ISO 3297

FINAL
INTERNATIONAL ISO/FDIS
DRAFT
STANDARD 3297
ISO/TC 46/SC 9
Information and documentation —
Secretariat: ANSI
International standard serial number
Voting begins on:
2022-03-31 (ISSN)
Voting terminates on:
Information et documentation — Numéro international normalisé
2022-05-26
des publications en série (ISSN)
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO
SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION
OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH
THEY ARE AWARE AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING
DOCUMENTATION.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
Reference number
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
ISO/FDIS 3297:2022(E)
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES,
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON
OCCASION HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE
LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME STAN-
DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
NATIONAL REGULATIONS. © ISO 2022
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ISO/FDIS 3297:2022(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2022

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may

be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on

the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below

Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................iv

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v

1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

2 Normative references ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

3 Terms and definitions .................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

3.1 Metadata ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

3.2 Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

3.3 Resources identified .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

3.4 Identifiers and locators ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

4 Construction of ISSN and cluster ISSN .......................................................................................................................................... 5

5 Assignment of ISSN — Principles ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

6 Establishment of the key title and the abbreviated key title ............................................................................... 6

7 Continuing resource clusters identified with cluster ISSN .................................................................................... 7

8 Display of ISSN and cluster ISSN .................................................................................................................................................. 7

9 ISSN Machine legibility .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

10 ISSN Metadata ......................................................................................................................................................................................................11

11 Administration of the ISSN network ............................................................................................................................................11

Annex A (normative) Check digit for ISSN ...................................................................................................................................................12

Annex B (normative) Linking ISSN (ISSN-L) ........................................................................................................................................... ...13

Annex C (normative) ISSN Metadata profile .............................................................................................................................................14

Annex D (normative) Administration of the ISSN network ......................................................................................................17

Annex E (informative) Interoperability of ISSN ....................................................................................................................................19

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................25

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards

bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out

through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical

committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International

organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.

ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are

described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the

different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of

patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of

any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and

expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to

the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 46, Information and documentation,

This seventh edition cancels and replaces the sixth edition (ISO 3297:2020), of which it constitutes a

— in 3.4.6, "Universal Resource Identifier" has been corrected to read as "Uniform Resource Identifier";

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A

The need for a brief, unique and unambiguous identification code for serials and other continuing

resources is internationally recognized. The exchange of information among libraries, abstracting

services and other content users, system suppliers, distributors and other intermediaries, and

publishers and other content producers justifies the requirement for a standard code. Communication

between the different organizations transcends national boundaries and therefore requires an

international code which is numeric, since no single alphabet is used by the majority of producers and

users of serials. In response to these requirements, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

has been established as the identification code for serials. The ISSN is an opaque identifier where no

The International Serials Data System (ISDS) was established as an inter-governmental organization

within the framework of the UNESCO/UNISIST program to be the designated authority for controlling

the assignment of ISSN. In 1993, the ISDS became the ISSN network which is the inter-governmental

organization comprising ISO 3297 Registration Authority and ISO 3297 Registration Agencies to which

The first three editions of this document pertained only to serials. However, in 2002 a new category of

resources, "continuing resources", was defined by the library community to encompass new kinds of

resources, such as updating databases. The scope of the fourth edition was broadened to cover serials

and other continuing resources. The fifth edition removed any reference to the business model from

the standard. This sixth edition responds to sector requests by establishing the ability to group and

identify related continuing resources into new types of clusters. Furthermore, this document specifies

richer metadata elements to allow the communication of additional characteristics of a resource.

This document defines and promotes the use of a standard code (ISSN) for the unique identification of

Each International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is a unique identifier for a serial or other continuing

This document also allows for grouping related continuing resources into clusters identified by a

ISSNs are applicable to serials and to other continuing resources, whatever the business model or modes

of distribution (e.g. free, open access, on subscription, etc.) and irrespective of whether the serial is

currently in publication, has ceased publication, or publication is planned for the foreseeable future.

Continuing resources include whatever the medium of production (print or electronic):

— serials, such as newspapers, periodicals, journals, magazines, conference proceedings, monographic

— ongoing integrating resources that are updated, such as loose-leaf publications, updating websites,

Monographs, sound and video recordings, notated music publications, audiovisual works, textual

works and musical works have their own standard identifiers and are not specifically mentioned in this

document. Such items can carry an ISSN in addition to their appropriate identifiers when they are part

NOTE This document does not contain any operational guidance for its practical implementation.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

specific title established by the ISSN network by replacing each significant word of a key title with

the corresponding abbreviation from the List of Title Word Abbreviations managed by the ISO 3297

descriptive data recorded as part of the ISSN assignment process that provides elements by which the

continuing resource is identified and distinguished from other continuing resources

official registration database managed by the ISO 3297 Registration Authority containing all ISSN and

unique name established by the ISSN network for a continuing resource, and inseparably linked with its

Note 1 to entry: The key title can be the same as the title proper of the resource (refer to 3.1.5); or, in order to

achieve uniqueness, it can be constructed by the addition of parenthetical identifying and/or qualifying elements

to the title proper such as name of issuing body, place of publication, edition statement, etc.

chief name of a continuing resource as it appears on the title page or title page equivalent or other

organization or individual that has requested an ISSN to identify a continuing resource under the aegis

nonprofit private corporation that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number

allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Internet

open standards organization which develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards, including the

Note 1 to entry: The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) issues Requests for Comments (RFC) which are

formal documents drafted by committees and subsequently reviewed by interested parties.

inter-governmental association comprising ISO 3297 Registration Authority and ISO 3297 Registration

Agencies to which some registration services have been delegated, including ISSN assignment

organization or individual whose activity is to commission, create, collect, validate, host and distribute

publication, in any medium, that is issued over time with no predetermined conclusion and made

Note 1 to entry: Continuing resources include serials and ongoing integrating resources.

Note 2 to entry: An electronic continuing resource is either a resource available on a tangible medium (e.g. disc,

flash drive) or a resource accessed by connection to a communication network and by means of hardware and

Note 3 to entry: Electronic continuing resources can originate in digital form or be retrospectively digitised.

distinct continuing resource issued simultaneously or not simultaneously with one or many editions of

Note 1 to entry: Each edition is intended for a specific audience or use; examples include language, geographic,

publication, either finite or with no predetermined conclusion, that is added to or changed by updates

that do not remain discrete and are integrated into the whole, and made available to the public in any

Note 1 to entry: Only integrating resources with no predetermined conclusion (i.e. ongoing) are continuing

periodical in any medium version devoted to disseminating original research and commentary on

current developments in a specific discipline, sub-discipline, field of study or profession, published over

Note 1 to entry: The medium can be tangible (e.g. print, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, tapes, flash drives) or intangible (e.g.

group of separate books related to one another by the fact that each book bears, in addition to its own

Note 2 to entry: Monographic series are not to be confused with multipart monographs which are complete in

two or more volumes or series intended to be completed within a finite number of parts/volumes and therefore

serial generally characterized by variety of contents and contributors, both within one issue of the

Note 1 to entry: Each issue is usually composed of more than one intellectual contribution (article, essay, review,

publication in any medium version, issued in successive parts, usually having numerical or chronological

designations, and intended to be continued indefinitely, whatever its frequency of publication

Note 1 to entry: Publications of limited duration (e.g. newsletter for a one-time event) that have some

characteristics of serials such as successive issues and/or numbering can be considered as serials.

EXAMPLE Titles available in print and electronic medium versions, titles available in several language

unique number from a standard code used internationally to identify products and packaging units

standard code assigned by the ISSN network for the unique identification of serials and other continuing

cluster ISSN designated by the ISO 3297 Registration Authority to enable collocation or linking among

unique identifier that ensures permanent access for a digital object by providing access to it

persistent, location-independent, resource identifier used for recognition of, and access to,

The characters that comprise an ISSN, whatever the prefix, are defined as code points from

NOTE The code points referenced above can be represented without ambiguity in all commonly used

— N is a digit from the code points in the range U+0030 to U+0039 (the Arabic numerals 0 to 9), and

— C is a check digit being either a digit from the code points in the range U+0030 to U+0039 or the

The check digit shall be calculated from the other seven digits on a modulus 11 basis with weights 8 to

2, using X in lieu of 10 where 10 occurs as a check digit, as calculated in Annex A.

Since ISSNs are likely to be used in the same context as codes designed for other purposes, when an ISSN

is presented for human perception, it should, to avoid confusion, be preceded by the prefix including

ISSN (U+0049, U+0053, U+0053, U+004E) and a space (U+0020) and divided into two groups of four

5.1 An ISSN shall be assigned only by a member of the ISSN network upon request from an applicant

or as part of internal library processing such as legal deposit and digitization projects.

5.2 A request for an ISSN may be made to the ISSN network by any individual or organization that

needs to identify serials and other continuing resources, such as a publisher or their representative, a

5.3 A request for an ISSN shall be accompanied by a copy of or access to the earliest issue of serials or

5.4 A request for an ISSN shall be accompanied by metadata about the continuing resource to which

an ISSN is to be assigned. Metadata supplied by applicants should be accurate and verifiable.

5.5 At the time of registration by the ISSN network, each continuing resource is assigned a unique

5.6 Each distinct continuing resource in a particular medium version should be assigned only one

5.7 When a continuing resource is published in different editions or medium versions, a unique ISSN

and key title should be assigned to each edition or medium version whether or not they have the same

5.8 A new ISSN should be assigned, and a corresponding new key title should be established when

the continuing resource undergoes a major change in title or other major changes. The ISO 3297

Registration Authority shall determine, the rules which specify when a new ISSN is required following

changes to a continuing resource. In formulating these rules, the ISO 3297 Registration Authority shall

take into consideration other relevant bibliographic standards regarding continuing resources.

5.9 Once an ISSN has been assigned to a continuing resource, it should not be altered, replaced or

5.10 The assignment of an ISSN to a continuing resource shall not imply any meaning or legal evidence

with regard to the ownership of rights to that publication or its contents. The ISSN itself is not owned

by the applicant and is not changed solely because of a change of publisher or place of publication.

5.11 The assignment of an ISSN to a continuing resource does not imply the ISSN network endorses the

content of this continuing resource, nor does it imply any mark of quality about the continuing resource.

6.2 The key title is based on the title proper. For serials, the issue used to establish the key title is the

first issue or earliest available issue at the time of registration. For integrating resources, the key title

is based on information appearing on the current iteration. The title proper of the resource becomes

the key title if this title is unique in the ISSN Register at the time of registration. If this title proper is not

unique, the key title is the title of the resource, to which a parenthetical qualifying term is added (such

as name of issuing body, place and/or date of publication, edition statement or medium statement), in

6.3 All key titles should be listed in the ISSN Register together with their ISSN. Key titles shall be

Romanized, preferably according to International Standards. The ISO 3297 Registration Authority shall

6.4 The abbreviated key title should be assigned by the ISSN network as indicated in conjunction

with the key title for scientific continuing resources so as to provide an abbreviated form of the key title

The ISO 3297 Registration Authority shall be responsible for determining the need to identify clusters

of continuing resources. This shall be done by assigning a new ISSN and a prefix whose syntax will

be ISSN-X where X identifies the type of cluster. Examples of clusters are all earlier, later and current

titles of a resource or all language editions of a resource. The ISO 3297 Registration Authority shall

publish definitions of cluster types and document the processes by which cluster ISSNs are created and

By exception, the cluster identified by the Linking ISSN (ISSN-L) uses an existing ISSN. The Linking

ISSN shall be defined according to Annex B. ISSN-L provides collocation or linking among the different

medium versions of a continuing resource. The ISSN-L duplicates the ISSN assigned to the first medium

version to have received an ISSN for a continuing resource that is part of the cluster and is distinguished

ISSN 2095-2686 identifies the print version of International Journal of Mining Science and Technology.

ISSN-L 2095–2686 is designated by the Registration Authority as the linking ISSN.

ISSN 2365-807X identifies the electronic version of Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte Osteuropas.

ISSN-L 2365–807X is designated by the Registration Authority as the linking ISSN.

ISSN 2651-057X identifies the online-only journal Warasan Sangkhomwitthaya Manutsayawitthaya

ISSN-L 2651–057X is designated by the ISO 3297 Registration Authority as the linking ISSN.

8.1 To ensure that the ISSN’s eight characters can be easily recognized as an ISSN, any ISSN shall

be consistently displayed as two groups of four digits separated by a hyphen and preceded by the

8.2 The ISSN and related medium version ISSNs should be displayed in a prominent position on or in:

Relevant cluster ISSNs should be displayed in addition to the other medium version ISSN(s).

8.2.1 For printed continuing resources, the ISSN and related medium version ISSNs should be

displayed in a prominent position on each issue in the following order of preference: top-right hand

corner of the front cover, title page, caption, masthead, back cover, colophon or editorial pages.

The ISSN should be displayed on the continuing resource even when it is also included in the bar code