International Standard Serial Number

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature.

The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) international standard in 1971 and published as ISO 3297 in 1975. ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC 9 is responsible for the standard.

Structure

An ISSN consists of eight digits in two groups of four, separated by a hyphen. The final character, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit.

The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, that confirms the correctness of the preceding digits.

Use

The ISSN is utilized to identify newspapers, journals, magazines and periodicals of all kinds and on all media–print and electronic.

ISSN are used in libraries for the purposes of ordering and subscriptions, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature.

Code assignment

New ISSN are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an intergovernmental organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government.

See also

• Serial Item and Contribution Identifier
• CODEN
• WorldCat
• Library of Congress Control Number
• International Standard Music Number
• International Standard Book Number
• International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations
• International Standard Audiovisual Number
• International Standard Recording Code
• International Article Number
• International Standard Musical Work Code
• International Standard Name Identifier
• International Standard Link Identifier
• International Standard Party Identifier