BC as a book publisher
Are you planning to publish a monograph, textbook, proceedings, atlas, catalogue, or other document under the name of BC? If the publication falls under the ISBN system, it is necessary to apply for an ISBN before publishing it. ISBN is an international standard book number that uniquely identifies a specific publication, its edition, and format. ISBNs are assigned to monographic publications and certain related products available to the public, regardless of whether they are distributed free of charge or for a fee.
You can request an ISBN for publications published on behalf of BC using the form below. After submitting the request and reviewing it, the ISBN will be assigned by the Open Science Manager.
What not to forget
1. When to apply for an ISBN?
Always apply for an ISBN before the typesetting is completed and before the publication is published or printed. The ISBN must be listed directly in the publication, usually on the back of the title page or in the imprint, and therefore it is necessary to have it available before the document is finalized.
An ISBN is needed especially for:
- monographs, professional books, scripts
- conference proceedings, if not published as a periodical,
- methodologies, manuals and professional brochures,
- exhibition catalogues or other non-periodical publications,
- atlases, bibliographies and other separate book publications,
- audiobooks,
- CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs or other publications on a hard drive, if the content is predominantly text,
- online publications, such as PDF or ePub, if they are separately available to the public.
If a publication is published in multiple formats, a separate ISBN is usually needed for each separately available format. For example, a printed book, PDF and ePub should have their own ISBN. The same applies to language versions. Each translation of the publication must have its own ISBN!
2. When is an ISBN not assigned?
ISBN is generally not used for:
- internal administrative documents,
- working materials without separate publication,
- websites,
- journals, magazines, newsletters and other periodical publications,
- bulletins and periodical proceedings,
- purely audiovisual documents, such as video recordings,
- archival or official documents,
- promotional leaflets and short-term information materials.
If you are not sure whether a publication needs an ISBN, fill in the form below or contact the Open Science Manager. In unclear cases, the type of publication will be assessed individually according to the rules of the National Library of the Czech Republic and the ISBN system.
3. The publisher is always the Biology Centre CAS
For publications published on behalf of the BC, the publisher must always be:
Biology Centre CAS
A specific institute of the BC is not listed as the publisher. The institute may be listed in the imprint only as additional information, for example as the author's workplace, organizational unit or guarantor of professional content.
Recommended wording:
Published by the Biological Centre CAS
Branišovská 1160/31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech republic
[optional] in cooperation with the Institute of Entomology / Institute of Hydrobiology / Institute of Parasitology / Institute of Molecular Plant Biology / Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry
4. What must be included in the imprint
The imprint of a publication should contain basic bibliographic and publishing information necessary for identifying the publication, registering the ISBN, and distributing legal deposit copies.
Recommended content of the imprint:
- full title of the publication,
- possible subtitle,
- name of author(s),
- name of editor(s), if it is an edited publication,
- names of reviewers, if it is a peer-reviewed publication,
- edition (e.g. "1st edition")
- publisher: Biology Centre CAS,
- publisher's address,
- possible additional information about the specific BC institute,
- place of publication: České Budějovice,
- year of publication,
- name of printinghouse or information about the electronic edition,
- number of pages
- circulation for a printed publication,
- dedication of the project/funder, if the publication was published with support from public sources or within a project,
- license for further use, if the publication is published in Open Access mode,
- DOI or other identifier, if assigned,
- ISBN in the correct format.
If a publication is published as Open Access, the imprint must clearly state under what conditions other users can read, share and reuse it. Creative Commons licensesare commonly used for this, which allow authors to specify in advance the terms of further use of the work. Example of a license entry:
This publication is available in Open Access mode under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 license.
Alternatively, in short: License: CC BY 4.0
5. Where should the ISBN be placed in a publication?
For printed publications, the ISBN is primarily listed on the back of the title page, at the bottom, approximately 2–3 cm from the bottom edge of the page. If the publication does not have a title page, the ISBN is listed in the imprint. The ISBN should also be listed on the back of the cover in the form of a barcode:
6. Add a barcode with ISBN
A barcode with ISBN is part of the publication identification. In a publication, the barcode is placed on the back of the cover.
To create a barcode, you can use an online tool, for example: https://www.free-barcode-generator.net/isbn/
In the generator, simply enter the assigned ISBN, select the desired size and output format and click the button to generate the barcode. The tool supports raster and vector output formats including PNG, JPEG, PDF, AI and EPS.
Recommendations for authors:
- For regular use in typesetting, ideally choose PDF, AI or EPS.
- You can also use PNG in high resolution.
- Maintain sufficient contrast between the barcode and the background.
- Do not deform, stretch or crop the barcode in any way.
- If the publication is prepared by a professional graphic designer or printer, it is usually sufficient to provide only the numeric ISBN in the format e.g. 978-80-86668-XX-X; the graphic designer or printer will prepare the standard barcode.
7. Submit legal deposit copies
For printed non-periodical publications, the publisher is obliged to submit legal copies to designated libraries free of charge and at its own expense. For non-periodical publications, a total of 5 copies are submitted within 30 days of publication: two copies to the National Library of the Czech Republic, one to the Moravian Regional Library in Brno, one to the Scientific Library in Olomouc and one to the regional library, in the case of BC to the South Bohemian Scientific Library. For electronic publications, the legal copy applies only to e-documents on hard media (CD, DVD, etc.). The legal copy does not apply to e-books and e-journals for the time being.
For publications published by the Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, the author submits to the Open Science Manager a total of 9 copies:
- 5 copies as legal deposits,
- 2 copies for the Biology Centre Library,
- 2 copies for the Library of the CAS in Prague.
Distribution of these copies will be arranged by the Open Science Manager.
How to request an ISBN
1. Fill out the form below!
4. Insert the ISBN into the imprint / on the back of the title page and prepare a barcode for the back cover.
2. The Open Science Manager will assess whether the publication falls under the ISBN system.
5. Before printing or publishing, check that all required information is included in the publication.
3. You will receive the ISBN by email.
6. After publishing the printed publication, submit 9 copies (1 copy for electronic publications) to OSM.