Dutch ISBN data to be posted on the Internet soon

CULEMBORG — An authors group and a book distributor, owned by players in the publishing industry, failed to reach agreement on a crucial matter for the authors: public access to the ISBN-data bank. The data bank contains information on all books published in the Netherlands, not just those available from distributor Centraal Boekhuis. Authors using print-on-demand and self-publishing services as well e-books effectively remained hidden from book stores and the public. The ISBN concept was designed to open up all published book information. A complaint to the Rotterdam court prompted the distributor to review its stance and it promised to release the information on a website later this year.