This week, BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos announced that the first phase of work to make BookSense.com websites ISBN-13 compatible has been completed. "Booksellers and consumers can now search for and find books with both 10- and 13-digit ISBNs," Vlahos said.

During the next few weeks, the BookSense.com tech team will continue work to make the site's inventory upload, images, and EDI documents compatible with the 13-digit ISBN. Questions about the process may be directed to Vlahos at [email protected] [7] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 6650.

The book industry's conversion to a 13-digit ISBN standard, which goes into effect on January 1, 2007, has ramifications for everyone in the business, from booksellers and librarians to publishers, wholesalers, and POS vendors. The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) offers a number of tools to help ease the transition, and they are freely available through its website at [8]bisg.org/isbn-13/ [8]. Materials include timelines, an FAQ, labeling and ordering information, and a trading partners readiness directory.

Also available via the website are free downloads of a PDF version of Wiley's ISBN-13 for Dummies [9] and BISG's ISBN-13 webinar [10]. Both can help unravel the complexities of the ISBN-13 transition.