Update 30-April-2025: We are putting a temporary pause on the CZ ISBN-13 “normalize on Save” process to investigate a recent error. This article will be updated when ISBN-13 conversions are added back to CZ normalize on Save.

What is happening to ISBNs in Community Zone MARC records?

In order to make Community Zone records consistent with international standards, and simplify workflows, we will be adding many ISBN-13 fields to the MARC record view.

ISBN-10s already available in CZ MARC records will not removed, but normalized to a consistent structure without dashes.

Current / Historical Status

To protect linking, ISBNs are typically maintained in the Community Zone through KBART and provider title lists, rather than through the MARC enrichment process.

MARC records created through the Alma Community Zone Direct Ingest for Title Lists process will usually have ISBN-13s without dashes in the MARC record view, as these correspond to provider title lists. For example:

However, for records that were created through the weekly CKB Update cycle (pre-dating CZ Direct Ingest), the ISBN-10 with dashes is typically displayed in the MARC view. For example:

Note: If a CZ record contains only ISBN-10s in the MARC view (such as the example above), the corresponding ISBN-13s will still be available for search and linking.

Future Status

Starting in Q4 2024 / Q1 2025, we will begin to convert older format ISBN-10 records to the international ISBN MARC standard. This will be a gradual process, utilizing the Community Zone “normalization upon save” process.

Once a CZ record with ISBN-10 only is saved/imported, the following normalization will apply:

1.     Dashes will removed from the ISBN-10.

2.     Missing ISBN-13s will be added as a new MARC field.

a.     Online ISBNs in the 020$a field, and print ISBNs in the 776$z fields.

3.     Related ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 pairs will be grouped together.

a.     The ISBN-13 will appear first, before the ISBN-10.

Example before:

Example after:

Additional information

Alma typically shows the “ISBN” field as a default in the search results, i.e.:

However, Alma institutions also have the option to customize search results, adding an additional ISBN (13) field. If so, the ISBN (13) will always display in search results, even if the MARC record itself only has ISBN-10, i.e.:

If your institution has opted for the ISBN (13) search result customization, please note that records already containing ISBN-13s will display twice, i.e.:

• Article last edited: 30-April-2025