The United Arab Emirates ISBN Agency

Abstract

This item introduces the United Arab Emirates ISBN Agency within the wider institutional and cultural development of the United Arab Emirates and links its establishment to the need to protect intellectual works and regulate the publishing sector according to international standards. It explains that the Ministry of Information and Culture established its own International Standard Book Number office in order to organize the publication of books in the state in accordance with the internationally recognized ISBN system, thereby assigning each book a standard number that facilitates identification, retrieval, and bibliographic control in publishing and library environments.

The article also explains the functions and benefits of the ISBN system for publishers, libraries, and information centers, including its use in book processing, retrieval of computerized information, bibliographic organization, and the accurate identification of titles and editions. It stresses that the number is assigned to each separately published work and does not apply to serials and similar materials governed by other systems. The item concludes by emphasizing the responsibility of the Ministry of Information and Culture for handling applications from publishers and authors and for granting numbers in a way that protects rights and organizes publishing activity in the country.