ISO 9707:2008 gives guidance on the keeping of national statistics to provide standardized information on various aspects of the production and distribution of printed, electronic and micro-publications (essentially books, newspapers and periodicals). In addition, ISO 9707:2008 provides recommendations on subject classification.
ISO 9707:2008 is not applicable to the following types of publications:
- publications issued for advertising purposes, where the literary or scientific text is subsidiary and the publications are distributed free of charge, including
- trade catalogues, prospectuses and other types of commercial, industrial and tourist advertising, and
- publications advertising products or services supplied by the publisher, even though they might describe activities or technical progress in some branch of industry or commerce;
- publications considered to be of a transitory character; typical examples are
- timetables, price-lists, telephone directories,
- programmes of entertainments, exhibitions, fairs,
- company regulations, reports and directives and circulars,
- calendars, and
- electronic texts under development;
- publications in which the text is not the most important part, including
- printed music documents where the music is more important than the words, and
- maps and charts (with the exception of atlases), e.g. astronomical charts, hydrographical and geographical maps, wall maps, road maps, geological surveys in map form and topographical plans.