Bookland EAN

Bookland EAN-13 (European Article Number) bar code has become a requirement in the book publishing industry. Bookland EAN-13 bar codes are used to represent the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) of the publication. Bookland EAN-13 bar codes begin with "978" followed by the first nine digits of the ISBN. The last character is a check digit.

The 5-digit extension is used to represent a price. The first digit of the extension is a currency designator. A 5 represents US dollars. Currency designators for other countries are under development. The remaining four digits represent the suggested list price. Leading zeroes are used for prices under $10. The price designator 9999 is used when the price exceeds $100. Below are some examples:

Country Codes
0 & 1	British Pounds
3	Austrailia
4	New Zealand
5	United States
6	Canada

PRICE 5-digit extension
$5.00 US	50500
$29.95 US	52995
$129.00 US	59999
unknown at time of publication	90000

When the add-on is used for other internal reasons, the publisher may choose any number between 90000 and 98999. It is now required that the number 90000 be used when the publisher has no particular information to represent. Numbers between 99000 and 99999 have been reserved for book industry-wide use. The Book Industry Systems Advisory Committee (BISAC) already has assigned part of this range to the National Association of College Stores (NACS). NACS has exclusive use of the add-on numbers 99990 through 99999, and has chosen 99990 as their "used book" designator and 99991 for "desk copies."

For more detailed information and/or specification guides regarding Bookland EAN-13 symbols contact:

BISAC, Book Industry Study Group, Inc.

19 West 21st Street, Suite 905
New York, NY 10010

Phone: (646) 336-7141

Web: BISG.org

Email: bisg-info@bisg.org

Standard Symbol Location
The Bookland EAN barcode should be printed anywhere on the bottom of the back cover, with the bottom of the symbol an inch from the bottom of the cover. The bars should be oriented vertically. Ideally the bar code should be black bars on a white back ground. This provides good contrast for scanning.

With rack-size mass market paperbacks, the outside back cover carries a UCC-12 (UPC) bar code. The Bookland EAN-13 symbol should then be printed in the lower left corner of the inside front cover.