The Publisher and the Publisher's Responsibilities

A publisher is a person, firm or corporate body responsible for the publishing of a book or a monographic publication.

• Publishers
• Societies
• Companies
• Municipalities
• Institutes
• Private persons

The publisher is responsible for obtaining an ISBN for the publication. The publisher's identifier must correspond to the publisher's name. If a publication has more than one publisher, each publisher's identifier can be printed in the publication if they wish. It is, however, recommended that only the publisher in charge obtains the ISBN.

The number of digits in the publisher prefix varies depending on the publisher's title output. Publishers with one to four digits in their prefix will receive their ISBN listing directly from the ISBN Centre and are themselves responsible for the numbering. Publishers with prefixes consisting of five digits receive individual numbers from the ISBN Centre.

When a publisher gives an individual number to a publication, it must be given only to one separate title, never to two different titles. An incorrect ISBN must always be corrected, and this causes extra work both in the ISBN Centre and the publisher's office. It is easiest to avoid mistakes if only one person is responsible for the ISBNs.

Corrections and additions to the List of Publishers

It is important that the information in the List of Publishers of the Finnish ISBN Agency and the International ISBN Agency is correct. Please fill in the electronic corrections form immediately after a change of address or other contact information. The publisher is responsible for updating the information.