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Barcodes and ISBNs

Many of us are familiar with what a barcode looks like, but have you every wondered what the lines and numbers mean?  Barcodes are an important part of everyday life in the computer age.  Most of us encounter them everyday at the checkout lines of grocery and other retail stores.  Manufacturing companies use them to track their products as they are being produced.  Postal services are able to pinpoint the location of packages using barcode technology.  Barcodes are an important component for libraries, too.

A barcode is a symbol made up of a series of narrow and wide bars and spaces.  There are different types of barcodes, and Parkland Library uses ones designed for libraries.  This type of barcode consists of four parts.  The barcodes in our books and on our audiovisual materials all begin with a single digit, "3," which lets the computer know that this is a barcode for an item owned by the library.  This is followed by four digits which represents the library that owns the material.  For Parkland this is "3036."  The next eight digits are unique to the item upon which the label is placed.  These eight digits identify the title, call number, and other data associated with the specific item.  They are in sequential order from the first one used, 00000 001, to the ones currently being attached to our material, in the 00168 000 range.  The last digit is a "check" character.  It is calculated by a mathematical formula using the previous 13 numerals, and its purpose is to help the scanner read the barcodes correctly.

If you have a library card from one of the local public libraries, take a look at it.  You'll see that your card number probably begins with the single numeral, "2."  Just as the initial "3" (in the explanation above) represents material owned by the library, the "2" tells the computer that this barcode is for a patron.  The next four digits, as above, identify the library.  For Champaign Public Library this is "1305."  The next eight digits identify the specific person, and a "check" character once again completes the patron barcode.  Parkland Library uses your ID, and the barcode on it is a reflection of the system used by the College.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies books and other book-like products published internationally.  It is composed of four parts.  Part one indicates the language or country of origin.  For instance:  0 and 1 = English, 2 = French, 3 = German, 4 = Japanese.  Part two identifies a particular publisher within a group.  "02" (as in the image below) has been assigned to Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a textbook publisher.  The third part is the title identifier which signifies a specific book.  The final digit is again a "check" digit calculated using a formula.  You may see an "X" in this spot.  It acts as the numeral "10" in the event that is the result of the calculation.

ISBNs provide a fast and efficient method for identifying books.  They are machine-readable and, coupled with a barcode, can be scanned for accurate transactions.  You can search Parkland Library's catalog using an ISBN by choosing the "Browse" function.

Barcodes and ISBNs are helpful products of computer technology and are used with great frequency in the day-to-day transactions of the Library.