The BN has acted as the Andorran agency of the ISBN since 1987, the Government decreed its obligation for all editorial           productions in the country. It is in charge of developing the ISBN system in Andorra and of fostering co-operation between           producers and users of the bibliographical information that forms its fundamental objective. In the month of January           of each year, the bibliographical references of all the material published in the country during the previous year           are conveyed to the International Agency of the ISBN.           ISBN numbers are issued free of charge. Application may be made by telephone, fax or directly at the BN, which           assigns each publisher the respective prefix according to its editorial production.           The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a number that was created to endow each book with an identifying           "name" in order to simplify the computerized processing of the data and the tasks of preparing the statistics on           control and dissemination of publications. Every book has an author, a title, a publisher, etc. which identify it           in themselves, but the growing production of books at world level made it necessary to create an automated system           for editorial control. The aim is to ensure that each published copy has a simple unique identification number that           acts as an identity document.           Each ISBN is formed by ten digits grouped in four blocks; when it is printed, it shall always been preceded by the           initials ISBN. The four blocks of digits denote the following:           - Group identifier: this identifies the national, geographical or linguistic group of the publishers.             Andorra was assigned number 99920.           - Editorial prefix: this identifies a specific publisher in each group.           - Title number: this identifies the specific title or edition of a work published by a specific publisher.           - Check digit: this is a single digit that ensures the correct use of the whole system.           The following types of documents shall bear an ISBN:           - Books and printed brochures           - Multimedia publications           - Other similar media such as educational films, videos, slides and transparencies           - Audio books           - Micro-computer programs           - Publications on electronic media           - Publications on microforms           - Publications in Braille           - Maps         ISBN Decree         User’s manual