ISSN, ISBN, ISMN and ISNI
ISSN, ISBN, ISMN and ISNI
The National Library acts as the national ISBN agency, the national ISSN agency and the national ISMN agency responsible for assigning an identification number to Luxembourg publications, as well as the ISNI identifier registration agency. They contribute to a greater visibility of Luxembourg publications beyond our borders, in particular by facilitating their referencing in non-Luxembourg databases.
ISBN
International Standard Book Number
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is an international standard number created for the identification of books. ISBNs are assigned to monographs, both printed and digital, and to certain types of related products that are made available to the public, either free of charge or for sale. A request for an ISBN can be made with MyGuichet.
ISSN
International Standard Serial Number
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is an 8-digit international standard number that uniquely identifies any serial publication, regardless of the country of publication, language of publication, alphabet, frequency of publication, and medium (print, online resource, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD video, audio CD, etc.). The ISSN makes it possible to distinguish each serial publication unambiguously from similar or identical titles around the world. A request for an ISSN identifier can be made with MyGuichet.
ISMN
International Standard Music Number
The ISMN is an international standard number that uniquely identifies printed music publications. Please note that the BnL is not responsible for assigning ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) numbers, which you can usually get from a label, or EAN (European Article Number) barcodes, which are distributed by the Chamber of Commerce. A request for an ISMN identifier can be made with MyGuichet.
ISNI
International Standard Name Identifier
The ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) is an international standard code that identifies natural and legal persons active in the creation and distribution of intellectual content. It is particularly useful for differentiating between homonyms.
The ISNI unique identifier is of increased importance in the era of content production and distribution via the Internet, as it is intended to be used by all parties involved in the creation, production, management and distribution of content.
ISNI identifiers for natural and legal persons are defined in the national libraries of different countries according to an international standard and the ISNI database is managed by an international organisation. Since the BnL, through its production of bibliographic metadata, integrates the ISNI for Luxembourg authors, it intends to make the identification of Luxembourg authors more reliable.
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