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ISBN request

Requesting an International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique identifier which identifies one specific version of a book or item.

An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book will each have a different ISBN.

ECU Library Services Centre is responsible for assigning ISBNs to items published by ECU staff with ECU as the publisher.

Items for which an ISBN can be allocated:

  • printed books
  • publications that are not intended by the publisher to be updated regularly or continued indefinitely
  • educational/instructional films
  • audiobooks on CD, or DVD (talking books)
  • electronic publications either on physical carriers (such as machine-readable tapes, diskettes, or CD-ROMs) or on the internet (for download or streaming)
  • digitised copies of printed monographic publications
  • microform publications
  • educational or instructional software

Items that do not require an ISBN:

  • ephemeral printed materials such as advertising matter and the like
  • printed music
  • art prints and art folders without title page and text
  • personal documents
  • software that is intended for any purpose other than educational or instructional
  • electronic bulletin boards
  • emails and other electronic correspondence
  • games
  • music sound recordings

A comprehensive list and information can be found on Thorpe-Bowker website.

Thorpe-Bowker is the sole distributor of ISBNs for Australia.

Request an Australian ISBN

To request an ISBN, complete the Request Form and email the completed form to library@ecu.edu.au

When an ISBN is allocated it will be annotated on the form and the form returned to the requestor, usually within 2 working days.

Copyright Declaration

If you are declaring copyright of the work and declaring that it is free from third party ownership, the copyright declaration form will be required.

If the edited publication is a collection of conference papers or journal articles then the Transfer of Ownership section on the copyright declaration form is required to prove permission has been sought from the authors.

Prepublication Data Service

Prepublication Data Service is a service provided by the National Library of Australia to create a catalogue record for a publication before it is published.

The entry includes information such as:

  • title
  • author
  • ISBN
  • Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) notation
  • subject headings

The main benefit of having a Prepublication Data Service comes from being included in the National Library of Australia database.

This information makes your publication searchable via internet search engines and library databases. Prepublication Data Service applications must include a valid Australian ISBN.

More information can be found on the National Library of Australia Prepublication Data Service frequently asked questions page.

An online Prepublication Data Service form is available on the National Library of Australia website.

The service is free and takes approximately 2 days.

Legal deposit

PREMIER’S CIRCULAR No. 8/01 requires that:

“Copies of all publications produced by public sector agencies and statutory authorities are to be deposited with the State Library of Western Australia and the National Library of Australia”.

All items published are required to be deposited in the following public collections.

This is the responsibility of the requesting department.

One copy             Legal Deposit, National Library of Australia, Canberra ACT 2600

One copy             Legal Deposit, State Library of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Centre,  25 Francis Street,  Perth WA 6000

One copy             ECU Library Services Centre, Joondalup

One Copy            Legal Deposit, Records & Archives Management Services, ECU Joondalup

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