As per Relevance of the word national, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group C.
Request for Comments: 2288 Coalition for Networked
Category: Informational C.
Preston &
R.
Los Alamos National
February 1998
Using Existing Bibliographic
Uniform Resource
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
memo is unlimited
Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved
A system for Uniform Resource Names (URNs) must be capable
supporting identifiers from existing widely-used naming systems
This document discusses how three major bibliographic
(the ISBN, ISSN and SICI) can be supported within the URN
and the currently proposed syntax for URNs
1.
The ongoing work of several IETF working groups, most recently in
Uniform Resource Names working group, has culminated the
of a syntax for Uniform Resource Names (URNs). The
requirements and overall framework for Uniform Resource Names
specified in RFC 1737 [Sollins & Masinter] and the specification
the URN syntax is RFC 2141 [Moats].
As part of the validation process for the development of URNs
IETF working group has agreed that it is important to
that the current URN syntax proposal can accommodate
identifiers from well established namespaces. One
infrastructure for assigning and managing names comes from
bibliographic community. Bibliographic identifiers function as
for objects that exist both in print and, increasingly, in
formats. This memo demonstrates the feasibility of supporting
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 1]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
representative bibliographic identifiers within the
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;
merely demonstrates feasibility. It has not been developed
consultation with these standards bodies and maintenance
that oversee the existing bibliographic identifiers. Any
Internet standard for encoding these bibliographic identifiers
URNs will need to be developed in consultation with the
standards bodies and maintenance agencies
In addition, there are several open questions with regard to
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
identifiers discussed in this document. While we believe this to
the most appropriate choice, it is not the only one. The NIDs
be based on the standards body and standard number (e.g. "US-ANSI
NISO-Z39.56-1997" rather than "SICI"). Alternatively, one could
all bibliographic identifiers into a single "BIBLIOGRAPHIC"
space, and structure the namespace-specific string to specify
identifier is being used. Any final resolution of this must wait
the outcome of namespace management discussions in the working
and the broader IETF community
For the purposes of this document, we have selected three
bibliographic identifiers (national and international) to fit
the URN framework. These are the International Standard Book
(ISBN) [ISO1], the International Standard Serials Number (ISSN
[NISO1,ISO2, ISO3], and the Serial Item and Contribution
(SICI) [NISO2]. An ISBN is used to identify a monograph (book).
ISSN is used to identify serial publications (journals, newspapers
as a whole. A SICI augments the ISSN in order to
individual issues of serial publications, or components within
issues (such as an individual article, or the table of contents of
given issue). The ISBN and ISSN are defined in the United States
standards issued by the National Information Standards
(NISO) and also by parallel international standards issued under
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
NISO document in the United States and does not have a
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
and RLG, national library numbers such as the Library of
Control Number) or are under development. While we do not
them in this document, many of these will also need to be
within the URN framework as it moves to large scale implementation
The issues involved in supporting those additional identifiers
anticipated to be broadly similar to those involved in
ISBNs, ISSNs, and SICIs
2. Identification vs.
It is important to distinguish between the resource identified by
URN and the resources a URN resolver that can reasonably return
attempting to resolve an identifier. For example, the ISSN 0040-781
identifies the popular magazine "Time" -- all of it, every issue
from the start of publication to present. Resolving such
identifier should not result in the equivalent of hundreds
thousands of pages of text and photos being dumped to the user'
machine. It is more reasonable for ISSNs to resolve to
navigational system, such as an HTML-based search form, so the
may select issues or articles of interest. ISBNs and SICIs, on
other hand, do identify finite, manageably-sized objects, but
objects may still be large enough that resolution to a
system is appropriate
In addition, the materials identified by an ISSN, ISBN or SICI
exist only in printed or other physical form, not electronically
The best that a resolver may be able to offer is information
where to get the physical resource, such as library holdings or
bookstore or publisher order form. The URN Framework
resolution services that may be used to describe any
between the resource identified by a URN and the resource that
be returned as a result of resolving that URN
3. International Standard Book
3.1
An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifies an edition
a monographic work. The ISBN is defined by the
NISO/ANSI/ISO 2108:1992 [ISO1]
Basically, an ISBN is a ten-digit number (actually, the last
can be the letter "X" as well, as described below) which is
into four variable length parts usually separated by hyphens
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
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
that the hyphens are not needed to parse the ISBN unambiguously
its constituent parts. However, the ISBN is normally transmitted
displayed with hyphens to make it easy for human beings to
these parts without having to make reference to or have knowledge
the number assignments for group and publisher identifiers
3.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical
Embedding ISBNs within the URN framework presents no
encoding problems, since all of the characters that can appear in
ISBN are valid in the identifier segment of the URN. %-encoding,
described in [MOATS] is never needed
Example: URN:ISBN:0-395-36341-1
For the ISBN namespace, some additional equivalence rules
appropriate. Prior to comparing two ISBN URNs for equivalence, it
appropriate to remove all hyphens, and to convert any occurrences
the letter X to upper case
3.3 Additional
The ISBN standard and related community implementation
define when different versions of a work should be assigned the
or differing ISBNs. In actuality, however, practice varies
depending on publisher as to whether different ISBNs are assigned
paperbound vs. hardbound versions of the same work, electronic vs
printed versions of the same work, or versions of the same
distinguished in some other way (e.g., published for example in
US and in Europe). The choice of whether to assign a new ISBN or
reuse an existing one when publishing a revised printing of
existing edition of a work or even a revised edition of a work
somewhat subjective. Practice varies from publisher to
(indeed, the distinction between a revised printing and a new
is itself somewhat subjective). The use of ISBNs within the
framework simply reflects these existing practices. Note that it
likely that an ISBN URN will often resolve to many instances of
work (many URLs).
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 4]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
4. International Standard Serials
4.1
International Standard Serials Numbers (ISSN) identify a work that
published on a continued basis in issues; they identify the
(often open-ended, in the case of an actively published) work.
are defined by the international standards ISO 3297:1986 [ISO2]
ISO/DIS 3297 [ISO3] and within the United States by NISO Z39.9-1992
[NISO1]. The ISSN International Centre is located in Paris
coordinates a network of regional centers. The National Serials
Program within the Library of Congress is the US Center of
network
ISSNs have the form NNNN-NNNN where N is a digit, the last digit
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
publishers
4.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical
Again, there is no problem representing ISSNs in the namespace
specific string of URNs since all characters valid in the ISSN
valid in the namespace-specific URN string, and %-encoding is
required
Example: URN:ISSN:1046-8188
Supplementary comparison rules are also appropriate for the
namespace. Just as for ISBNs, hyphens should be dropped prior
comparison and occurrences of 'x' normalized to uppercase
4.3 Additional
The ISSN standard and related community implementation
specify when new ISSNs should be assigned vs. continuing to use
existing one. There are some publications where practice within
bibliographic community varies from institution to institution,
as annuals or annual conference proceedings. In some cases these
treated as serials and ISSNs are used, and in some cases they
treated as monographs and ISBNs are used. For example SIGMOD
volume 24 number 2 June 1995 contains the Proceedings of the 1995
SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data. If
subscribe to the journal (ISSN 0163-5808) this is simply the
issue. On the other hand you may have acquired this volume as
conference proceedings (a monograph) and as such would use the
0-89791-731-6 to identify the work. There are also varying
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 5]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
within the publishing community as to when new ISSNs are assigned
to the change in the name of a periodical (e.g. Atlantic
Atlantic Monthly); or when a periodical is published both in
and electronic versions (e.g. The New York Times). The use of
in URNs will reflect these judgments and practices
5. Serial Item and Contribution
5.1
The standard for Serial Item and Contribution Identifiers (SICI
codes, which has recently been extensively revised, is defined
NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 [NISO2]. The maintenance agency for the
code is the UnCover Corporation
SICI codes can be used to identify an issue of a serial, or
specific contribution (e.g., an article, or the table of contents
within an issue of a serial. SICI codes are not assigned, they
constructed based on information about the issue or issue
in question
The complete syntax for the SICI code will not be discussed here;
NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 [NISO2] for details. However, an example
brief review of the major components is needed to understand
relationship with the ISSN and how this identifier differs from
ISSN. An example of a SICI code is: 0015-
6914(19960101)157:1<62:KTSW>2.0.TX;2-
The first nine characters are the ISSN identifying the serial title
The second component, in parentheses, is the chronology
giving the date the particular serial issue was published. In
example that date was January 1, 1996. The third component, 157:1,
is enumeration information (volume, number) for the particular
of the serial. These three components comprise the "item segment"
a SICI code. By augmenting the ISSN with the chronology and/
enumeration information, specific issues of the serial can
identified. The next segment, <62:KTSW>, identifies a
contribution within the issue. In this example we provide
starting page number and a title code constructed from the
characters of the title. Identifiers assigned to a contribution
be used in the contribution segment if page numbers
inappropriate. The rest of the identifier is the control segment
which includes a check character. Interested readers are
to consult the standard for an explanation of the fields in
segment
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 6]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
5.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical
The character set for SICIs is intended to be email-transport
transparent, so it does not present major problems. However,
printable excluded and reserved characters from the URN syntax
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-
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
part of the namespace and incorporation in areas such as
management algorithms. It is best left to resolver systems which
to determine if two SICIs refer to the same content. Consequently
we do not propose any specific rules for equivalence testing
lexical manipulation
5.3 Additional
Since the serial is identified by an ISSN, some of the
currently found in the assignment of ISSNs carries over into
codes. In cases where an ISSN may refer to a serial that exists
multiple formats, the SICI contains a qualifier that specifies
format type (for example, print, microform, or electronic).
codes may be constructed from a variety of sources (the actual
of the serial, a citation or a record from an abstracting service
and, as such are based on the principle of using all
information, so there may be multiple SICI codes representing
same article [NISO2, Appendix D]. For example, one code might
constructed with access to both chronology and enumeration (that is
date of issue and volume, issue and page number), another code
be constructed based only on enumeration information and
benefit of chronology. Systems that use SICI codes employ
matching algorithms to try to match SICI codes constructed
incomplete information to SICI codes constructed with the benefit
all relevant information
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 7]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
6. Security
This document proposes means of encoding several
bibliographic identifiers within the URN framework. This
does not discuss resolution; thus questions of secure
authenticated resolution mechanisms are out of scope. It does
address means of validating the integrity or authenticating
source or provenance of URNs that contain bibliographic identifiers
Issues regarding intellectual property rights associated with
identified by the various bibliographic identifiers are also
the scope of this document, as are questions about rights to
databases that might be used to construct resolvers
7.
[ISO1] NISO/ANSI/ISO 2108:1992 Information and
-- International standard book number (ISBN
[ISO2] ISO 3297:1986 Documentation -- International
serial numbering (ISSN
[ISO3] ISO/DIS 3297 Information and documentation --
International standard serial numbering (ISSN) (Revision of
3297:1986)
[Moats] Moats, R., "URN Syntax", RFC 2141, May 1997.
[NISO 1] NISO/ANSI Z39.9-1992 International standard
numbering (ISSN
[NISO 2] NISO/ANSI Z39.56-1997 Serial Item and
[Sollins & Masinter] Sollins, K., and L. Masinter, "
Requirements for Uniform Resource Names", RFC 1737,
1994.
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 8]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
8. Authors'
Clifford
Executive
Coalition for Networked
21 Dupont
Washington, DC 20036
EMail: cliff@cni.
Cecilia
Preston &
PO Box 8310
Emeryville, CA 94662
EMail: cecilia@well.
Ron Daniel Jr
Advanced Computing Lab, MS B287
Los Alamos National
Los Alamos, NM, 87545
EMail: rdaniel@acl.lanl.
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 9]
RFC 2288 Bibligraphic Identifiers February 1998
9. Full Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied,
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph
included on all such copies and derivative works. However,
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other
English
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns
This document and the information contained herein is provided on
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
Lynch, et. al. Informational [Page 10]
if you see any problems within the linking, don't worry be happy,
this is version 0.1 of the Relevance System and you gotta expect some crappy subroutines sometimes,
just be content we did not write this in Java, which would have made this "bigger and better" HAHAHHA.
RFC documents can be found at I.E.T.F.
Relevance System Copyright © 2002 Spectrum WorldResearch
other technical nosh by ServerMasters Corporation
collaboration of BobX
