A young shopper browses at Sar Pay Loka bookstore on Sule Pagoda Road in Yangon. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

PUBLISHERS in Myanmar are working to seek the introduction of an international book numbering system to help them expand sales in foreign markets.

They said adopting the international standard book number (ISBN) system, which has been in use worldwide for 30 years, would remove an obstacle to selling Myanmar-language books on the international market.

International book distributors only accept publications with an ISBN, they said.
“Books without the ISBN are hard to sell in the international book market as bookshops overseas are reluctant to stock them,” said U Myo Thant, an executive member of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association.
However, some publishers who want to sell books overseas print the publications overseas to be able to benefit from the system.

“I publish books in Singapore and Thailand so I can use the ISBN in those countries,” said U Myo Aung, the managing director of Pyi Sone Publishing.
He then imports the books back to Myanmar to sell on the domestic market.
“ASEAN countries like the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand used the ISBN system widely,” U Myo Aung said.

He said Myanmar publishers were considering using the international standard serial number (ISSN) for magazines, newspapers and journals as a first step towards the introduction of the ISBN system.

“There are many new journals and magazines being published in Myanmar as the government had allowed many new publications. So we may try to use the ISSN first,” U Myo Aung said.

“We have international standard journals and publications, so there is no reason why they cannot be sold to international readers,” he said.

“We are now talking with the International ISBN Agency in Berlin, Germany, about how we can implement the system and how we can represent publishers in Myanmar,” U Myo Aung said.

U Myo Aung acknowledged that it may take time to introduce the system.
“As it may be some time before Myanmar has an ISBN we are considering introducing a Myanmar standard book number system first,” he said.

U Myo Aung said if such a system was introduced it would list the necessary numbers except a country code. Once Myanmar received a country code from the ISBN agency it could be readily added to the MSBN, he said.

U Myo Aung said the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division was the most suitable agency to supervise and issue the ISBN in Myanmar.

“PSRD has its own system for issue the publishing numbers for the books but it can be modified or upgraded,” he said.

Kyawt Maung Maung Nyunt, whose My Flora is the latest of eight English-language books he has written, agreed that introducing the ISBN was likely to benefit Myanmar writers.

“It will be good for the Myanmar publishing industry if Myanmar books can be sold more easily on the international market,” he said.

“I welcome the system and look forward to the day when our books are sold at foreign bookshops with the ISBN.”