If you wish to sell your book through any retail outlet you will need an ISBN and a barcode on your product. The ISBN also provides access to Bibliographic Databases which are organised using ISBNs as references. These databases are used by booksellers and libraries to provide information to customers.
Biddles no longer supply ISBNs. These can be purchased online directly from Nielsen – a single ISBN costs £91 or a block of ten costs £174. They can also supply barcodes for £15 each and these can be purchased online.
If you are publishing a paperback and a hardback version of a book then you will need to assign a separate ISBN to each edition.
Contact details for Nielsen UK ISBN Agency:
Tel: +44 (0)1483 712 215
Fax: +44 (0)1483 712 214
Email: isbn.agency@nielsen.com
Website: https://nielsenbook.co.uk/isbn-agency/
ISBN Store:https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com/
Post: Nielsen UK ISBN Agency, 3rd Floor, Midas House, 62 Goldsworth Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 6LQ, United Kingdom
Legal Deposit Libraries
Books published and distributed in the United Kingdom and in Ireland are liable for deposit at the six legal deposit libraries regardless of whether they have an ISBN or not. There is no charge for depositing books. The requirement remains, irrespective of the number of copies in a published edition, the price of individual copies, or the size of the publishing body.
The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 (UK) and the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (Ireland) make it obligatory for publishers and distributors in the United Kingdom and Ireland to deposit their publications.
Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Tel: 01937 546268 (books) or 01937 546267 (serials)
Email: legal-deposit-books@bl.uk or legal-deposit-serials@bl.uk
Other Legal Deposit libraries
The deposit regulations of the Copyright Acts apply also to the other five legal deposit libraries:
the Bodleian Library, Oxford
the University Library, Cambridge
the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
the Library of Trinity College, Dublin
the National Library of Wales
These libraries are entitled to receive, free of charge, and inclusive of postage and packing, a copy of every work published in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Copies for these 5 libraries should be sent to:
Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries
21 Marnin Way
Edinburgh
EH12 9GD
There is a useful explanation about the system on the National Library of Scotland’s website.
Barcodes
Barcodes are created from an ISBN (either your own or we can provide one). We can create a barcode for you and they will be printed in black, in a white-out box, with an approximate size of 25 x 40mm. They can include the price of the book but don’t have to.
