Free tools · Citations & References
ISBN to BibTeX
Type or paste the ISBN from the back of the book and get a @book entry with the authors, publisher, year and place of publication.
BibTeX
Formatted
How to use it
- Paste the ISBN, with or without hyphens. ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 both work.
- Press Convert. The book's details are looked up in Open Library, then Google Books if needed.
- Check the edition and year, then copy the entry.
Why you'd use it
Books are the references most often typed by hand, and the ones with the most typos in author lists and publisher names. The ISBN pins the exact edition, and the library record has the details right.
Two sources are consulted because neither is complete: Open Library covers most books and Google Books fills the gaps.
FAQ
Which ISBN should I use, 10 or 13?
Either. The check digit is verified before the lookup, so a mistyped digit is caught immediately.
The book was not found. What now?
Recent and academic books are sometimes missing from both catalogues. Try the ISBN printed on the copyright page rather than the barcode, or the ISBN of the hardcover edition. Otherwise fill the @book template that appears so you at least start from the right shape.
Why is the year the edition year, not the first publication year?
The ISBN identifies one edition, and the record reports that edition's publication date. For a classic text, cite the edition you actually used.
Does the entry include the ISBN?
Yes, as an isbn field, which biblatex prints and classic BibTeX styles ignore.