McCoyd agrees aligning the ISBN with the EAN.UCC would help publishers, distributors, and global book retailers. "It will enable U.S. publishers to more easily sell their products abroad, because most major booksellers are already equipped to accept the 13-digit bar code," he says.
However, most U.S. and Canadian supermarkets and other book retailers today accept only a 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) at checkout, McCoyd says. Those systems would also require computer updates.
ISBN Changes Could Cost Publishers
McCoyd agrees aligning the ISBN with the EAN.UCC would help publishers, distributors, and global book retailers. "It will enable U.S. publishers to more easily sell their products abroad, because most major booksellers are already equipped to accept the 13-digit bar code," he says.
However, most U.S. and Canadian supermarkets and other book retailers today accept only a 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC) at checkout, McCoyd says. Those systems would also require computer updates.