The ISBN System

The ISBN system has been maintained, developed and coordinated by the International ISBN Agency in London since the year 2006 (the system was previously maintained in Berlin). The Finnish ISBN Agency is situated in the National Library of Finland.

The numbering of books started in Europe and the United States in the late 1960s. Finland joined the system in 1972. The latest revision of the international ISBN standard ISO 2108 and SFS-ISO 2108 was completed in the year 2005.

The Finnish ISBN Agency is in charge of all international contacts, distributes the numbers, checks that the numbers are correct and maintains the Finnish Publisher Register. The information is regularly included in the international register of publishers, which is annually published in the Publishers' International ISBN Directory (PIID) (printed and on CD-ROM). The register is also available online on the ISBN Agency's website.