[Disclaimer: This post largely relates to the law in Canada. The applicable law and requirements for obtaining an ISBN and depositing a work with an archive will vary by country. This post is also only a general commentary on the law, it does not constitute legal advice.]
For many genealogists and family historians, creating a family history book is the dream. Most of these works are self-published, either in print or in digital form. Some genealogists only give away a small number of copies amongst family and friends. Others might create a family history book and make it available for purchase to a limited set of family and friends, often through online self-publishers (e.g. Blurb, Lulu, Shutterfly, etc.. Others will take their books to market and make them available for purchase to the general public and world at large.
[By the way, for the life of me I cannot figure out why images won’t centre for me anymore. I thought I had figured out the fix in my last post, but it seems that was a one-time thing. Sorry!]
What a lot of genealogists might not realize is that in certain – but not all – circumstances it is mandatory to obtain an International Standard Book Number (“ISBN”) and to deposit a copy of the publication with Library and Archives Canada.
An ISBN is a unique globally-recognized 13-digit numerical identifier assigned to a publication. An ISBN is used to identify each edition and format of any given work for use in distribution and marketing. I say “publication” because the requirement applies not only to print books, but also to graphic novels, picture books, digital and ebooks, audiobooks, DVDs, pamphlets, and brochures, among other things. A separate ISBN is assigned for every unique iteration of a work. This means that the same work published as a hardcopy print book, an audiobook, and an ebook will have three different ISBNs.
ISBNs are overseen by the International ISBN Agency. Assignment of ISBNs from country to country are through an affiliated agency. In the case of Canada, Library and Archives Canada is the designated ISBN agency.
The legal requirement for assignment of an ISBN to a publication originates in section 10 of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, S.C. 2004, c. 11. Further detail is set out in the Legal Deposit of Publications Regulations, SOR/2006-337. The statute mandates “legal deposit” of published works by qualifying publishers with Library and Archives Canada. As part of this process, Library and Archives Canada requires the publisher to obtain an ISBN for the publication.
Under the legislative and regulatory scheme, a publisher subject to these rules is one who make a publication available in Canada, publish from an official place of business in Canada, have 75% of their employees based in Canada, and are authorized to reproduce publications or productions and control the content. For self-published materials, these rules apply to those who reside in Canada.
For print publications, publishers must deposit one copy if they produce 4 to 99 copies of the publication. If the publisher issues 100 or more copies, they must submit two copies. Further information is available at “About Legal Deposit” on the Library and Archives Canada website, which also sets out the manner in which a publisher deposits a publication.
Library and Archives Canada website also provides information about ISBNs, including the online form used to apply for an ISBN account. The good news is that obtaining an ISBN is simple and free (a great price!). After submitting an online application, it takes about two weeks for Library and Archives Canada to send you a username and password. Once you have an account, it only takes a moment or two to register a work, which will be automatically assigned an ISBN on the spot.
It is important to note that the mandatory nature of these rules only applies to publications that are sold, marketed, or made available for public distribution. The latter would include making a work available to a public library, museum, or archive. If you’re creating a self-published work that you’re giving away without charge to family and friends, with no intention of selling or making available to the general public, you are generally not required to obtain an ISBN or provide copies to Library and Archives Canada.
However, even if you are not legally required to obtain an ISBN and deposit copies with Library and Archives Canada, you are encouraged to do so. In fact, as a family historian, it should be desirable for you to do so. First and foremost, you make your publication available to other researchers, who might very well benefit from your work. You also preserve your work for posterity. I would even go one step further, by offering to deposit a copy of the work with a provincial or local archive in the area associated with the family history documented in your book. If you’ve made other genealogical information available to the world at large, such as by posting your tree on Ancestry, the reasons for you to have done so likely apply to depositing a copy of your work with an archive.
A Deck of Ancestors 