aglew@crhc.uiuc.edu (Andy Glew) (12/13/90)
In an efort to create an inventory of my library for the company handling my recent move, I have recorded most of their ISBN numbers in a big list. This has glimmerings of being useful. Is there any way that I can convert ISBN numbers into more meaningful author/title lists, and save myself a bit more typing? (I suppose that I could query the UIUC LCS (library computer system) but many of these books are not part of the LCS) -- Andy Glew, a-glew@uiuc.edu [get ph nameserver from uxc.cso.uiuc.edu:net/qi]
dhelm@ibmpcug.co.uk (D Helm) (12/14/90)
>Is there any way that I can convert ISBN numbers into more meaningful >author/title lists, and save myself a bit more typing? -- >Andy Glew, a-glew@uiuc.edu [get ph nameserver from uxc.cso.uiuc.edu:net/qi] Declaration of Interest:- I work for a company that supplies a stock matching service to booksellers in the UK. The easiest way we have found to convert ISBN numbers to useful author/title/publication data is to run a match against the relevant BIP (Books in Print) database. In the UK this is Whitakers British BIP, in the US, the equivalent that I know of is produced by Bowkers. Both databases are are available on CD-ROM, which is what we use. Both databases supply search/match software as part of the supplied package. The Whitakers BIP, which is the one I know, use BRS/Search software. Hope this is of some use. Dave H. Disclaimer: I speak for myself - The company can make it's own mistakes. -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group. --
jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap Akkerhuis) (12/18/90)
In article <AGLEW.90Dec12232240@cobra.crhc.uiuc.edu> aglew@crhc.uiuc.edu (Andy Glew) writes: > > Is there any way that I can convert ISBN numbers into more meaningful > author/title lists, and save myself a bit more typing? Not really, unless you type it in. As far as I remember, the only thing coded into the ISBN number is the country and a code for the publisher. The serial number is up to the publisher. Unless you get a list out of the publisher (unlikely), you'll have to match title and number yourself. BTW, this scheme also implies that for a single book one can have more then one ISBN number, when it is published in two different countries. As a matter of fact, I have one lying in front of me. It has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New York, while in the other number 3 stands for Germany and 540 for Springer Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg. I seem to remember that 90 is the code for the Netherlands. jaap PS. Just in case you want to know, the book that Springer gave serial number 97397 (the 4 is a check digit) is ``Multi-media Document Translation, ODA and the EXPRESS project'', by Jonathan Rosenberg, Mark Sherman, Ann Marks and myself.
psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (12/19/90)
The original query seemed to be for an ISBN database. Other than buying BOOKS IN PRINT in machine readable form (it's available on CD ROM), I don't think such a database exists. In article <1990Dec17.205911.15073@mtxinu.COM>, jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap Akkerhuis) writes that a single book can have multiple ISBNs. It's worth pointing out that the hardcover and paperback versions of the same book have different ISBNs. > [My book] has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. > The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New > York, while in the other number 3 stands for Germany and 540 for > Springer Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg. I seem to remember that 90 is > the code for the Netherlands. I thought the first number was for the *language*, not the country. I could be wrong. The NIH class library book (published in the U.K.) didn't have a hyphen between the publisher and book number, much to my surprise. Paul S. R. Chisholm, AT&T Bell Laboratories att!mtunq!psrc, psrc@mtunq.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking my mind. P.S.: "ISBN number" is redundant; ISBN stands for something like "International Standard Book *Number*". An "ISBN number" is a number number?-)
wtho@ciba-geigy.ch (Tom Hofmann) (12/19/90)
In article <1990Dec17.205911.15073@mtxinu.COM> jaap@mtxinu.UUCP (Jaap Akkerhuis) writes: | As far as I remember, the only |thing coded into the ISBN number is the country ... | |BTW, this scheme also implies that for a single book one can have |more then one ISBN number, when it is published in two different |countries. As a matter of fact, I have one lying in front of me. |It has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. | |The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New |York, while in the other number 3 stands for Germany and 540 for |Springer Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg. I seem to remember that 90 is |the code for the Netherlands. It is not the country but the language which is coded in the first digit(s): 0 - English 1 - English 2 - French 3 - German etc. In some cases (international publishers) it can happen that the language code does not reflect the language of the book. Tom Hofmann wtho@ciba-geigy.ch
jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap Akkerhuis) (12/20/90)
> In article <1990Dec17.205911.15073@mtxinu.COM>, jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap > Akkerhuis) writes that a single book can have multiple ISBNs. It's > worth pointing out that the hardcover and paperback versions of the > same book have different ISBNs. > > > [My book] has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. > > > The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New > > York, while in the other number 3 stands for Germany and 540 for > > Springer Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg. I seem to remember that 90 is > > the code for the Netherlands. > > I thought the first number was for the *language*, not the country. I > could be wrong. > Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I really meant one physical book with more then one number. In fact, the two numbers are printed on the back underneath each other. There is no translation of the book (yet). jaap
jlhg0793@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Joseph Herl) (12/20/90)
One way to retrieve bibliographic information from ISBN's is through Illinet
Online. The command is FIND ISBN (or F I) followed by the number. If you
download the results, you should have all the information you need.
For example:
f i 013937681x
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DISPLAY
Kernighan, Brian W.
The UNIX programming environment / Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, c1984.
x, 357 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. (Prentice-Hall software series.)
Includes index.
ISBN 0139376992
ISBN 013937681X (pbk.)
1. Electronic digital computers--Programming 2. UNIX (Computer
operating system) I. Pike, Rob. II. Title. III. Series.
ocm10-269821
Joe Herl
School of Music
herl@uiuc.eduseeba@nas.nasa.gov (Thomas D. Seeba) (12/20/90)
In article <1990Dec19.212851.2669@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, jlhg0793@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Joseph Herl) writes: |> One way to retrieve bibliographic information from ISBN's is through Illinet |> Online. The command is FIND ISBN (or F I) followed by the number. If you |> download the results, you should have all the information you need. So, how do the rest of us get to Illinet Online???????? Tom Seeba NAS Systems Division M/S 258-6 HSP Support Moffett Field, CA 94035 seeba@nas.nasa.gov 415-604-4528
wnp@iiasa.ac.at (Wolf PAUL ) (12/20/90)
In article <1990Dec19.030040.27240@cbnewsl.att.com> psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: >In article <1990Dec17.205911.15073@mtxinu.COM>, jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap >Akkerhuis) writes that a single book can have multiple ISBNs. It's >worth pointing out that the hardcover and paperback versions of the >same book have different ISBNs. > >> [My book] has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. > >> The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New >> York, while in the other number 3 stands for Germany and 540 for >> Springer Verlag Berlin-Heidelberg. I seem to remember that 90 is >> the code for the Netherlands. > >I thought the first number was for the *language*, not the country. I >could be wrong. Well, language is right, but it is usually the publisher's primary language. In the above example, the book seems to be published by Springer NY and Springer Berlin simultaneously, so while it is actually in English, it has both an English and a German ISBN. Likewise, if some publisher in the Netherlands publishes an occasional book in English or German, the ISBN will still start with the Dutch code. It goes without saying that different editions of the same work will have different ISBNs -- actually, a change in price should cause a change in ISBN as well, since the ISBN is supposed to UNIQUELY IDENTIFY a book as to ALL DETAILS -- publisher, title, author, binding, revision, etc., and price. -- W.N.Paul, Int. Institute f. Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg--Austria PHONE: +43-2236-71521-465 INTERNET: wnp%iiasa@relay.eu.net FAX: +43-2236-71313 UUCP: uunet!iiasa!wnp HOME: +43-2236-618514 BITNET: tuvie!iiasa!wnp@awiuni01.BITNET
jlhg0793@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Joseph Herl) (12/21/90)
I've had a couple of messages asking about Illinet Online. I'm sorry I didn't explain it when I posted the message, but I afraid I goofed. I read the original posting in a newsgroup whose distribution is limited to the University of Illinois, where everyone knows what Illinet Onlines is, and I assumed that my reply would also go no further than that. What I didn't realize is that my reply would be sent to all the groups in which the original posting appeared. Anyway, I apologize for the mistake and for the need to take up additional space to explain all this. . . Illinet Online is the online library catalog for the state of Illinois. The telnet address is garcon.cso.uiuc.edu 620. Instructions are provided upon entry. Unfortunately, the user-friendly interface in use in Illinois is not yet available through telnet. Illinet Online provides full cataloguing for about 6.3 million unique titles (as of last June) in over 800 Illinois libraries, including the University of Illinois (both Urbana and Chicago campuses). The holdings for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are complete for items catalogued since 1975 (except for maps, which have yet to receive full cataloguing), and we have begun a retrospective conversion project for items catalogued previously. By the end of next year we expect to have full records for all but 200,000 of our eleven million items (we already have shorter author-title records for all items), plus the records from the other libraries. The holdings vary from library to library; I am not sure how many records for the other libraries are available online. For more information about library catalogs available through telnet, there are two lists. The official list is chapter 2 of the Internet Resources Guide, available by anonymous ftp to nnsc.nsf.net in the directory 'resource-guide.' An more up-to-date unofficial list can be found at umd5.umd.edu in the directory 'info-lib.' I hope this clears things up! Joe Herl School of Music University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign herl@uiuc.edu
pjt@cpac.washington.edu (Larry Setlow) (12/22/90)
In article <1990Dec19.030040.27240@cbnewsl.att.com> psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: In article <1990Dec17.205911.15073@mtxinu.COM>, jaap@mtxinu.COM (Jaap Akkerhuis) writes: > [My book] has the ISBN 0-387-97397-4 as well as 3-540-97397-4. > The 0 for the USA and 387 for the publisher, Springer Verlag, New I thought the first number was for the *language*, not the country. I could be wrong. The first group indicates the principal language of the country of publication (I knew the exact wording from the definition once; this is close enough). The ISBN for a book published in Germany written in English will still begin with a 3. ISBNs for books published in Canada (whether in French or English or gibberish) begin with a 0.
elgaard@diku.dk (Niels Elgaard Larsen) (12/30/90)
psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: >The NIH class library book (published in the U.K.) didn't have a hyphen >between the publisher and book number, much to my surprise. The hyphens isn't significant. The system is designed so the interpretation is unique. This means that you always know what parts of the ISBN is the language number and the publishers number. Ie. since Denmark has the number 87, there can be no language number 8 or with the prefix 87. -- Niels Elgaard Larsen | Institute of Datalogy, | Long before Europe University of Copenhagen | became the focus of world attension, E-mail: elgaard@freja.diku.dk | it was a focus for The Economist
eanv20@castle.ed.ac.uk (John Woods) (01/07/91)
PC>The NIH class library book (published in the U.K.) didn't have a hyphen PC>between the publisher and book number, much to my surprise. NEL>The hyphens isn't significant. The system is designed so the NEL>interpretation is unique. This means that you always know what parts of NEL>the ISBN is the language number and the publishers number. NEL>Ie. since Denmark has the number 87, there can be no language number 8 NEL>or with the prefix 87. Actually, it is necessary that the hyphen is arbitrary, as big publishers need shorter numbers to allow room for their larger (and hence longer) book numbers in the fixed 10 digit sequence. -- /******* cut here ******* John Woods ******* cut here ******** * Philosophy: Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit (Virgil) * * Disclaimer: Every statement in this file is possibly !true * ******** cut here ******* John Woods ******* cut here *******/