CIP and ISBN services

The National Library of Kosovo “Pjetër Bogdani” announces that all information and requests regarding CIP and ISBN services can only be addressed and provided via the email address: cip.isbn.bkk@gmail.com.

Po ashtu, CIP-i paraqitet në një format të ri, si rrjedhojë e disa ndryshimeve brenda Bibliotekës Kombëtare të Kosovës.

P.S.: According to the Law on Publishing Activities and Books, „Every private publisher and every public institution that publishes publications in Kosova and that are intended for public use is obliged to send five copies of each publication to the National Library of Kosova within 30 days from the date of publication”.

National ISBN Agency

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) system at the international level began operating in early 1970. This system has been developed and continues to be developed, maintained and coordinated for years by the International ISBN Agency.

The headquarters of the International ISBN Agency for several decades have been located in Berlin. Since 2006, this agency has changed location and is located in London. Currently, about 160 countries around the world are actively integrated into the ISBN system, among which, since 2001, Kosovo is also included.

The ISBN system was developed at a time when computers became important and indispensable in the world. Such an international number was an ideal solution in the era of computerization. Thus, for various needs in the process of book circulation, instead of making long bibliographic descriptions, a number with only a few digits is sufficient.
The National ISBN Agency operates within the National and University Library of Kosovo. It continuously supports Kosovo publishers in their integration into the ISBN system and equipping their publications with this number.

National ISBN Agency:

Supports participation in the ISBN system in the country;
Establishes collaborative relationships with publishers;
Allocates identifiers for publishers and maintains a register of publishers and their identifiers;
Informs publishers about the correct and appropriate implementation of the system;
Provides materials and resources that assist in the correct implementation of ISBN;
Informs publishers about errors in the use of ISBN;
Maintains relations with the International ISBN Agency in the interest of the country’s publishers;
Reports regularly to the International ISBN Agency.

National ISMN Agency

The National Library of Kosovo “Pjetër Bogdani”, formerly known as the National and University Library of Kosova, has established the National ISMN Agency for Kosova, which has been operating since 2003. The National ISMN Agency is a member of the International ISMN Agency, headquartered in Berlin.

The ISMN was created to identify musical works, unlike the ISBN that enables the identification of books and similar materials. Being an internationally accepted standard in ISO (ISO 10957), the ISMN is used in many countries around the world to enable the identification, trade and exchange of musical works and their parts in an efficient manner.

From a 10-digit number, the ISMN has been transformed into a 13-digit number since 2007. Musical works in Kosovo, which receive an ISMN, assigned by the National ISMN Agency headquartered in the KCB, are identified with the series 801950 – 801969. A complete ISMN number consists of several elements:

The initial ISMN, which is added to the ISMN number to distinguish it from the ISBN or other standards;
International code ‘979’;
The code ‘0’, which replaces the letter ‘M’, which was previously used in the ten-digit ISMN;
Base serial number, e.g. ‘801950’;
Unit identification number ‘01’, and;
The check digit, e.g. ‘7’, which indicates the validity of the ISMN.

By combining all of these mentioned elements, we obtain a complete valid 13-digit ISMN:
ISMN 979-0-801950-01-7