In common with many organisations across the world, the current Covid-19 crisis is having an impact on the International ISBN Agency's operations.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the key identifier for books in the supply chain; an ISBN uniquely identifies a specific book by a specific publisher in a specific format.

From early 2020 the United States ISBN Agency (operated by Bowker) will begin assigning ISBNs starting with the prefix element 979.

The International ISBN Agency will be undertaking a project to redevelop its website architecture and database services in 2020.