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+Network Working Group C. Lynch
+Request for Comments: 2288 Coalition for Networked Information
+Category: Informational C. Preston
+ Preston & Lynch
+ R. Daniel
+ Los Alamos National Laboratory
+ February 1998
+
+
+ Using Existing Bibliographic Identifiers
+ as
+ Uniform Resource Names
+
+Status of this Memo
+
+ This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
+ not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
+ memo is unlimited.
+
+Copyright Notice
+
+ Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
+
+Abstract
+
+ A system for Uniform Resource Names (URNs) must be capable of
+ supporting identifiers from existing widely-used naming systems.
+ This document discusses how three major bibliographic identifiers
+ (the ISBN, ISSN and SICI) can be supported within the URN framework
+ and the currently proposed syntax for URNs.
+
+1. Introduction
+
+ The ongoing work of several IETF working groups, most recently in the
+ Uniform Resource Names working group, has culminated the development
+ of a syntax for Uniform Resource Names (URNs). The functional
+ requirements and overall framework for Uniform Resource Names are
+ specified in RFC 1737 [Sollins & Masinter] and the specification for
+ the URN syntax is RFC 2141 [Moats].
+
+ As part of the validation process for the development of URNs the
+ IETF working group has agreed that it is important to demonstrate
+ that the current URN syntax proposal can accommodate existing
+ identifiers from well established namespaces. One such
+ infrastructure for assigning and managing names comes from the
+ bibliographic community. Bibliographic identifiers function as names
+ for objects that exist both in print and, increasingly, in electronic
+ formats. This memo demonstrates the feasibility of supporting three
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 1]
+
+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
+
+ representative bibliographic identifiers within the currently
+ proposed URN framework and syntax.
+
+ Note that this document does not purport to define the "official"
+ standard way of moving these bibliographic identifiers into URNs; it
+ merely demonstrates feasibility. It has not been developed in
+ consultation with these standards bodies and maintenance agencies
+ that oversee the existing bibliographic identifiers. Any actual
+ Internet standard for encoding these bibliographic identifiers as
+ URNs will need to be developed in consultation with the responsible
+ standards bodies and maintenance agencies.
+
+ In addition, there are several open questions with regard to the
+ management and registry of Namespace Identifiers (NIDs) for URNs.
+ For purposes of illustration, we have used the three NIDs "ISBN",
+ "ISSN" and "SICI" for the three corresponding bibliographic
+ identifiers discussed in this document. While we believe this to be
+ the most appropriate choice, it is not the only one. The NIDs could
+ be based on the standards body and standard number (e.g. "US-ANSI-
+ NISO-Z39.56-1997" rather than "SICI"). Alternatively, one could lump
+ all bibliographic identifiers into a single "BIBLIOGRAPHIC" name
+ space, and structure the namespace-specific string to specify which
+ identifier is being used. Any final resolution of this must wait for
+ the outcome of namespace management discussions in the working group
+ and the broader IETF community.
+
+ For the purposes of this document, we have selected three major
+ bibliographic identifiers (national and international) to fit within
+ the URN framework. These are the International Standard Book Number
+ (ISBN) [ISO1], the International Standard Serials Number (ISSN)
+ [NISO1,ISO2, ISO3], and the Serial Item and Contribution Identifier
+ (SICI) [NISO2]. An ISBN is used to identify a monograph (book). An
+ ISSN is used to identify serial publications (journals, newspapers)
+ as a whole. A SICI augments the ISSN in order to identify
+ individual issues of serial publications, or components within those
+ issues (such as an individual article, or the table of contents of a
+ given issue). The ISBN and ISSN are defined in the United States by
+ standards issued by the National Information Standards Organization
+ (NISO) and also by parallel international standards issued under the
+ auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
+ NISO is the ANSI-accredited standards body serving libraries,
+ publishers and information services. The SICI code is defined by a
+ NISO document in the United States and does not have a parallel
+ international standards document at present.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 2]
+
+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
+
+ Many other bibliographic identifiers are in common use (for example,
+ CODEN, numbers assigned by major bibliographic utilities such as OCLC
+ and RLG, national library numbers such as the Library of Congress
+ Control Number) or are under development. While we do not discuss
+ them in this document, many of these will also need to be supported
+ within the URN framework as it moves to large scale implementation.
+ The issues involved in supporting those additional identifiers are
+ anticipated to be broadly similar to those involved in supporting
+ ISBNs, ISSNs, and SICIs.
+
+2. Identification vs. Resolution
+
+ It is important to distinguish between the resource identified by a
+ URN and the resources a URN resolver that can reasonably return when
+ attempting to resolve an identifier. For example, the ISSN 0040-781X
+ identifies the popular magazine "Time" -- all of it, every issue for
+ from the start of publication to present. Resolving such an
+ identifier should not result in the equivalent of hundreds of
+ thousands of pages of text and photos being dumped to the user's
+ machine. It is more reasonable for ISSNs to resolve to a
+ navigational system, such as an HTML-based search form, so the user
+ may select issues or articles of interest. ISBNs and SICIs, on the
+ other hand, do identify finite, manageably-sized objects, but these
+ objects may still be large enough that resolution to a hierarchical
+ system is appropriate.
+
+ In addition, the materials identified by an ISSN, ISBN or SICI may
+ exist only in printed or other physical form, not electronically.
+ The best that a resolver may be able to offer is information about
+ where to get the physical resource, such as library holdings or a
+ bookstore or publisher order form. The URN Framework provides
+ resolution services that may be used to describe any differences
+ between the resource identified by a URN and the resource that would
+ be returned as a result of resolving that URN.
+
+3. International Standard Book Numbers
+
+3.1 Overview
+
+ An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifies an edition of
+ a monographic work. The ISBN is defined by the standard
+ NISO/ANSI/ISO 2108:1992 [ISO1]
+
+ Basically, an ISBN is a ten-digit number (actually, the last digit
+ can be the letter "X" as well, as described below) which is divided
+ into four variable length parts usually separated by hyphens when
+ printed. The parts are as follows (in this order):
+
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 3]
+
+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
+
+ * a group identifier which specifies a group of publishers, based on
+ national, geographic or some other criteria,
+
+ * the publisher identifier,
+
+ * the title identifier,
+
+ * and a modulus 11 check digit, using X instead of 10.
+
+ The group and publisher number assignments are managed in such a way
+ that the hyphens are not needed to parse the ISBN unambiguously into
+ its constituent parts. However, the ISBN is normally transmitted and
+ displayed with hyphens to make it easy for human beings to recognize
+ these parts without having to make reference to or have knowledge of
+ the number assignments for group and publisher identifiers.
+
+3.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical Equivalence
+
+ Embedding ISBNs within the URN framework presents no particular
+ encoding problems, since all of the characters that can appear in an
+ ISBN are valid in the identifier segment of the URN. %-encoding, as
+ described in [MOATS] is never needed.
+
+ Example: URN:ISBN:0-395-36341-1
+
+ For the ISBN namespace, some additional equivalence rules are
+ appropriate. Prior to comparing two ISBN URNs for equivalence, it is
+ appropriate to remove all hyphens, and to convert any occurrences of
+ the letter X to upper case.
+
+3.3 Additional considerations
+
+ The ISBN standard and related community implementation guidelines
+ define when different versions of a work should be assigned the same
+ or differing ISBNs. In actuality, however, practice varies somewhat
+ depending on publisher as to whether different ISBNs are assigned for
+ paperbound vs. hardbound versions of the same work, electronic vs.
+ printed versions of the same work, or versions of the same work
+ distinguished in some other way (e.g., published for example in the
+ US and in Europe). The choice of whether to assign a new ISBN or to
+ reuse an existing one when publishing a revised printing of an
+ existing edition of a work or even a revised edition of a work is
+ somewhat subjective. Practice varies from publisher to publisher
+ (indeed, the distinction between a revised printing and a new edition
+ is itself somewhat subjective). The use of ISBNs within the URN
+ framework simply reflects these existing practices. Note that it is
+ likely that an ISBN URN will often resolve to many instances of the
+ work (many URLs).
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 4]
+
+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
+
+4. International Standard Serials Numbers
+
+4.1 Overview
+
+ International Standard Serials Numbers (ISSN) identify a work that is
+ published on a continued basis in issues; they identify the entire
+ (often open-ended, in the case of an actively published) work. ISSNs
+ are defined by the international standards ISO 3297:1986 [ISO2] and
+ ISO/DIS 3297 [ISO3] and within the United States by NISO Z39.9-1992
+ [NISO1]. The ISSN International Centre is located in Paris and
+ coordinates a network of regional centers. The National Serials Data
+ Program within the Library of Congress is the US Center of this
+ network.
+
+ ISSNs have the form NNNN-NNNN where N is a digit, the last digit may
+ be an upper case X as the result of the check character calculation.
+ Unlike the ISBN the ISSN components do not have much structure;
+ blocks of numbers are passed out to the regional centers and
+ publishers.
+
+4.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical Equivalence
+
+ Again, there is no problem representing ISSNs in the namespace-
+ specific string of URNs since all characters valid in the ISSN are
+ valid in the namespace-specific URN string, and %-encoding is never
+ required.
+
+ Example: URN:ISSN:1046-8188
+
+ Supplementary comparison rules are also appropriate for the ISSN
+ namespace. Just as for ISBNs, hyphens should be dropped prior to
+ comparison and occurrences of 'x' normalized to uppercase.
+
+4.3 Additional Considerations
+
+ The ISSN standard and related community implementation guidelines
+ specify when new ISSNs should be assigned vs. continuing to use an
+ existing one. There are some publications where practice within the
+ bibliographic community varies from institution to institution, such
+ as annuals or annual conference proceedings. In some cases these are
+ treated as serials and ISSNs are used, and in some cases they are
+ treated as monographs and ISBNs are used. For example SIGMOD Record
+ volume 24 number 2 June 1995 contains the Proceedings of the 1995 ACM
+ SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data. If you
+ subscribe to the journal (ISSN 0163-5808) this is simply the June
+ issue. On the other hand you may have acquired this volume as the
+ conference proceedings (a monograph) and as such would use the ISBN
+ 0-89791-731-6 to identify the work. There are also varying practices
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 5]
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+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
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+ within the publishing community as to when new ISSNs are assigned due
+ to the change in the name of a periodical (e.g. Atlantic becomes
+ Atlantic Monthly); or when a periodical is published both in printed
+ and electronic versions (e.g. The New York Times). The use of ISSNs
+ in URNs will reflect these judgments and practices.
+
+5. Serial Item and Contribution Identifiers
+
+5.1 Overview
+
+ The standard for Serial Item and Contribution Identifiers (SICI)
+ codes, which has recently been extensively revised, is defined by
+ NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 [NISO2]. The maintenance agency for the SICI
+ code is the UnCover Corporation.
+
+ SICI codes can be used to identify an issue of a serial, or a
+ specific contribution (e.g., an article, or the table of contents)
+ within an issue of a serial. SICI codes are not assigned, they are
+ constructed based on information about the issue or issue component
+ in question.
+
+ The complete syntax for the SICI code will not be discussed here; see
+ NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 [NISO2] for details. However, an example and
+ brief review of the major components is needed to understand the
+ relationship with the ISSN and how this identifier differs from an
+ ISSN. An example of a SICI code is: 0015-
+ 6914(19960101)157:1<62:KTSW>2.0.TX;2-F
+
+ The first nine characters are the ISSN identifying the serial title.
+ The second component, in parentheses, is the chronology information
+ giving the date the particular serial issue was published. In this
+ example that date was January 1, 1996. The third component, 157:1,
+ is enumeration information (volume, number) for the particular issue
+ of the serial. These three components comprise the "item segment" of
+ a SICI code. By augmenting the ISSN with the chronology and/or
+ enumeration information, specific issues of the serial can be
+ identified. The next segment, <62:KTSW>, identifies a particular
+ contribution within the issue. In this example we provide the
+ starting page number and a title code constructed from the initial
+ characters of the title. Identifiers assigned to a contribution can
+ be used in the contribution segment if page numbers are
+ inappropriate. The rest of the identifier is the control segment,
+ which includes a check character. Interested readers are encouraged
+ to consult the standard for an explanation of the fields in that
+ segment.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 6]
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+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
+
+5.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical Equivalence
+
+ The character set for SICIs is intended to be email-transport-
+ transparent, so it does not present major problems. However, all
+ printable excluded and reserved characters from the URN syntax are
+ valid in the SICI character set and must be %-encoded.
+
+ Example of a SICI for an issue of a journal:
+
+ URN:SICI:1046-8188(199501)13:1%3C%3E1.0.TX;2-F
+
+ For an article contained within that issue:
+
+ URN:SICI:1046-8188(199501)13:1%3C69:FTTHBI%3E2.0.TX;2-4
+
+ Equivalence rules for SICIs are not appropriate for definition as
+ part of the namespace and incorporation in areas such as cache
+ management algorithms. It is best left to resolver systems which try
+ to determine if two SICIs refer to the same content. Consequently,
+ we do not propose any specific rules for equivalence testing through
+ lexical manipulation.
+
+5.3 Additional Considerations
+
+ Since the serial is identified by an ISSN, some of the ambiguity
+ currently found in the assignment of ISSNs carries over into SICI
+ codes. In cases where an ISSN may refer to a serial that exists in
+ multiple formats, the SICI contains a qualifier that specifies the
+ format type (for example, print, microform, or electronic). SICI
+ codes may be constructed from a variety of sources (the actual issue
+ of the serial, a citation or a record from an abstracting service)
+ and, as such are based on the principle of using all available
+ information, so there may be multiple SICI codes representing the
+ same article [NISO2, Appendix D]. For example, one code might be
+ constructed with access to both chronology and enumeration (that is,
+ date of issue and volume, issue and page number), another code might
+ be constructed based only on enumeration information and without
+ benefit of chronology. Systems that use SICI codes employ complex
+ matching algorithms to try to match SICI codes constructed from
+ incomplete information to SICI codes constructed with the benefit of
+ all relevant information.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 7]
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+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
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+6. Security Considerations
+
+ This document proposes means of encoding several existing
+ bibliographic identifiers within the URN framework. This document
+ does not discuss resolution; thus questions of secure or
+ authenticated resolution mechanisms are out of scope. It does not
+ address means of validating the integrity or authenticating the
+ source or provenance of URNs that contain bibliographic identifiers.
+ Issues regarding intellectual property rights associated with objects
+ identified by the various bibliographic identifiers are also beyond
+ the scope of this document, as are questions about rights to the
+ databases that might be used to construct resolvers.
+
+7. References
+
+ [ISO1] NISO/ANSI/ISO 2108:1992 Information and documentation
+ -- International standard book number (ISBN)
+ [ISO2] ISO 3297:1986 Documentation -- International standard
+ serial numbering (ISSN)
+ [ISO3] ISO/DIS 3297 Information and documentation --
+ International standard serial numbering (ISSN) (Revision of ISO
+ 3297:1986)
+ [Moats] Moats, R., "URN Syntax", RFC 2141, May 1997.
+ [NISO 1] NISO/ANSI Z39.9-1992 International standard serial
+ numbering (ISSN)
+ [NISO 2] NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 Serial Item and Contribution
+ Identifier
+ [Sollins & Masinter] Sollins, K., and L. Masinter, "Functional
+ Requirements for Uniform Resource Names", RFC 1737, December
+ 1994.
+
+
+
+
+
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+Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 8]
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+RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
+
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+8. Authors' Addresses
+
+ Clifford Lynch
+ Executive Director
+ Coalition for Networked Information
+ 21 Dupont Circle
+ Washington, DC 20036
+
+ EMail: cliff@cni.org
+
+
+ Cecilia Preston
+ Preston & Lynch
+ PO Box 8310
+ Emeryville, CA 94662
+
+ EMail: cecilia@well.com
+
+
+ Ron Daniel Jr.
+ Advanced Computing Lab, MS B287
+ Los Alamos National Laboratory
+ Los Alamos, NM, 87545
+
+ EMail: rdaniel@acl.lanl.gov
+
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+9. Full Copyright Statement
+
+ Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
+
+ This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
+ others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
+ or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
+ and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
+ kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
+ included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
+ document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
+ the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
+ Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
+ developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
+ copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
+ followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
+ English.
+
+ The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
+ revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
+
+ This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
+ "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
+ TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
+ BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
+ HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
+ MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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