The International ISBN Agency

Easily recognisable as the identifier for all kinds of books, the International Standard Book Number is key to an efficient and effective book supply chain.

The International ISBN Agency is the registration authority for the Standard on a global basis. 

Focus on

  • ISBN Annual General Meeting takes place in Madrid
    The signage outside the the AGM auditorium: the words 'Casa del Lector' in grey in front of the stone entrance to the building.

    Casa del Lector, the venue for the 2026 AGM

    The International ISBN Agency held its Annual General Meeting for 2026 at the Casa del Lector in Madrid, Spain. The meeting took place on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September 2026. It was held thanks to the hard work and kind organisation of FGEE, which runs the Agencia del ISBN in Spain. Our sincere thanks must firstly go to colleagues at FGEE for hosting such a wonderful event.

    Next, we thank the 87 delegates that participated in person. The delegates for the ISBN AGMs were, as usual, predominantly composed of representatives from the ISBN…

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  • International ISBN Agency supports all book supply chains
    The letters I S B and N in blue with a white border, comprising the ISBN logo

    The ISBN logo

    Our world is far from being at peace. There is suffering on a huge scale going on, right now, in many countries. Some of these may be termed displacement crises, others humanitarian catastrophes, or civil wars, or uprisings or invasions. Those living through these awful events are directly impacted, whether being forced to flee, hide from drones, escape from famine, or fight for their survival or homeland. The threat is entirely real and omnipresent.

    …

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