How to Scan ISBN Barcodes on Books (Quick Guide)

Many published books have a barcode on the back cover, and scanning it can pull up far more than just the title. Whether you’re cataloging a personal library, checking resale value, or verifying an edition, here’s how to actually use that barcode.

Want to scan an ISBN barcode yourself? Use our free online Barcode Scanner to scan the barcode from your camera or an image and instantly see the decoded number.

What’s Encoded in an ISBN Barcode

Book barcodes use the EAN-13 format, starting with a 978 or 979 prefix, which is actually the book’s ISBN (International Standard Book Number) converted into barcode form. Scanning it decodes this number, which you can then look up to get title, author, edition, publisher, and often pricing data.

How to Read an ISBN Number From the Barcode

Once a scan decodes the 13-digit number, reading it isn’t guesswork. The first 3 digits (978 or 979) mark it as a Bookland EAN, not a regular product code. The next set identifies the country or language group, followed by the publisher, then the specific title, and a final check digit that confirms the number was read correctly. You don’t need to decode this by hand though, that’s exactly what a barcode scanner does in the moment it reads the code, handing you the finished number instead of the raw pattern.

Want to learn more? Explore our related QR code and barcode guides for more helpful tips, how-to guides, and useful information.

How to Scan It

  1. Open a barcode scanner (a phone camera-based scanner app, or a browser-based tool if you’re on a computer).
  2. Point the camera at the barcode on the back cover, usually the bottom one if there are two (the top is often a price or supplemental code).
  3. The scanner decodes the 13-digit number.
  4. Search that number on a book database or retailer site to pull full details.

Why Some Books Have Two Barcodes

Books sometimes show two barcodes: the main ISBN-based EAN-13, and a smaller supplemental 5-digit code representing suggested retail price. Make sure you’re scanning the correct one, the wrong scan just returns a meaningless number with no book data attached.

Practical Tips

  • Older books may have an ISBN-10 printed on the copyright page, while some editions may also have an EAN-13 barcode on the back cover. If no barcode is available, you can use the printed ISBN-10 to look up the book or convert it to ISBN-13.
  • Damaged or curved covers (common on paperbacks) can distort the barcode, flatten the book gently before scanning if it fails.
  • Library or used bookstore stickers sometimes cover part of the barcode, try the front cover or copyright page if the back cover code is obstructed.

Real Use Case

Someone sorting through a box of old books before a garage sale scans each ISBN to quickly check which titles have real resale value versus which are worth donating, turning a slow manual research process into a few seconds per book.

Wrapping Up

Scanning a book’s ISBN barcode is a fast way to identify editions, check pricing, or catalog a collection without typing anything manually. If you need to generate ISBN barcodes yourself, for self-published books or a personal catalog, our ISBN Barcode Generator creates properly formatted codes ready to print.

Frequently Asked Questions

Books use EAN-13 barcodes encoding the ISBN, typically starting with a 978 or 979 prefix.

Scan the EAN-13 barcode on the back of the book. A barcode scanner can decode it into the 13-digit ISBN, which you can then search in a book database or retailer site.

The main barcode encodes the ISBN, while a smaller supplemental barcode may contain suggested retail price information. Scan the main ISBN barcode for book identification.

Yes. You can use a phone camera-based barcode scanner to scan the EAN-13 barcode on the back of a book and retrieve its ISBN.

Yes. If an older book has no barcode, you can use the printed ISBN-10 on the copyright page to look up the book or convert it to ISBN-13.

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