Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Hi All,

So, I have a lot of books from the pre-ISBN days. I have noticed in searching through various editions of different novels that many of them that have publishing dates before ISBN still list ISBNs. Where are people getting those numbers? Is there a way to convert the LOCN into ISBN or something? Is there somewhere to search online for an ISBN of an edition that doesn't actually have the ISBN listed in or on the book anywhere? I appreciate any ISBN insight you all can share.

Thanks!
Mindy

Some could be errors. Most probably come from Amazon, whose accuracy can be questionable. However, one non-error explanation is that reprints of editions that occurred after the adoption of ISBN would have been given an ISBN and that number would be used to refer to the entire print line (even those printings that occurred prior to ISBN) since a new print run is not usually considered a new edition.