Bookworms keen to dig up a local book have been handed another search tool with which to unearth their chosen book. 

The National Book Council's newly-launched ISBN database lists all local books ever published with an International Standard Book Number. The database can be accessed online free of charge.

Users can search the database using the book's ISBN, its title, author, publisher or date of publication.

An ISBN is a unique number allocated to every book in any format. It brands publications with a unique, easily identifiable code. Authors who wish to be in the running for the NBC's annual National Book Prize must also have registered an ISBN for their works.

Henry Grech’s 1969 publication Ilsien Pajjiżi: junior was the first local book to be published with an ISBN, but it took until the 1990s for widespread use of ISBN by local publishers to come about.

Books without an ISBN are not listed in the NBC's database. Anyone interested in locating these books should consult the National Library lists.

The NBC has also asked the public to help it trace missing information "related to numbers allocated by previous administrations."

"These numbers are published in a list accessible to the public and whoever has any information relating to them is kindly asked to forward it to the NBC," the council said.