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The International Standard Book Number is part of a system for uniquely numbering books. It was first developed in Great Britain in 1966 by the W.H. Smith company, a large book retailer. The ISBN was approved as a standard in 1970 and is in use in almost 150 countries today.
An ISBN can identify a book title, its publisher, place of publication, edition and binding accurately.
For a more detailed history, please see the ISBN History Page on the Bowker Web Site.
SOURCE: Bowker web site
UPDATED: 4/11/2006