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CDDB-like Database for ISBN?

Posted by Cliff on from the if-it-works-for-CDs-why-not-books dept.

ElJefe asks: "I'm currently working on a project that will let students at my school buy and sell used textbooks from other students. For the site, I'd like to be able to enter an ISBN number, and have that bring up all relevant information (author, title, etc.). Basically, I'm looking for something analagous to CDDB or freedb, but for books instead of music. Does such a thing already exists? Are there copyright issues with creating such a database?" ISBN is an acronym for 'International Standard Book Number'.

7 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. Can't be illegal.... by tiwason · · Score: 2

    I would hope its not illegal to create a database... whos work would you be copyrighting... its just the author and subject..

    As for where to get one.. try asking a local library or university library... They must get it from somewhere... ain't no way they entered all the books by hand...

  2. Campus book store by Nastard · · Score: 2

    This is a very interesting idea, but my concern is how the campus book stores will take it. They have a legal monopoly on cheap books for students, but are they protected by any laws? Is there anything that says nobody can sell books to students that cheap?

    There is also the issue of software liscences being bought/sold.

  3. Books In Print by Stalemate · · Score: 2

    Some students at my university recently completed a similar project. Their project was to work with the bookstore and professors to automate the book adoption process.

    They used a database called "Books In Print." I believe that the bookstore received this in paper form and they were able to buy a license for an electronic format (CD-ROM I think) but it was pretty expensive. I don't know if this is available online or not, but I'm pretty sure you can purchase CD's and load it into your own database. This would take a lot of space, so you might try searching for "Books In Print" to see if that turns up anything online for you to check into.

    Hope that helps a little.


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  4. System exists somewhere by setec23 · · Score: 2

    Such systems do exist, but how they do it us a mystery. Check out the bookstore at McMaster in Canada. They can do it. Why can't we?

  5. Uh, you can search ISBNs in a bunch of places... by Vito · · Score: 3


    Remember, kids: Google is your friend. Try there before you Ask Slashdot.

    First, there's ISBN.nu. It's actually a really sweet portal/price comparison site, and it only searches ISBNs through the bookstores it's affiliated with (not all ISBNs in general), but it's a neat trick. :)

    Now, following the "About ISBN" link takes you to R. R. Bowker, which is the agency that assigns ISBN numbers in the US (not in other countries! Other agencies do that!).

    Now, since they assign the ISBN numbers, they'd be in a great position to produce the Books in Print and Books Out-of-Print series of reference books, wouldn't they? And, lo and behold, they do!

    Bowker's Books in Print website allows you to search all the ISBN numbers of books currently in print -- for a fee. That's right, it's not free, although there is a free trial available. Annual subscription rates range from US$1850 for single site/single user/no reviews, to US$3375 for single site/multiple user/with reviews.

    Bowker also has their Books Out-of-Print site online. It's also non-free, with single-user subscriptions ranging from US$29 for one week of unlimited searching to US$699 for one year of unlimited searching.

    --Vito

  6. Library of Congress by Sodium+Attack · · Score: 2
    The Library of Congress catalog is searchable by ISBN, and it has a Z39.50 gateway. I'm not familiar with the details, but my understanding of Z39.50 is that it is a protocol for information retrieval often used for searching library catalogs (but not exclusively designed for that purpose), so that you can write your own client to search any library catalog with a Z39.50 gateway without having to go through their web interface, for example.

    LOC should have all books published in the US, and a goodly number of those published outside the US (although the collection is nowhere near complete, nor is it intended to be, for OUS books). One caveat is that LOC is somewhat slow to catalog new books, so books published within the last month or two may not be in there.

    A large number of other libraries also have Z39.50 gateways to their catalogs, so you could even sytematically try other libraries' catalogs if you don't find it in LOC.

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    Never take moderation advice from sigs, including this one.

  7. Since I worked at a book store, I can answer this. by jfrisby · · Score: 2

    There is a publication called "Books in Print" -- published annually IIRC in both print (takes several shelves of a bookcase) and CD-ROM formats.

    It is intended to be a comprehensize reference of all books published, including ISBN. I'm unsure of the license fee...

    Looking at http://www.bowker.com/ it seems there is also a "Books out of Print" too...

    These are likely to be pricey, but probably exactly what you need/want.

    --
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