I have a hard cover children's book without the dust jacket.  The ISBN on the back is not recognized.  The ISBN's inside (one considered trade and one lib. bdg.) are both recognized.  The trade binding ISBN is WL.  How do I determine which binding the book is and how to post it?  Is there a big difference?  Thanks once again for your help.  Kris

"Trade" refers to a larger paperback, close to the size of a hardcover. 

The trade ISBN indicates that it is a hardcover book as does the Lib. Bdg.

Put in the ISBN on PBS and if it says hardcover on PBS, you can use it.

Trade, as far as I know, always refers to paperbacks. But it doesn't matter what the ISBN is labeled inside the book. What matters on PBS is 1. is the ISBN printed on the book (can be inside or outside), and 2. does it match what PBS says? If the answer is yes, then you are good to go.

What Sara said  

I've also never seen a book marked 'trade' in hardcover, always paper (or on rare occasion softcover). OTH I've never seen a library binding that wasn't hardcover of some type.

But any of the ISBN's printed in or on the book are fair game so long as the Title, author, and binding match your edition.

In general, trade editions are larger format paperbacks and often, but not always,  printed on better quality paper than mass market paperbacks. Trade paperbacks that are printed using acid-free or alkaline paper won't turn yellow or brown quickly like mass market books. I have never known of 'trade' books to be hardcovers.

Sometimes publishers release hardcover and paperback editions for a book simultaneously and will list two ISBNs on the copyright page, one for the hardcover and a slightly different one for the paperback, or one for a commercial retail edition and a second for a library edition. Most often the two ISBNs will differ only in the last 3 or 4 digits of the number. If two ISBNs are listed on a book's copyright page without explicitly stating the binding type, the first number will generally be for a hardcover edition, and the second for a paperback. In addition, two ISBNs may be listed on the copyright page to distinguish between English and non-English editions, or between US and non-US editions or publishers.

If the copyright page lists two ISBNs and one of them is indicated as using acid-free or alkaline (alk.) paper, that number will more likely be for the hardcover edition although there is no rule regarding this that I am aware of. If there is only one ISBN listed on the copyright page of a paperback and the paper is stated as being acid-free or alkaline, then it will almost surely be a trade edition if you are not otherwise certain.

Library binding will almost certainly be a hardcover of some type. and probably won't have a dust jacket.

If the binding for different ISBNs is stated on the copyright page, then you should post the book using only the ISBN that matches your binding. Books bearing two ISBNs on the copyright page will be for different printings of the book and although the texts should be identical, they will have different bindings and the two numbers should not be used interchangeably.

Also, note that publishers sometimes use a single ISBN for hardcover and paperback editions of the same book. For books posted on PBS the bottom line is that the binding of your book must match the binding type listed by PBS in addition to the title, author and ISBN. If the title, author and ISBN each match your book but the bind type does not, the book must be posted without using its ISBN.

If you have a hardcover with two ISBN numbers, one for "trade" and one for "library binding" it means they are both hardcover books.  Trade is the regular hardcover you would purchase in a bookstore, and the library binding is a book with a reinforced spine for the extra wear and tear that library books receive.  You will typically see library bindings on children's books. They need the reinforcement the most. 

If the ISBN on the back cover doesn't match the numbers on the reverse of the title page, it could mean that an outside company has rebound the book and placed their own ISBN on the back cover (think Turtleback or something like that.)  

it's been my understanding that the extra ISBNS listed on the copyright page when there is a different ISBN on the back of the book, show what OTHER versions are available for that same title.

The ISBN numbers listed on the copyright page are usually part of the Library of Congress' Cataloging in Publication information.  They indicate the editions available at the time the work was cataloged, and the fact that those ISBNs can be tied to the CIP information provided.  It's mostly for catalogers.

Just found a helpful discussion of this here:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/724469.html

For this site, "trade"generally means a trade paperback edition, but as Vicky points out, if you find the term on the book itself, it can have other meanings.  Learned something new -- thanks Vicky.

Thanks for the link, Patty, it's very informative!

Also, for clarification, the "CIP" information mentioned by Vicky refers to "Cataloging in Publication".

For CIP, see Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Program, The Book Designer, and Wikipedia.