ISBN-13 Update: Erroneous Bar Codes
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) recently announced that it had received several reports of books carrying a Bookland EAN bar code with an erroneous number encoded in the bar code and displayed below the bar code itself. "The erroneous number begins with '979', an invalid prefix for today's Bookland EAN and an ISBN range not yet activated by International or National ISBN Agencies," said the BISG statement. "The erroneous number is unlikely to be recognized by the computer systems of many booksellers who are not yet prepared for ISBN-13.