The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique product identifier for books and related material. It aids the listing, discovery and distribution of books.
Each ISBN is made up of smaller groups of numbers that denote: the ISBN’s series prefix, a language area or country, the publisher, the publication and a check digit.
The core supplier for parliamentary papers allocates unique ISBNs for Command, House of Commons, and related papers from a specific ISBN series prefix. Command and House of Commons Papers should always include an ISBN with this prefix.
Standard book numbers were popularised in the UK in the 1960s after WH Smith developed a numbering system for its books. The ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) adapted the system to publish an international standard in 1972. Each country has its own ISBN agency, in the UK it is Nielsen ISBN Agency UK & Ireland.