BASIC READING COMPLETION 7

ISBNs

Have you ever noticed the series of numbers on the back of a book? It’s different from a bar code. This number pattern is called an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). It is used to identify every book. Each ISBN is unique. The number consists of 13 digits, and the different digits have meaning. All 13-digit ISBNs begin with a prefix of numbers. For example, the prefix being used in 2012 is 978. After the prefix are numbers that identify the country of the book publisher. These numbers are followed by numbers which identify the specific publisher within that country. The last set of numbers identifies the title or edition of the book. And every ISBN ends with a single digit that identifies the number as an ISBN. 

  

A book needs to have an ISBN to be found in stores. For example, let’s say you want to read Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms in Spanish. First, you ask the sales clerk for help finding it. The sales clerk then looks up the title and author in the store database. After that she finds the ISBN for the Spanish version of the book. She sees that this store has one copy of the Spanish version left. Finally you follow her to the shelf to get the book, but that’s not all. After you purchase the book, the store records show that there are no more versions of this book in stock. When the ISBN was scanned, it automatically updated the information so the store can keep track of what they need to order. Stores also use the ISBN so they can update the publisher of the book on what books are selling. The ISBN helps customers find books, stores keep track of what is ordered, and publishers know what books are being purchased.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER in each gap

1. ISBN is not like a .

2. There are in each number.

3. The prefix is used in 2012.

4. After the prefix numbers is numbers that refer to the that publishes the book.

5. The third set of ISBN numbers stands for the where the book is made from.

6. The last set of ISBN number tell you the book's .

7. The sales clerk can find the book's information in .

8. As soon as the ISBN was scanned, the book's information is in order to help the store keep track of their stock.

9. The ISBN also provides the with information about how many books are sold.

10. The ISBN helps buyers .

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