7. Printing and publicising of the ISMN

The ISMN must appear on the item itself. This is essential for the efficient running of the system.

The ISMN should always be printed in a type large enough to be easily legible (if possible at least 9 point).

7.1. Printing of the ISMN on music publications

7.1.1. Position of the ISMN

• The ISMN must be printed on the back of a score or part.
• If practicable, the ISMN should also be printed with the copyright notice.
• If it is not possible to print the ISMN in any of these positions, it must be printed in some other prominent position (e.g., at the bottom of the first page of music).
• When the item is a single sheet, the ISMN will appear in only one place on the item.
• When the item is an anthology, the ISMN of the anthology must be clearly distinguished from any other ISMNs that may be printed on individual items contained in the anthology.

7.1.2. Complete listing of ISMNs belonging to a publication

It is strongly recommended that a complete list of the ISMNs (assigned to all constituent parts of a publication, followed by an appropriate qualification) be displayed on at least one of the items. If it is practicable, the identical list should be displayed on one or more other items as well.

   Examples: *

ISMN M-321-76543-6 (score)
ISMN M-321-76544-3 (vocal score)
ISMN M-321-76545-0 (set of parts)

(*  Identifying terms are illustrative, not prescriptive. They will be given in the language of the publication.)

The list should appear at least in the score, preferably also in the vocal score, perhaps also in each part.

ISMN M-321-76546-7 (score, bound)
ISMN M-321-76547-4 (score, pbk.)

The list should appear both in the bound and the paperback score.

A multi-volume publication (see Chapter 6.5.) should be treated as follows::

ISMN M-321-76548-1 (set)
ISMN M-321-76549-8 (vol. 1)
ISMN M-321-76550-4 (vol. 2)
ISMN M-321-76551-0 (vol. 3)

The list should appear in all volumes; at least the ISMNs for the set and the current volume must appear in each volume.

If a set of parts is distributed in a wrapper, the ISMN for the set must be printed on the wrapper. If the parts are available individually, the ISMNs of all individual parts should also be given on the wrapper.

  7.2. Printing of the ISMN in machine-readable coding

For OCR (Optical Character Recognition) purposes, the ISMN should be printed in OCR-B format.

The rapid, worldwide extension of bar code scanning has made it advisable to use the international 13-digit bar code. All these bar codes start with a national identifier except those on books and periodicals and those on printed music. Because of the international network of the book trade these digits 978 for books, 979 for printed music and 977 for periodicals are considered a "bookland."

The 979 prefix is followed by the complete ISMN, including the check digit. "M" is assigned the numeric value of zero (0) for bar code purposes only. For the calculation of the check digit, however, M has the numerical value 3 (see Chapter 2.1.4.).

     Example of the conversion of an ISMN to a bookland code:

This is an ISMN bookland number.

A printed ISMN in bar code symbols is shown below:

7.3. Providing the 13-digit bar code. Instructions for makers of film masters

If ISMN bar code film masters are provided to publishers in order to allow them to print an ISMN on their products, the following procedures should be observed:

• Validate the ISMN provided by the publisher, using the ISMN check digit validation routine, to avoid any transcription or transposition errors (see ISMN check digit calculation algorithm).
• Generate the ISMN bookland number by adding 979 (see Chapter 7.2.).
• Print the following:

          1. the ISMN in machine-readable numbers (OCR-B),
          2. the ISMN bookland in bar code, and
          3. the ISMN bookland in machine-readable numbers.

All of these procedures should be accomplished by computer programming. EAN technical requirements for bar code printing should be observed.

ISMNs printed in machine-readable form are still subject to the rules laid down in this manual. The considerable number of additional rules and recommendations makes it necessary that those who wish to print the ISMN in scannable font ask their national or regional agency for advice and for the names of bar code producers in their area.

7.4. Publicising the ISMN

ISMNs should appear in publishers' advertisements, catalogues and stock lists, in leaflets, brochures and all other publicity and marketing materials.

It is recommended that in such materials the ISMN is printed in a prominent position adjacent to the title and description of the item.

The full International Standard Music Number should always be given, although it is acceptable to omit the letters "ISMN" as long it is clear that the number is an International Standard Music Number.