ISBN agency <https://www.isbn-international.org/agencies> and submit title metadata per that agency's instructions. Order the SAN from the R.R. Bowker Company (which is also the U.S. SAN agency), except for addresses in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. (see below)
Retail bookstores outside the U.S. and Canada don't generally require that the cover price be symbolized in the EAN-5 Add-On barcode in the Bookland EAN symbol. However, the standard allows the publisher to use a two- or five-digit Add-On barcode for internal purposes, to distinguish a variant that doesn't qualify for a separate ISBN (e.g., unchanged reprint, price increase). See optional attributes in Section 2.1.3.4. "Hardcover books and paperbacks scanned at retail POS using ISBN, GTIN-13, or GTIN-12" GS1 General Specifications Standard Release 23.0, Ratified, Jan 23. <https://www.gs1.org/standards/barcodes-epcrfid-id-keys/gs1-general-specifications>.
To identify the title of a monographic series, order an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) from the national ISSN centre <https://www.issn.org/the-centre-and-the-network/members-countries/the-issn-network-today/> serving serials publishers in your country.
The advice on bibliographic records given below is also applicable in much of the English-speaking world and wherever English-language books are cataloged. Cataloging in publication may be available from your national library.
BISAC subject headings are also used in Canada with some Canadian-specific regional themes <https://booknetcanada.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/UserDocs/pages/4718773/BISAC+Classification+Schemes#BISACClassificationSchemes-BISACRegionalThemes> BISAC Regional Themes (Version 1.2) <https://www.bisg.org/bisac-regional-themes-version-12>. Book Industry Communication (BIC) Standard Subject Categories Version 2.1 November 2010 <https://bic.org.uk/resources/bic-standard-subject-categories/> had been used in the UK and will become obsolete in February 2024 <https://bic.org.uk/resources/bic-standard-subject-categories/obsolescence-of-bic-codes-and-transition-to-themabics-operational-faqs/>. In February 2017 BIC permanently froze the development of BIC Codes and endorsed Thema <https://editeur.org/206/About-Thema/> as the preferred scheme for the UK trade. Thema version 1.5 released April 22, 2022 <https://editeur.org/151/Thema>
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
The ISBN is a unique international identifier for a monographic publication, displayed thusly:
ISBN 978-0-12-345678-6
The R.R. Bowker Company is the U.S. ISBN agency <https://isbn.org/>. A U.S. publisher would order blocks of ISBNs from MyIdentifiers.com <https://www.myidentifiers.com/> to identify titles of forthcoming books. The ISBN is an element of CIP data (see below) printed on the copyright page (the verso of the title page). It's also printed above the Bookland EAN symbol (see below) on Cover 4.
The ISBN identifies one binding of one edition of one title of one publisher. A subsequent edition due to revision would have its own ISBN. Different bindings — hardcover (trade cloth), paperback (trade paper), DVD — have different ISBNs. If different bindings are packaged together — a book accompanied by a DVD — one ISBN identifies the package and each bound item in the package would be described without ISBN. Additional printings are not separate editions and would retain the same ISBN. An additional printing in which typographical errors were corrected would retain the same ISBN. ISBN Users' Manual, Seventh Edition <https://www.isbn-international.org/sites/default/files/ISBN International Users Manual - 7th edition_absolutely_final.docx> ISBN FAQs to 7ed Manual <https://www.isbn-international.org/sites/default/files/ISBN_FAQs_to_7ed_Manual_Absolutely_final.docx>
ISO 2108:2017 International Standard Book Number (ISBN) publication date 2017-12 <https://www.iso.org/standard/65483.html>
ISBN history
In 1965, W. H. Smith, the largest retailer of books in the United Kingdom, announced plans for a new warehouse and a desire to computerize to maintain its book inventory and to facilitate trade with its partners. In cooperation with the British Publishers Association, it commissioned a book numbering system from F. Gordon Foster, a mathematics and statistics professor at London School of Economics and later Trinity College, intending that it would gain acceptance throughout the UK book industry. By 1966, Foster had devised Standard Book Numbering (SBN).
SBN is a nine-digit code divided into three parts separated by spaces, displayed thusly:
SBN 234 12345 1
SBN 345 12345 X
The first two parts are of variable length; the last part is of fixed length.
Publisher Prefix
Title Code
Check digit. Weighted sum, modulo 11; a result of 10 is coded by Roman numeral X.
Intriguingly, SBN (and later ISBN) used a variable length Publisher Prefix to allow a publisher's needs to guide the allocation of Title Codes, making the coding system extremely flexible. This has helped to ensure longevity of the coding system. Mr. Foster anticipated internationalization, but facing a deadline, couldn't wait for adoption of the international standard. It was intended that SBN be lengthened to ten digits, thus becoming the ISBN. To allow a smooth transition to ten-digit coding space, he recommended that "0" be prepended to codes already allocated so that the check digit wouldn't require recalculation.
The SBN was used in the UK from 1967 until 1974. J Whitaker & Sons, publisher of British Books in Print, was the Central Agency for administering the system. The R.R. Bowker Company, publisher of Books in Print, became the U.S. ISBN Agency in 1968. ISO 2108, establishing the specifications for the 10-digit ISBN, was published in 1970.
In 1980, ISBN became a subset of the European Article Number (EAN) (now International Article Number). To effect this, prefix 978 designating the fictitious country of Bookland was prepended and a new check digit calculated to create a thirteen-digit number. In 1984, the Machine Readable Coding (MRC) Committee of Book Industry Study Group (BISG) undertook a study from which recommendations for a product identification code and symbol to be used on book covers and jackets were made. As a result of the study, the EAN-13 barcode (the Bookland EAN symbol, see below) would symbolize the ISBN. Please note that EAN-13 uses weight sum, modulo 10 to calculate the check digit, but prepending 978 requires the check digit to be recalculated anyway. See discussion of converting ISBN-10 to ISBN-13 below.
Effective in 2007, ISBN became a thirteen-digit Global Trade Item Number (GTIN-13), the same number symbolized by the Bookland EAN introduced in the 1980s. The human readable interpretation of the Bookland EAN, an ISBN-13 without hyphens, is printed below the barcode symbol. To effect the transition from ISBN-10 to ISBN-13, books published in 2005 and 2006 were dual numbered. Use of ISBN-10 was deprecated after 2006.
ISBN structure
ISBN-13 is divided into five parts (elements) separated by hyphens. The middle three parts are of variable length; the first and last parts are of fixed length.
978 or 979, GS1 prefix for fictitious country of Bookland, ISBN-13 format only. Bowker began issuing 979-8 ISBNs to U.S. publishers buying large blocks of numbers in early 2020. Changes to ISBN Prefixes <https://media.bowker.com/documents/isbn-notice.pdf>
Within GS1 Prefix 979, a subset 979-0 has been allocated to the International ISMN Agency for notated music.
Country identifier (registration group element), to group publishers by geography or language. 978-0 and 978-1 indicate assignment by an ISBN Agency in an English-speaking region. 979-8 will be unique to the United States and its associated territories.
Publisher identifier (registrant element)
Title identifier (publication element)
Check digit
ISBN-13: Weighted sum, modulo 10
ISBN-10: Weighted sum, modulo 11; a result of 10 is coded by Roman numeral X
Converting ISBN-10 to ISBN-13; check digit calculator
ISBN-10 is readily converted back and forth to ISBN-13 with GS1 prefix 978. ISBN-13 with GS1 prefix 979 is not convertible. To convert from ISBN-10, the check digit is stripped, 978 is prefixed, and a new check digit is calculated. Note that the GTIN-13 check digit is calculated using weighted sum, modulo 10, a different computation than the ISBN-10 check digit.
Converters
<https://isbn.org/ISBN_converter>
<https://loc.gov/publish/pcn/isbncnvt_pcn.html>
Check digit calculator <https://gs1.org/services/check-digit-calculator>
Bookland EAN
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USD $4.95/GBP £2.75/CAD $4.95 |
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Bookland EAN with Price Add-On encodes ISBN 978-1-4028-9462-6 with a suggested retail price of USD $4.95. The price, in three currencies, is above. |
The Bookland EAN is the machine-readable symbol of choice for all published books. It comprises two barcodes, an EAN-13 barcode symbolizing ISBN-13 plus an EAN-5 Add-On barcode symbolizing the cover price, for a total of 18 digits. In guidelines for the five-digit Add-On published in 1985, the leading digit "5" is the currency indicator for U.S. dollars, used with prices from USD $00.01 to USD $99.98 in the range 50001 to 59998. In recognition of an increasing number of titles priced over $100, a change was approved by BISG in September 2004 upon recommendation of its MRC to encode prices from USD $100.00 to USD $499.99 in the range 10000 to 49999 without currency indicator. A price of $99.99 cannot be encoded. Instead, 59999 indicates a price greater than $99.98 and not encoded in the Add-On, whether the price is within the increased range or not. 90000 is understood to mean no retail price has been suggested and none is encoded in the Add-On. 00000 and 50000 are not used. All other ranges are ignored for pricing. Dollar Price Limit Increase in the Bookland EAN Add-On Bar Code <https://cdn.ymaws.com/bisg.org/resource/resmgr/Files/Publications/Labels_and_Barcodes/Price_Increase_in_Add-on.pdf>
The symbol, which always includes the EAN-5 Add-On barcode, is 1" high x 2-3/16" wide at 100% magnification. At 80% magnification, the overall size is approximately 13/16" high x 1-3/4" wide. Magnification may range from 80% to 200%. For offset printing it should not be necessary to print larger than 100%. Width is measured with a 3/32-inch clear area or "quiet zone" on either side of bars. Height is measured from the top of the bars to the bottom of the numbers below the bars.
To emphasize the necessity of the quiet zone to the right of the barcode, Bookland EAN symbols are produced with a ">" (greater-than sign) within the right-hand quiet zone. This serves to protect this essential clear space, which is often too narrow when the final plate-ready film is produced. There should be no printed border around the barcode.
The ISBN is printed above the barcode, preceded by the letters ISBN. The font for the human readable ISBN should be a sans serif font such as OCR-B or Arial. As a minimum, the font size should be sufficient for the ISBN to extend the full width of the main body of the barcode (excluding the width of the Add-On).
If the book has a cover price, it is printed above the barcode. Multiple currencies may be displayed if applicable, separated by slashes without spaces. The font should be a sans serif font such as OCR B or Arial of at least 7 point. Currency indication (both letters and symbols) should follow ISO 4217 Currency Codes <https://www.xe.com/iso4217.php>. List of Currency Symbols <https://www.xe.com/symbols/>
In standard location for all formats and bindings, the Bookland EAN symbol is printed at the bottom of Cover 4 (the back cover or jacket) with the bottom of the symbol 1/2 inch ± 1/4 inch above the bottom of the cover. The bars are oriented vertically in a "picket fence" configuration. See Figure 3 "Placement of Bookland EAN on Cover 4" Barcoding Guidelines for the U.S. Book Industry June 2011 for minimum distance between the symbol and the bottom and edges. <https://www.bisg.org/barcoding-guidelines-for-the-us-book-industry>
Barcode generators
An excellent Australian site <https://bookow.com/resources.php> which includes the ISBN-13 Hyphenator to normalize hyphen placement within the ISBN, and a Polish site <https://www.free-barcode-generator.net/isbn/> (enter ISBN without hyphens, with 5-digit add on, i.e. 9780123456786:50995).
Product barcoding history
The first successful and widely accepted barcode to identify products for sale in grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada was U.P.C. Version A (Uniform Product Code), which symbolizes the twelve-digit UCC-12 Identification Number, the UCC Company Prefix comprising a 1-digit UCC Prefix (system number) and a variable length Company Number, a variable length Item Reference (product number), plus a check digit.
Uniform Grocery Product Code Council (UGPCC) defined a numeric format for product identification. A scanner to read the barcode symbolizing the identification number was invented by George Joseph Laurer (1925-2019) in 1973. Mr. Laurer was the lead product engineer for IBM's competitive bid to the grocery industry. The first scanned transaction at a grocery store occurred the following year. Within a few years, European manufacturers saw the advantage of the symbol and in 1977, Mr. Laurer was requested to prepend a 13th digit as a country flag. EAN-13 was developed as a superset of UPC-A, with a leading "0" indicating UPC-A coding space. As both symbols have the same number of bars and spaces, they are the same.
As barcoding spread beyond well beyond point-of-sale transactions and into other industrial and military applications, UGPCC became Uniform Product Code Council in September 1974, then Uniform Code Council (UCC) in November 1984.
Due to unusual recommendations at the beginning, not all digits of the barcode were stored in product inventory and ordering systems used by American and Canadian grocers, nor was the fixed-width field for the identification number long enough for the thirteen-digit EAN-13 in such systems. European manufacturers with products for sale in the U.S. and Canada were required to use dual identifiers, both UPC-A and EAN-13, registering their products in both systems, a waste of coding space and an unnecessary expense. Similarly, book publishers were required to use dual identifiers, both UPC-A and Bookland EAN, to sell the same book in both general retailers and bookstores. In a variation from the usual practice of a product-specific identification number, UCC-12 (U.P.C.) Guidelines (February 25, 2000, archived revision used as an example documenting this variation) Section 2.8 "Guideline 21: Periodicals, Paperback Books, Greeting Cards" <https://web.archive.org/web/20010419125006/http://www.uc-council.org/reflib/00810/02-TOC/02-08.html> allowed a price-point coding variation for mass-market paperback books. The UCC Company Prefix identified the publisher, or at the publisher's discretion, the jobber or wholesaler, and the Item Reference indicated the cover price, not the book title itself. The large number of individual items that could be uniquely identified in the data file posed a problem for general retailers and grocers. Jobbers and wholesalers, who controlled the flow of books into these stores, developed a supplemental 5-digit add-on symbol to encode the book title, the opposite of the Bookland EAN practice!
Nothing was done about dual identifiers until the UCC 1997 Sunrise Initiative required that all scanners used at point of sale in the U.S. and Canada be able to read and process both UPC-A and EAN-13 barcodes by January 1, 2005, and that all product inventory and ordering systems would store item numbers up to fourteen digits long. UPC-A became a twelve-digit Global Trade Item Number (GTIN-12). Also in 2005, the standards organizations UCC and EAN would merge into GS1. This initiative led the book industry to convert ISBN to thirteen digits (the same number symbolized by the Bookland EAN barcode) to expand numbering space and to eliminate its own use of the price point coding variation for mass-market paperback books. BISG Policy Statement POL-0701 Elimination of Dual Identifiers on Books and Related Products <https://assets-002.noviams.com/novi-file-uploads/bisg/Policy_Statements/BISG_Policy_0701.pdf>
Archive of Mr. Laurer's Web site <https://web.archive.org/web/20181101175122/http://laurerupc.com/>, <https://web.archive.org/web/20130709214448/http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/UPC/triviaqu.html>. UPCs and EANs <https://pacificbarcode.com/upcs-and-eans/>. Are UPC-A and EAN-13 the same? posted Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 <https://nationwidebarcode.com/are-upc-a-and-ean-13-the-same/>. Archive of A brief history of bar coding by John Pearce <https://web.archive.org/web/20060203042343/http://www.ecominfo.net:80/supplychaindata/arts/pearce_history.htm>
Standard Address Number (SAN)
Standard Address Number (SAN) identifies the address (including a post office box) of a specific physical location of an organization that participates in repetitive transactions with other members of the publishing industry. SAN is a seven-digit number divided into two parts of three and four digits separated by a hyphen. The first six digits are the address number and the seventh digit is a check digit. The check digit is calculated by weighted sum, modulo 11; a result of 10 is coded by Roman numeral X. SAN may be assigned to a unit within the organization (Acquisition Department), or a position (Business Manager), but not to an individual serving in such a position. SAN has been designated as the organizational identifier for use in electronic data interchange transactions in the publishing industry. Bookstores and others may continue to use this number to expedite paper-based transactions like purchase orders and returns.
SAN is displayed thusly:
SAN 234-5676
The R.R. Bowker Company is the U.S. SAN agency <https://www.myidentifiers.com/identify-protect-your-book/san> and assigns SANs to locations in the U.S. and Canada, and to all other international locations except Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. Thorpe-Bowker is the Australian agency <https://www.myidentifiers.com.au/identify-protect-your-book/san>; for New Zealand, send a message to san@thorpe.com.au requesting the application form. Nielsen Book Services Limited is the U.K. SAN agency. <https://nielsenbook.co.uk/san-agency/>
When an organization relocates, the SAN is updated with the new address. If an organization closes a location, the SAN cannot be reused. If ownership changes, the SAN can be transferred to the new owner. Use BowkerLINK Publisher Information tab or MyIdentifiers.com My Company tab to update the address. The Use of the Standard Address Number (SAN) in the Supply Chain June 2011 <https://niso.org/niso-io/2011/06/use-standard-address-number-san-supply-chain>
The standard: ANSI/NISO Z39.43-1993 (R2017) Standard Address Number (SAN) for the Publishing Industry <https://groups.niso.org/apps/group_public/download.php/17979/Z39.43-1993_(R2017).pdf>
Bowker's bibliographic databases of book titles
A publisher submits title metadata to the R.R. Bowker Company so that it may be included in Bowker's bibliographic databases of book titles. At no cost to the publisher, a forthcoming title's metadata identified by ISBN would be submitted, typically, 180 days in advance of publication. Thus, it's free advertising.
Books in Print <https://www.bowker.com/books-in-print> is a comprehensive bibliographic database of book titles which bookstores and libraries buy from, published since 1948 by Bowker. Books in Print may be available as an electronic resource linked from the Web site of the patron's local public library. The patron's own library card number may be required for access.
Book titles also appear in other Bowker products. Bookwire <https://bookwire.com/> may be used without a subscription, but it doesn't display all submitted metadata.
Submitting title metadata to Bowker
BowkerLINK, MyIdentifiers.com, fewer than 100 titles a year
A publisher that creates fewer than 100 titles a year has a choice of interfaces through which title metadata is submitted. I've found BowkerLINK easier to use.
BowkerLINK Publisher Access System: <https://bowkerlink.com/>
MyIdentifiers.com: <https://www.myidentifiers.com/>
Entering Bowker subjects
Bowker uses a proprietary subject schema within Books in Print. Up to two subjects may be entered for the title. In BowkerLINK, the fields are on the main Title Information form. On MyIdentifiers.com, the fields are on the Format & Size tab. For more information on subject classification by the publisher, see "Assigning subjects to the title" in the Introduction, above.
Entering the series title
To provide the series title in the metadata of a book in a monographic series:
In BowkerLINK: Sales Information section > Click here to add Sales Information for this Country to expose Series Title Information field
In MyIdentifiers.com: Sales & Pricing tab > Country Sales Information (choose United States) > Country Series Title Info.
Do not enter the series title in the subtitle field.
To correct the series title, use BowkerLINK or send an email message to bip.bowkerlink@bowker.com.
Cover image
An image of the book's cover can be submitted with other title metadata so that it may be displayed in a bookstore's electronic catalog. The image must be a frontal cover scan, not the entire cover nor a shot of the book with drop shadow. Product shots will be accepted only in certain cases, such as multivolume sets.
BowkerLINK can accept a cover image in the following file formats: GIF, TIFF, or JPEG. The image must be no smaller than 400 pixels wide. The resolution should be no less than 72 dpi, but no more than 150 dpi; higher resolution scans, i.e., 300 dpi, are not accepted. The image must be in RGB (do not send images in CMYK). The bit depth should be set no lower than 8.
Each scan needs to be a separate file, named by its ISBN with the file suffix (e.g., 9781234567897.tif).
Cover Image Specifications for BowkerLINK Feb 20, 2014 Article Number: 9907 <https://support.proquest.com/bowker#articledetail?id=kA0400000004JPeCAM>
Image Upload for Bowker Library link Sep 15, 2017 Article Number: 9904 <https://support.proquest.com/bowker/articledetail?id=kA0400000004JPbCAM>
MyIdentifiers.com can accept cover images as JPEG only, between 4 kilobytes and 5 megabytes in size, with file extension .jpg only. Upon upload, the cover image file will be renamed as the title's ISBN (e.g., 9781234567897.jpg). Choose the ISBN, then upload the cover image via the Title and Cover tab.
ONIX for Books message, 100 or more titles per year
A publisher that creates 100 or more titles per year can submit an ONIX for Books message (title metadata). ONIX is an acronym for Online Information Exchange. ONIX for Books is a standard format that publishers can use to distribute electronic information about their books to wholesale and retail booksellers, other publishers, and anyone else involved in the sale of books.
ONIX for Books <https://editeur.org/12/Current-Release> Revision 3.1, March 2023 <https://editeur.org/93/Release-3.0-and-3.1-Downloads/>; ONIX for Books FAQs <https://editeur.org/74/FAQs/>; ONIX for Books <https://loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000488.shtml>; Best Practices for Product Metadata: Guide for North American Data Senders and Receivers April 1, 2015 <https://www.bisg.org/products/best-practices-for-product-metadata>; Revised Best Practices for Keywords in Metadata: Guide for North American Data Senders and Receivers February 2018 <https://www.bisg.org/products/revised-best-practices-for-keywords-in-metadata>
Serials and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), barcode for ISSN
Serials and ISSN
Serials are print or non-print publications issued in parts, usually bearing issue numbers and/or dates. A serial is expected to continue indefinitely. Serials include monographic series and periodicals. A monographic series may be published irregularly. A periodical (i.e. magazine, newspaper, annual) is issued at a stated frequency.
ISSN is a unique international identifier for serial publications, displayed thusly:
ISSN 1234-5679
ISSN aids libraries cataloging and circulating serials. ISSN is an element of CIP data (see below) printed on the copyright page (the verso of the title page) of a book in a monographic series. A book could have both ISSN (identifying the series title) and ISBN (identifying the book title); both numbers would be printed.
ISSN identifies one serial publication in one physical format. A separate ISSN is required for each format of a serial published in multiple physical formats, e.g. print, CD-ROM, online. ISSN identifies the series title of books in a monographic series or the title of a periodical.
A U.S. publisher with an existing or forthcoming serial would apply to U.S. ISSN Center, U.S. and Publisher Liaison Division, Library of Congress <https://loc.gov/issn/> for an ISSN assignment. There is no charge for this service.
ISSN Basics <https://loc.gov/issn/basics/>
On November 23, 2020, ISSN Uplink <https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com/issn> was established to receive applications from publishers for ISSN assignment.
ISSNs can be searched for in WorldCat union catalog upon assignment: <https://www.worldcat.org/advancedsearch>
The preferred location for printing ISSN is on the upper right-hand corner of the cover. Another good locations is the masthead area. See "Where and How Do I Print the ISSN?" Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) <https://loc.gov/issn/faq/>.
In a monographic series, a good location to print ISSN is adjacent to the series title on the title page and copyright page (and series title page if present).
Bibliographies of Modern Authors
ISSN 0749-470X
ISSN is an eight-digit number divided into two four-digit parts separated by a hyphen. The first seven digits are the title number and the eighth is a check digit. The check digit is calculated by weighted sum, modulo 11; a result of 10 is coded by Roman numeral X. See ISSN is for Serials (ISSN Basics) <https://loc.gov/issn/basics/basics-brochure-serials.html>.
ISSN Manual January 2015 <https://www.issn.org/understanding-the-issn/assignment-rules/issn-manual/>
A publisher is obliged to send a copy of one book in a monographic series or one issue of a periodical to U.S. ISSN Center upon publication to illustrate use of ISSN identifying that series title. This is in addition to sending a copy of the book (not applicable to an issue of a periodical that's not in a monographic series) to CIP program (see below) and two copies with application and fee for copyright registration to Register of Copyrights.
Library of Congress
U.S. ISSN Center
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540-4284
Encoding ISSN in an EAN-13 barcode
The GS1 Prefix 977 is used for encoding the ISSN assigned to a particular item without its check digit. Two variant digits may be used to express variants of the same title for issues with a different price or to identify different issues of a daily within one week. Normal title takes value 00.
Positions 1-3: GS1 prefix 977 for ISSNs
Positions 4-10: ISSN (without its check digit)
Positions 11-12: Variant digits
Position 13: Check digit. Weighted sum, modulo 10.
A number carried by an optional two- or five-digit add-on symbol to convey additional information for the publisher's internal requirements, like day of issue, is allowed. See optional attributes in Section 2.1.3.5 "Serial publications scanned at retail POS using ISSN, GTIN-13, or GTIN-12" GS1 General Specifications Standard Release 23.0, Ratified, Jan 23. <https://www.gs1.org/standards/barcodes-epcrfid-id-keys/gs1-general-specifications>. An EAN-13 barcode encoding ISSN would be appropriate for a periodical publication like a magazine, newspaper, or annual. For a book title identified by ISBN that's part of a monographic series, use the Bookland EAN instead.
Bibliographic records
The bibliographic record, access points, and authority control
A bibliographic record is the information traditionally shown on a catalog card. The record includes (not necessarily in this order): 1) a description of the item, 2) main entry and added entries, 3) subject headings, and 4) the classification or call number. MARC records (see below) contain additional information.
Library catalogers follow the rules in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed., 2005 revision (AACR2) <http://www.aacr2.org/> to compose the bibliographic description of a library item. AACR2 is published jointly by the American Library Association (ALA), the Canadian Library Association (CLA), and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). The Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) of the Library of Congress and ALA have signed an agreement to incorporate AACR2 into Cataloger's Desktop, CDS's integrated online cataloging documentation system. <https://loc.gov/cds/desktop/> AACR2 is being replaced by Resource Description and Access (RDA) <http://rda-rsc.org/>. This "description" is shown in the paragraph sections of a catalog card. It includes the title, statement of responsibility, edition, material specific details, publication information, physical description, series, notes, and standard numbers.
2) Main entry and added entries
AACR2 also contains rules for determining access points to the record (usually referred to as the main entry and other added entries), and the form these access points should take. Access points are the retrieval points in the library catalog where patrons should be able to look up the item. In a traditional card catalog, access points were the headings for which separate cards were created.
An access point is a name (person or corporate body), subject term, title (of a book, a series, or an article), call number, control number, etc., under which a bibliographic record may be searched. It appears as a header prepended to the bibliographic record or typed at the top of a physical catalog card. Access points (the main entry [typically the author], title added entry, subject added entries, and other added entries) are based on different elements of the bibliographic record. <https://www.lisedunetwork.com/cataloguing-access-points>
An access point is under authority control. Authority control means following a recognized or established form. Usually, a cataloger chooses subject and name headings from a list of approved headings. If a cataloger follows established forms for subjects and names, all the books on the same topic or by the same author will be found in one place in the catalog.
For names, the most comprehensive authority is the Library of Congress Name Authorities file <https://authorities.loc.gov/>. The form of the name used (personal name, corporate name, conference or meeting name, series title, or uniform title) can be checked against this authority.
The portion of an authority file used by a special librarian would be only a fraction of the whole.
What is more important is local authority control. Local authority control allows the librarian to look at the list of subject headings or the list of author names and ask to reuse one that has already been entered. In that way, all headings for the same person or same subject will be entered exactly the same way — the point of authority control. Names shown in Cataloging in Publication data (CIP data, the bibliographic record printed in the book; see below) are also based on Library of Congress authority records at the time of publication. The forms shown for current publications in an online catalog after a retrospective conversion of data should be correct, since nearly every book or data vendor's database is based on Library of Congress MARC files.
3) Subject headings (subject added entries)
The librarian uses the Sears List of Subject Headings (Sears), the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), or some other subject authority list to select the subjects under which the item will be listed. Use of an approved list is important for consistency, to ensure that all items on a particular subject are found under the same heading and therefore in the same place in the catalog. Therefore, the form of a subject heading should match one on the list or follow the rules for construction.
Sears Subject Headings were introduced in 1923 by Minnie Earl Sears in response for demands by small libraries for a simplified and compact version of the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). The major differences between Sears and LCSH are that Sears avoids inverted headings (e.g., "American Art" rather than "Art, American") and uses phrasing more commonly heard or accepted in everyday conversation (e.g., "Native Americans" rather than "Indians of North America").
The librarian uses a Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification schedule to select the call number for an item. The purpose of the call number is to place items on the same subject together on the same shelf in the library. Most items are sub-arranged alphabetically by author. The second part of the call number usually represents the author's name, facilitating this sub-arrangement.
Machine-readable cataloging (MARC), Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN)
MARC is the standard for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form, developed by LC in the late 1960s to facilitate the first distribution of machine-readable cataloging records for book materials. There were regional variations in use by the 1980s for the U.S. (USMARC), Canada (CAN/MARC), and Europe (UNIMARC). From 1994-1997 the USMARC and CAN/MARC user communities worked to eliminate all remaining differences in their two already-similar formats. Compatibility had been a feature of the development processes for both formats for many years. In 1997 and early 1998, updates to the formats were issued that made the format specifications identical. MARC 21, a continuation of both USMARC and CAN/MARC, published the formats in one edition under the new name starting in 1999. <https://loc.gov/marc/annmarc21.html>
The LCCN is a number assigned to an individual bibliographic item by the Library of Congress for all MARC records distributed by the Library of Congress. LCCN is entered into the 010 field. LCCN is unique within the Library of Congress catalog, but other national libraries can use look-alike numbers to identify bibliographic items in their catalog records and thus it is not unique internationally. Only a true LCCN would be entered in the 010 field.
Foreign cataloging in publication data (the bibliographic record printed in the book) are identified by the national library of that country or region at the top of the record as: British Library cataloguing in publication data, National Library of Australia cataloging in publication data, etc.
The Library of Congress began to print catalog cards in 1898 and began to distribute them in 1901. The Library of Congress Card Number was the number used to identify and control catalog cards. With the development of the MARC format and the first distribution of machine-readable records for book materials in the late 1960s, the name of the LCCN was changed to Library of Congress Control Number. LCCNs are used for bibliographic records (of specific interest to publishers) and for authority records.
Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging <https://loc.gov/marc/umb/> is a good introduction to MARC.
MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data (MARC Bibliographic) 1999 Edition Update No. 35 (December 2022) <https://loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/>
010: Library of Congress Control Number <https://loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd010.html>
Bibliographic Formats and Standards Fourth Edition [revision continually in progress] <https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en.html> explains MARC fields. Input Standards for Fixed-Field Elements and 006 <https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/fixedfield.html>
MARC: its history and implications by Henriette D. Avram <https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002993527>
In a MARC record, LCCN is a twelve-digit number entered into the 010 field, with year and serial number and spaces left when optional prefixes and suffixes aren't used. LCCN Structure B (see below) does not have suffixes. Only the normalized format is used in a MARC record.
In the normalized format, a serial number shorter than 6 digits is padded with leading 0s. In the hyphenated format, the number is in two parts separated by a hyphen. The prefix and year are in the left part and the serial number and suffixes are in the right part.
The year in an LCCN is the year in which the serial number was assigned, not year of publication nor year of copyright.
There are two LCCN structures. LCCN Structure A was in use from 1898 to 2000. LCCN Structure B has been used since 2001. LCCN Structure A had an optional 3 character alphabetic prefix, a 2-digit year, a 6-digit serial number, and an optional 1-digit supplemental number. The supplemental number was never used and was always left blank. There were also suffix/alphabetic identifier and revision date elements of variable length preceded by slashes when used in both the normalized and hyphenated formats. Serial numbers in 1998, 1999, and 2000 were distinguished from those assigned in 1898, 1899, and 1900 by not re-assigning serial numbers, as fewer than 3000, 6000, and 8000 respectively were already assigned.
LCCN Structure A is printed thusly:
Library of Congress Control Number: 90055943 [normalized format with serial number shorter than 6 digits padded with leading 0s]
Library of Congress Control Number: 90-55943 [hyphenated format without padding the serial number]
LCCN Structure B has an optional 2 character alphabetic prefix, a 4-digit year, and a 6-digit serial number. The unused supplemental number and the two variable-length suffixes were eliminated.
LCCN Structure B is printed thusly:
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010014580 [normalized format with serial number shorter than 6 digits padded with leading 0s]
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010-14580 [hyphenated format without padding the serial number]
Library of Congress Control Number restructuring to accommodate century change <https://loc.gov/marc/lccn.html>; Structure of the LC Control Number <https://loc.gov/marc/lccn_structure.html>; The LCCN Namespace <https://loc.gov/marc/lccn-namespace.html>
The first 100,000 serial numbers each year are allocated to the CIP program.
Obtaining the bibliographic record in advance of publication
Library of Congress cataloging services for eligible U.S. publishers
Library of Congress offers two mutually exclusive programs that provide cataloging services for forthcoming books at no charge to U.S. publishers: Cataloging in Publication (CIP) program and Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program. CIP program creates a complete bibliographic record (CIP data when printed in the book) from an electronic galley. PCN program assigns an LCCN (PCN when printed in the book) to an initial bibliographic record. Both programs use a common interface called PrePub Book Link to submit applications (see below). A publisher must not submit an application to both programs for the same title.
PrePub Book Link
Previously, CIP and PCN programs had separate electronic application submission processes. The last day applications could be submitted through these programs was April 26, 2019. Effective May 21, 2019, both programs began using a common interface called PrePub Book Link to submit applications.
A publisher that had participated in the Electronic CIP Program created in 1999 would submit an electronic galley as a specially tagged ASCII text file with application for CIP data. Mock ups of the layout of the book's pages could not be processed. PrePub Book Link eliminated tagging. The electronic galley submitted is a PDF file without tags.
PrePub Book Link has changed account creation procedures: A user must create an account on behalf of the publisher using his own email address as logon. 16-digit passwords are required. Multiple users can submit applications on behalf of the same publisher, but one must be designated the admin user for that publisher who will then authorize other users. A user can submit applications on behalf of different publishers.
A user that is the admin user on behalf of multiple publishers must use a unique email address with each publisher.
If there had been an Electronic CIP Program account, the publisher is already listed in the database. The ECIP Account ID will be used as the Registration Code. A publisher that had participated in the electronic PCN program only was not migrated over to PrePub Book Link and will require a new account.
An approval for a publisher account would take place within 10 business days, after which the publisher may submit applications for PCN. It may take an additional 10 business days for an eligible publisher to be approved to submit applications for CIP data.
PrePub Book Link Publisher Registration for PCN and CIP <https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com/pub?id=pub_registration>
PrePub Book Link Publisher Login for PCN and CIP <https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com/pub>
A self-published author isn't eligible to participate in the CIP program but may participate in the PCN program. If the author doesn't use a publisher name and will not be submitting applications on behalf of multiple publishers, then he can register as an author and not as a publisher.
An author account does not require approval. The author can submit an application for PCN upon creating the account.
PrePub Book Link Author Registration for PCN <https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com/auth?id=auth_registration>
PrePub Book Link Author Login for PCN <https://locexternal.servicenowservices.com/auth>
Technical information for CIP Program using PrePub Book Link, with little documentation of library cataloging provided: <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/technical-info/>
These user guides have instructions for each screen of the
interface but very little information about library cataloging, so the
publisher could refer to the Electronic CIP Publisher's Manual below.
PrePub Book Link CIP Publisher User Guide
<https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/publisher-user-guide/CIP_Pub_guide.pdf>
PrePub Book Link LCCN
Publisher User Guide
(PCN program) <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/lccn-publisher-user-guide/PCN_Pub_guide.pdf>
PrePub Book Link Author/Self-Publisher User Guide (PCN program)
<https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/author-self-publisher-user-guide/PPBL_Author_Pub_guide.pdf>
CIP program
CIP program <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/> creates a bibliographic record identified by an LCCN in advance of publication. The program began in 1971. Library of Congress celebrated the program's 50th anniversary on June 28, 2021. With the reorganization effective October 1, 2008, CIP program is in the U.S. Programs, Law, and Literature Division of the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate. Previously, CIP program had been part of the former U.S. and Publisher Liaison Division.
A publisher eligible for membership in the CIP program must first register to user PrePub Book Link (see above), and then be found eligible for membership, in order to submit applications for CIP.
To be eligible to participate, a publisher must have already published a minimum of three titles by three different authors. Effective May 21, 2019, all three titles must have been acquired by 1000 U.S. libraries each, raised from 100. Ineligible publishers could participate in the PCN program (see below), then use the services of a contract librarian to obtain Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication Data (see below).
CIP program membership requirements <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/about/membership.html>
The bibliographic record printed in the book is called CIP
data.
What is CIP Data? <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/cipdata.html>
The publisher must assign an ISBN to the title (see above) before applying for CIP data. If the book will be printed in multiple bindings, the publisher will assign one ISBN to each binding and submit one application for all bindings applicable to the same bibliographic record. The publisher must also include a summary of the book which will be linked from the bibliographic record.
The bibliographic record, identified by LCCN, is created from an electronic galley comprising core required materials (see below), even if the manuscript is otherwise incomplete. Bibliographic access points to be created in cataloging include author and title entries, subject heading classifications, and Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal call numbers.
ISBN and LCCN are elements of CIP data.
Technical information not updated with PrePub Book Link but still relevant: <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/>
The cataloging advice given in Electronic CIP Publisher's Manual updated February 14, 2006 <https://web.archive.org/web/20190527143424/http://cip.loc.gov/cipman/>, written before the implementation of the new CIP Data Block and before PrePub Book Link, is still relevant.
RDA changes to CIP data <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/rda_changes.html>
Reprints with only minor differences from the original edition don't qualify for a separate bibliographic record. See Section 4.3 "Reprint Edition" of the Electronic CIP Publisher's Manual.
CIP data appears on the copyright page (the verso of the title page). It is to be printed exactly as supplied, whether in catalog card layout (prior to October 1, 2015) or in revised layout (see below). Catalog card layout and data elements explained: Section 8.4 "Format of CIP Data" and Section 8.6 "Explanation of CIP Data Elements" of the Electronic CIP Publisher's Manual.
· Observe all capitalization, spacing, and punctuation.
· Do not alter any data element as to spelling, content, etc., without first consulting your CIP Publisher Liaison (see below).
· Do not add the number of pages or size to physical description (pages cm); physical description placeholder is excluded in the revised layout.
· Maintain the same overall format and left margins
On October 1, 2015, a revised CIP Data Block layout was implemented, a change from the catalog card layout used since the CIP program began. Example of CIP Data in the Book (including RDA examples) <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/databook.html> CIP Data in MARC Format <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/datamarc.html> Included data elements with corresponding MARC fields are described: Cataloging in Publication Data Block <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/techinfo/CIP_DB_Fields.docx>. Introducing the New CIP Data Block <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/news/lccn_art.html> was written by the chairman of the CIP Data Block committee that revised the layout. New CIP Data Block Frequently Asked Questions <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/news/data_faq.html>.
A publisher is obligated to send a complimentary copy of the book for which CIP data was provided to the CIP program immediately upon publication so that cataloging may be completed and to be considered for acquisition. This is in addition to sending two copies with copyright registration application and fee to Register of Copyrights.
Library of Congress
U.S. Programs, Law, and Literature Division
Cataloging in Publication Program
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540-4283
An electronic galley as a single PDF file must be prepared to be uploaded as part of the application.
The electronic galley includes Core Required Materials <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/technical-info/core-materials.html>.
1. Title page
2. Copyright page (the verso of title page)
3. Series page, if applicable
4. Table of contents
5. Preface and Introduction
6. Sample chapters
a) The first full chapter
b) The last full chapter
c) Other important chapters
d) Any information about the author(s)
If the CIP data application is for a multivolume set, please consider whether to submit one application on behalf of the whole set, or separate applications on behalf of each volume.
Submit a single application if:
· The individual volumes have no subtitles or special titles of their own.
· The individual volumes have no independently meaningful or distinctive titles or subtitles of their own.
· The individual volume titles omit an essential piece of information found in the collective title.
Example if a multivolume set with a single bibliographic record for the whole set:
Human Rights and the World’s Major Religions
Volume 1: "The Jewish Tradition," by Peter J. Haas
Volume 2: "The Christian Tradition," by William H. Brackney
Volume 3: "The Islamic Tradition," by Muddathir Abd al-Rahim
Volume 4: "The Hindu Tradition," by Harold Coward
Volume 5: "The Buddhist Tradition," by Robert E. Florida
Submit separate applications for each volume of the set if:
· Each volume of the set is prepared by (a) different author(s) and each volume has a different, independently meaningful title. (CIP data will be provided for each volume.)
Your Successful Career [three volumes].
Volume 1: How to Find a Job by Jane Jones.
Volume 2: How to Get a Raise by John Smith.
Volume 3: Planning for Your Retirement by Mary Brown.
· All the volumes are by one author and have clearly distinctive titles. A common instance of this category is a retrospective collection of an author's works, each of which was originally published separately. (CIP data will be provided for each volume.)
The Complete Works of Henry James
Volume 1: The Golden Bowl
Volume 2: The Portrait of a Lady
Volume 3: [etc.]
If the title is part of a monographic series, submit a separate application for each title in the series. A serial or multivolume set can also be part of a monographic series. The series page, if any, is part of core required materials and must be included in the electronic galley.
Multivolume Sets, Monographic Series, Series Page <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/technical-info/multi.html>
Sometimes the Library of Congress cataloger doesn't include all elements in CIP data. If any elements are missing, submit a CIP Change Request form through PrePub Book Link within 60 days; do not submit a new CIP data application.
A summary to appear in the record must be included, a requirement beginning September 5, 2017. The application has a field for the summary. The summary should be no more than 50 words; one sentence or phrase would be sufficient. It must be terse and unbiased. CIP Guidelines for Summaries <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/technical-info/summary_guidelines.html>
CIP E-books program
One of the major changes to the CIP Data Block is to combine elements from the print and e-book records into one data block for the use of publishers in those cases where the publisher has provided data about both the print and e-book. There is a box for the publisher to tick on the CIP application to request cataloging of the e-book binding. Like other bindings, the publisher must assign the e-book its own ISBN. Unlike other bindings, an e-book has a separate bibliographic record identified with its own LCCN. If the publisher applied for e-book cataloging through the CIP E-books program <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/ebooks/>, the LCCNs for both the print and e-book bindings will appear in the Identifiers section in the CIP data block.
CIP application process automation with ONIX for Books messages
Library of Congress receives ONIX for Books messages from certain publishers to automate portions of the CIP process using externally available bibliographic data. If an ONIX record is found (based on matching the ISBN of the forthcoming book with ISBNs in the ONIX data), the data is converted immediately and a MARC record (see below) created. ONIX Pilot <https://loc.gov/publish/cip/topics/onixpro.html> Up to 40% of the application for CIP data submitted through PrePub Book Link (see below) will be prefilled. April 10, 2019, post About PrePub Book Link <https://loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink/about/>
Preassigned Control Number (PCN) program
PCN program <https://loc.gov/publish/pcn/> creates an initial bibliographic record, not disseminated, identified by LCCN. The LCCN printed in the book is called the PCN.
Effective May 21, 2019, publishers began registering and submitting applications for PCN through PrePub Book Link (see above) Publisher Portal, a common interface for both PCN and CIP programs.
If there had been an Electronic CIP Program account, the publisher is already listed in the database. The ECIP Account ID will be used as the Registration Code. A publisher that had participated in the electronic PCN program only was not migrated over to PrePub Book Link and will require a new account. A self-published author, not using a publisher name, would create a new account using the Author Portal.
The publisher must assign an ISBN (see above) to the title before applying for PCN. A publisher intending to use the services of a contract librarian to obtain Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP) (see below) should obtain the PCN first. ISBN and LCCN are elements of PCIP.
The PCN program doesn't catalog the book. Subject added entries and Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal call numbers, which require submission of an electronic galley, are not created in the PCN program. A complete bibliographic record would not be created unless the publisher obtains PCIP or Library of Congress or another library acquires and catalogs the book for its own collection. PCN could be useful to a library acquiring the book, especially if PCIP were printed in the book.
Without PCIP, the LCCN would be printed on the copyright page (the verso of the title page) exactly as received.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010014580 [normalized]
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010-14580 [hyphenated]
A publisher is obligated to send a complimentary copy of the book for which LCCN was received to the CIP program immediately upon publication to be considered for acquisition. LC will complete cataloging should the book be acquired. This is in addition to sending two copies with copyright registration application and fee to Register of Copyrights.
Library of Congress
U.S. Programs, Law, and Literature Division
Cataloging in Publication Program
101 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20540-4283
Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP)
A publisher ineligible to participate in the CIP program (see above) can obtain comparable bibliographic data to be printed in the book, called Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication data (PCIP), by using the services of a contract librarian. The publisher must assign an ISBN (see above) to the title and should obtain the PCN (see above) before submitting the application for cataloging. ISBN and LCCN are elements of PCIP.
Five Rainbows Cataloging Services <https://fiverainbows.com/> is a contract librarian offering PCIP plus a MARC record to be submitted to WorldCat (see below) and SkyRiver.
Ongoing cataloging and identification considerations
A publisher should have a proper catalog of books it's published. The goal should be to create a complete and accurate catalog of all titles by binding and edition. There should be a complete bibliographic record of each title, including ISBN and LCCN where assigned.
The correct identification of a title applies cataloging rules to create a bibliographic record of the book as published. Each bibliographic record should be verified by examining a physical copy. For titles identified by ISBN, each title's metadata in Books in Print should be verified for consistency. Also, verify the accuracy and obtain the LCCN of each title's bibliographic record found in the Library of Congress catalog <https://catalog.loc.gov/> and WorldCat union catalog <https://www.worldcat.org/advancedsearch>, submitting corrections as necessary. Library of Congress is particularly responsive to addressing such issues.
All material advertising its books must be corrected so that titles are always accurately identified.