Do I have to buy ISBN in batches?

Does ISBN number has any structure? Which I mean intead of giving a book its unique ID, does it also tell the category of the book? Also, If I want to buy an ISBN from Bowker, do I have to have 10 numbers instead of only one or two? Thanks in advance!|||The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced "is-ben"), is a unique[1] identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. The ISBN system was created in the United Kingdom in 1966 by the booksellers and stationers W H Smith and originally called Standard Book Numbering or SBN. It was adopted as international standard ISO 2108 in 1970. A similar identifier, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), is used for periodical publications such as magazines.


Each edition and variation (except reprints) of a book receives its own ISBN. The number is either 10 or 13 digits long, and consists of four or five parts:


1.if 13-digit ISBN, an EAN prefix, either 978 or 979


2.the country of origin or language code,


3.the publisher,


4.the item number, and


5.a checksum character|||From the International ISBN agency:





If you wish to obtain an ISBN, you should contact the national or regional ISBN agency in your own country. Presently, more than 160 countries or territories are official ISBN members.





Please contact the agency responsible for you. There you will get further information on the procedure of ISBN assignment.