What is the difference between ISSN and ISBN?

ISSN are assigned to serial publications such as journals and newspapers, which ISBN are assigned to monographs (books). An ISSN can be assigned to a serial publication as a whole; each individual volume in the series can also be given an ISBN.

ISSN are assigned by a network of national ISSN centres as globally unique identifiers. The ISBN system is structured differently. Each publisher is assigned an ISBN prefix that identifies the publishing company. The publisher receives a contingent of ISBN which it then assigns consecutively to the publications in the series. In Germany, the body responsible for assigning ISBN is MVB Marketing- und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels GmbH in Frankfurt am Main.

Unlike the ISBN, which contains information on the publisher or the country of publication, the ISSN solely serves the purpose of identification.

MVB Marketing- und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels GmbH, Frankfurt am Main