International Standard Numbers (ISNs)

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

• ISBN Agency has changed
• About ISBN
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Canadian ISBN Services System (CISS)
• Canadian ISBN Publishers' Directory

ISBN Agency has changed as of August 1, 2007

As of August 1, 2007, the Canadian ISBN Service System (CISS) has replaced the former ISBN procedure with a single, seamless application.

Effective August 1, 2007, all publisher clients, existing and new, are required to access CISS and register online by completing a publisher client profile and item description. Registrants will receive an automatically generated email confirmation from Library and Archives Canada (LAC). Based on ISBN Agency criteria, Agency staff will:

• review and approve applications;
• electronically select the size of block publishers receive;
• set publishers' access levels; and
• "activate" publishers' CISS accounts.

Publishers will receive instructions on how to access the system, along with an assigned user ID and password for logging on to their online account.

Once their account is active, publisher clients may access CISS online at any time to view their ISBN logbook, enter and edit data describing their publication, and receive their next ISBN. They may also view and edit their company profile, generate a report on their account, change contact information, and edit item descriptions.

The new CISS system of the Canadian ISBN Agency provides LAC with a doorway to greater contact and co-operation with the Canadian publishing community. The Agency has become publishers' logical first point of contact for approaching LAC, as almost all publishers request ISBNs -- essential in the book trade -- for the material they intend to publish.