So-called identifiers make our lives easier because they enable clear classification. The ISBN is one such identifier that we all know and love. A book without an ISBN is like Alice without Wonderland.
Just as a specific ISBN belongs to a specific book in a specific format, there is also an identifier that can be used to uniquely identify authors: the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI). With its help, works can be assigned to a name without any risk of confusion. This is important for making processes more efficient and, in the best case, automating them. Because this is precisely our forte, we are committed to ensuring that the ISNI standard is used extensively.
We asked our colleague Felix how a current project with the German National Library (DNB) is now gaining momentum.
- What have you been up to with your colleagues at the DNB?
For ISNI to be effective, the standard must be used intensively. That is why we worked with the DNB team to identify over 700,000 authors in the VLB and register their initial ISNIs. This corresponds to over 60 percent of the individuals listed in the VLB's title data. We have also mapped individuals to ISNIs and ISBNs, which we are now making available to publishers for review and reporting to the VLB.
At the same time, we have launched a German-language search and registration service for ISNI. This allows the ISNI database to be searched for persons (and organizations). If the search returns no results, a new ISNI can be registered directly.
- Why do publishers need to take action now?
On the one hand, data sovereignty in the VLB lies with the publishers. On the other hand, they know their authors best, so this is the safest option for avoiding errors in attribution. It should be noted that when we talk about the most comprehensive use of ISNI possible, we mean integration into as many systems as possible. The source of this data stream lies with the publishers.
- What is the purpose of this? What added value does the ISNI link offer?
ISNI is always useful when content needs to be brought together based on the creators, for example, if you want to follow a person in order to be automatically and reliably informed about new publications or events.
ISNI can also be used to link further information about individuals, such as images, event details, CVs, and links. Until now, such processes, if possible at all, have involved a lot of manual work in the background. There is a lot of potential for efficiency gains here. This applies to applications such as VLB and VLB-TIX or web shops, for archiving in libraries, and for the allocation of distributions by VG WORT.
- What are your next steps?
We will expand the current search and registration function to minimize the barriers to ISNI use. With additional ISNI-related features in our MVB offerings, we will make the industry even more aware of the value of the standard.
A good example of this is the “Discover all titles by ...” function in VLB-TIX. Until now, it has provided the results of a keyword search for the respective name – including titles by people with the same name or books about them by other authors. Thanks to ISNI, from fall 2024 onwards, only uniquely assigned titles will be displayed there.
- What #LearningGift are you taking away from the project?
The complexity of such a project is difficult to fully outline in advance. Due to the large number of people involved, many discussions are necessary to obtain a clear picture of the requirements for disseminating the standard. We recognized early on that the best way to clarify the picture was simply to “get started” and implement specific measures. This triggered the necessary discussion of the topic, both internally at MVB and within the industry.
Tip: In a step-by-step video tutorial, the VLB team explains how publishers can access their Excel list, how they can report the verified data to the VLB in various ways, and how they can register new ISNIs. Further information is available on the VLB help pages and in the latest ISNI FAQ.
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