[Koha-bugs] [Bug 15772] GetNormalizedISBN returns a 10 digit ISBN - should return 13

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.koha-community.org]

https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=15772

Thomas Dukleth <td-koha-bugs at agogme.com> changed:

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                 CC|                            |td-koha-bugs at agogme.com

--- Comment #3 from Thomas Dukleth <td-koha-bugs at agogme.com> ---
Normalising ISBNs to a single value which at least provides for normalisation
from ISBN 13 would be an improvement but misses an important issue especially
where an ISBN based value is used for too much in Koha.  The ISBN 10 vs ISBN 13
problem touches on a larger issue.

Normalising ISBNs to single value misses how ISBNs are used in the real world
where they are poor as bibliographic identifiers because they are not unique
identifiers and treating them as such can only lead to problems.  ISBNs should
be a list not a single value.

See the multiple ISBN normalisation examples sections in both the problems and
remedies in bug #3092 which was closed for age and for needing decomposition
into smaller bugs.  Other complications to non-uniqueness which I may have
omitted in bug #3092 include the bad practise of some important publishers
reusing old ISBNs for completely different titles at a later time after the
formerly applied title has gone out of print.

We should also be adding other identifiers to appropriate lists for appropriate
functions for which ISBNs are especially under-inclusive as any kind of
identifier such as material for which ISBNs are seldom or never assigned.

If considering at least the larger problem of replacing a string by a list, the
parallel code method described in bug #3092 for how to approach fixing such
deeply embedded bugs without breaking everything.

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