 |
Factsheet
Key Facts on Digital Object Identifier System
Key concepts and abbreviations
- DOI = Digital Object Identifier
- IDF = International DOI Foundation (operating and governing organisation): https://www.doi.org/
- RAs = DOI Registration Agencies (= members of IDF offering the system to customers who wish to assign DOI names)
Status: operational system
- Foundation launched to develop system in 1998. First applications launched 2000
- Currently used by well over 5,000 assigners, e.g., publishers, science data centres, movie studios, etc.
- Approximately 148 million DOI names assigned to date
- Over 22,000 DOI name prefixes within the DOI System
- Over 5 billion DOI resolutions per year
- DOI names are assigned by multiple RAs worldwide
- Over 25 million shortDOI links to DOI names are in use
- Initial applications are simple redirection — a persistent identifier
- More sophisticated functionality available, e.g., multiple resolution, data typing
- International Standard: ISO 26324, Digital Object Identifier System, 1 May 2012 (available from the ISO Store)
Scope
- Digital Identifier of an Object (not "Identifier of a Digital Object")
- Object = any entity (thing: physical, digital, or abstract)
- Resources, parties, licences, etc.
- Digital Identifier = network actionable identifier ("click on it and do something")
- Generic framework
- Initial focus on entities was documents/media e.g., articles, data sets
- Now also moving into parties and licences
- Extending to other sectors
- Extensible by design to any sector: not intended as a publishing-only solution (digital convergence)
- International coverage
What it does
- Provides an actionable, interoperable, persistent link
- Actionable – through use of identifier syntax and network resolution mechanism (Handle System®)
- Persistent – through combination of supporting improved handle infrastructure (registry database, proxy support, etc) and social infrastructure (obligations by Registration Agencies)
- Interoperable – through use of a data model providing semantic interoperability and grouping mechanisms
Governance
- IDF = operating and governing organisation
- Provides the social infrastructure
- e.g., obligations for persistence, back-up, in event of failure, etc.
- Proven model: successfully transitioned the management of persistent identifiers between different registrants and between different RAs
- US "Not for profit" open membership (with membership fee)
- Federation of Registration Agencies makes up majority of the IDF
- Elected Board
- No full time staff (contracted outsourced functions)
Business Model
- IDF receives membership fees from RAs, contracts technical operator
- RAs are members of IDF and pay a fixed fee per year
- Costs of operating the system are divided across RAs so that IDF is cost-neutral
- Assigners are customers of RAs
- RAs might have their own existing numbering scheme, existing communities etc. – which can be integrated with a DOI Application not replaced by it.
- RAs are autonomous independent bodies. They offer services to assigners using DOI names
- RAs' business model with their customers is entirely autonomous
- RAs only obligation to IDF is a licence/operating agreement
- RAs may choose to put DOI names "under the hood"
- Some RAs are commercial; others are themselves member communities
Technical Infrastructure
- Handle System: persistent identification in digital networks
- Vocabulary Mapping Framework: data dictionary methodology for associated metadata
- Both used elsewhere: aim was not to re-invent the wheel
Standardization
- ISO 26324, Information and Documentation — Digital Object Identifier System (2012)
- Mechanism for, and emphasis on, enabling re-use of other existing identifier schemes, e.g., ISBN; see "DOI System and Standard Identifier Schemes".
Documentation
Origin
- 1996 proposal from the three major international publishing trade associations to develop infrastructure for digital publishing;
- Need in the digital supply chain for an equivalent of the analogue bar code: migration from analogue to digital networked content cannot rely on URLs as identifiers (e.g., due to "linkrot": "404 not found")
Relation to other schemes
- Strong focus on interoperability and on working with existing and new schemes; technical, syntactic, and semantic interoperability
- Adopt existing proven components
Intellectual Property Considerations
- IDF owns DOI®, a registered trademark for the system
- IDF does not have any patents (or patent applications) on DOI System
- IDF collectively licences appropriate technology from suppliers on behalf of members
- Patent Policy in place
- All RAs must sign RA agreement re use of IDF System
- IDF is a participant in related projects
|
 |
