--- Fred Bauder <fredbaud(a)ctelco.net> wrote:
Marvellously wrongheaded, most books published after
1970 have ISBN
numbers
I don't dispute that. Most books published after 500 BC have an author
and a title.
and are most easily found an purchased if you start
with that number
(although it can get complicated as books are reprinted under diffent
numbers).
Since many books are eventually reprinted under different numbers
(softcover, second edition), your second half sentence seems to
contradict the first. How is searching for a book by author and title
any more complicated than searching for it by ISBN? You will find all
editions by all publishers that way, hardcover and softcover, printed,
Braille or on tape, whatever.
The general practice in the bookselling business
currently relies
on the ISBN number and will for the forseeable future.
Sure. ISBN's were invented by and for booksellers and serve a useful
purpose there, namely to identify a specific edition of a book so that
it can be ordered from a wholesaler and delivered to the customer. But
they don't serve a useful purpose for someone who wants to locate a
book in a (used) bookstore or library. These people are Wikipedia's
clientele.
Axel
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