The pe sis en iden i ica ion o digi al esou ces can play a i al ole in enabling hei accessibili y and e-
usabili y o e ime. Howe e , p og ess in de ining he na u e and unc ional equi emen s o iden i ie
sys ems is hinde ed by a lack o sha ed ag eemen on wha iden i ie s should ac ually do. To some, an
iden i ie sys em is s ic ly a means o p o iding a unique name o a digi al o analogue esou ce — ei he
globally o locally. To o he s, iden i ie sys ems mus also inco po a e associa ed se ices such as
esolu ion and me ada a binding. Speci ic equi emen s will di e , bu i is i al ha ins i u ions ecognise
ha he applica ion and main enance o iden i ie s o ms jus one pa o an o e all digi al p ese a ion
s a egy. Wi hou adequa e ins i u ional commi men and clea ly de ined oles and esponsibili ies,
iden i ie s canno o e any gua an ees o pe sis ence, loca abili y, o ac ionabili y in he long o sho -
e m.
Pe sis en Iden i ie s
www.dcc.ac.uk
Sho - e m Bene i s and Long- e m Value
Sho - e m bene i s:
• Globally unique iden i ica ion can help o educe con usion o e mul iple e sions o a gi en esou ce
• Pe sis en iden i ie s can help o imp o e he ease o loca abili y o dis ibu ed esou ces he eby acili a ing
access and e-use o esou ces o new esea ch
• Iden i ie s a egies can in eg a e legacy naming sys ems and p omo e in e ope abili y
Long- e m alue:
• The applica ion o iden i ie s may indica e a le el o commi men on he pa o he c ea ing o ganisa ion.This
can ha e a posi i e impac on he le els o us owa ds ha ins i u ion
• Iden i ie s may help o p o ide p o enance in o ma ion which can posi i ely impac he au hen ici y o a
esou ce o e ime
HE/FE Pe spec i e
"A he end o he day, he only gua an ee o he use ulness and pe sis ence o iden i ie sys ems is he
commi men o he o ganisa ion which assign, manage and esol e iden i ie s."
S ua Weibel, Senio Resea ch Scien is , OCLC
e-Science Pe spec i e
"Sho comings in scien i ic da a p o ision and in e -disciplina y use ha e been iden i ied. Da a sou ces a e widely
unknown and da a a e o en a chi ed wi hou con ex .The sugges ed solu ion is publica ion o p ima y da a
oge he wi h long- e m a chi ing and con ex documen a ion a scien i ic communi y le el.The use o pe sis en
iden i ie s (DOI/URN) oge he wi h me a in o ma ion o ci ing elec onic publica ions (ISO 690-2) allow o
pe sis en access wi hin he In e ne and o in eg a ion o scien i ic p ima y da a in o s anda d lib a y
ca alogues. P ima y da a a e hen sea chable oge he wi h scien i ic a icles and can be ci ed wi hin li e a u e
like o he publica ions."
Michael Lau enschlage , Di ec o ,Wo ld Da a Cen e o Clima e a Model and Da a/Max-Planck-Ins i u e o
Me eo ology
BRIEFING PAPER Oc obe 2006
www.dcc.ac.uk
Issues o be Conside ed
Func ional equi emen s will di e depending on he indi idual ins i u ion, bu he ollowing ques ions should
be ca e ully conside ed p io o he implemen a ion o any iden i ica ion s a egy:
• Wha should he iden i ie be iden i ying — he esou ce, he loca ion, he me ada a, o all o he abo e?
• Does he iden i ie need o be globally o locally unique?
• Wha basic unc ionali y is equi ed o he iden i ie scheme (iden i ica ion s e ie abili y)?
• Wha le el o g anula i y is equi ed?
• A e he e legacy naming sys ems ha need o be inco po a ed? I so, how will in e ope abili y be ween
naming sys ems be handled?
• Will opaque o seman ic iden i ie s be used?
• Ve sioning can be p oblema ic.When does a esou ce change signi ican ly enough o wa an he
applica ion o a new iden i ie ?
• How will me ada a be s o ed and bound o he iden i ied esou ce?
• Can he iden i ica ion s a egy scale o mee u u e needs?
• A wha s age in he wo k low will iden i ie s be applied o a esou ce?
• Who will be esponsible o managing he iden i ie s o e ime?
• How will he assignmen and long- e m managemen o iden i ie s be inanced?
Addi ional Resou ces
• NISO Iden i ie s Round able [h p://www.niso.o g/news/e en s_wo kshops/ID-06-wkshp.h ml] and epo
[h p://www.niso.o g/news/e en s_wo kshops/ID-wo kshop-Repo 2006725.pd ]
• P oceedings om he DCC wo kshop on Pe sis en Iden i ie s. [h p://www.dcc.ac.uk/e en s/pi-2005/]
• P oceedings om he ERPANET wo kshop on Pe sis en Iden i ie s [h p://www.e pane .o g/e en s/2004/co k/index.php] and
inal epo [h p://www.e pane .o g/e en s/2004/co k/Co k%20Repo .pd ]
• eBank UK Da a Ci a ion Links [h p://www.ukoln.ac.uk/p ojec s/ebank-uk/da a-ci a ion/]
• PADI [h p://www.nla.go .au/padi/ opics/36.h ml]
• NOIDs [h p://www.cdlib.o g/inside/diglib/a k/noid.pd ]
• In oURI [h p://in o-u i.in o/ egis y/OAIHandle ? e b=Lis Reco ds&me ada aP e ix=oai_dc]
• Digi al Objec Iden i ie (DOI) [h p://www.doi.o g/]
• Pe sis en Uni o m Resou ce Loca o (PURL) [h p://pu l.o g/]
• A chi al Resou ce Key (ARK) [h p://www.cdlib.o g/inside/diglib/a k/]
• Handle Sys em [h p://www.handle.ne /]
