ISBN Change from 10 to 13 Digits

From January 1st 2007 all new books will be published with a 13 digit ISBN and the old 10 digit system will be phased out.

This website will accept either 10 or 13 digit ISBNs for searches. Both types of ISBN will be displayed on the detail page for titles published prior to 2007. 13 digit ISBNs will be displayed in all other references to titles in compliance with publishers catalogues etc.

How do they differ?
Currently the 13 digit ISBN is the old 10 digit ISBN prefixed with 978 and a different check digit (the last digit) e.g.
019438750X becomes 9780194387507

Why is the ISBN Changing?
1. The change is needed in order to expand the numbering capacity of the ISBN.
2. Also, by changing the ISBN to 13 digits the book industry will be able to align the numbering system for books with the global EAN identification system that is used to identify most other consumer goods.