Nielsen Books

Nielsen BookData provides a range of services to the book industry internationally, aiding the discovery and purchase, distribution, and sales measurement of books. We are responsible for the ISBN and SAN Agencies in the UK & Ireland. An ISBN, which stands for International Standard Book Number, is a unique number by which a book can be identified. This product number is used by publishers, booksellers, libraries, and consumers for ordering, listing and stock control purposes. An ISBN is 13 digits long, begins 978 or 979 and is printed somewhere on the book, normally the back, and it denotes the region, the publisher, the format, the edition, and the specific title. Most bookselling chains, independent bookshops and internet retailers will require a book to have an ISBN to assist with their internal processing and ordering. The ISBN also provides access to bibliographic databases, such as the Nielsen BookData database. Nielsen BookData has a range of bibliographic metadata pertaining to individual books. An ISBN, a title, a price, a publisher, and an imprint are a minimum set of characteristics that will allow a book to be identified and to move through the supply chain. This enables for accurate market measurement, as well as retail sales monitoring services, and in turn informs commercial decisions such as print runs, reprints, covers and marketing campaigns. We are incredibly proud to play such an important role in the industry, and for more information about any of our products and services, feel free to get in touch via our website.