LCCN, May 12, 2015 ISSN 2324-6464
ISSN, Part 2 Regina Romano Reynolds [Part 1 is found at http://listserv.loc.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1404 <http://listserv.loc.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1404&L=lccn&T=0&P=201> &L=lccn&T=0&P=201] In my first post about the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress, I focused on the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) and its various functions as a unique identifier for serials in the digital environment. But what is the work of the U.S. ISSN Center really like? What do we actually do? The most basic and key activity is assigning ISSN, which can be more complex than it sounds. (Note: According to the standard for ISSN maintained by the National Information Standards Organization, the abbreviation "ISSN" denotes both singular and plural usage.) The ISSN must uniquely identify an eligible continuing resource and distinguish it from other resources that might have the same or similar names, or that might be a predecessor or successor title. One of the most serious mistakes in ISSN work is having the same resource identified by two different ISSN or having two different resources with the same ISSN. Precise and thorough searching in the staff version of the ISSN Portal (the subscription database of the ISSN Network), in OCLC WorldCat, and in the Library of Congress's ILS is crucial. For older serials that were batch-assigned ISSN by R. R. Bowker for the 1950-1970 cumulation of New Serial Titles and for the 1972 edition of Ulrich's, searching in those publications is sometimes needed to validate the machine-assigned ISSN that formed the first critical mass of ISSN. The international nature of the ISSN Network requires that staff must determine whether an ISSN might already have been assigned by any of the 87 other ISSN centers or the ISSN International Centre (IC) in order to avoid duplicate assignments. If a U.S. publication needing an ISSN either indicates it was formerly published in another country, or a cataloger suspects that an existing ISSN in the ISSN Portal is for the same resource but is published in, for example, Croatia, the cataloger will send an email to the Croatian ISSN Center to confirm it is the same title and request transfer of responsibility to the U.S. ISSN Center. The ISSN will not change if the title has remained the same. Not a day goes by without multiple messages to and from other ISSN centers, some regarding complex multinational bibliographic problems. Additionally, if no ISSN is found and the resource lists locations in multiple countries, other ISSN centers may have to be contacted to determine which center should make the ISSN assignment. When a resource needs a new ISSN, the next available ISSN is obtained from the "AIR," a locally-developed "Automated ISSN Register" that doles out the next available ISSN from the current block of about 10,000 ISSN allocated by the IC. All ISSN given to the U.S. ISSN Center must be reported to the ISSN Register in Paris via a bibliographic record or a cancellation notice. For new ISSN, the cataloger creates a unique key title, using rules similar to AACR2 uniform titles for serials. In RDA terminology, the key title is at the "manifestation" level. Existing OCLC records are updated with ISSN metadata and authenticated to CONSER standards or new records that conform to that standard are input. Prior to ISSN assignment, resources eligible to be added to the Library of Congress collection undergo formal selection by trained ISSN Center librarians. Resources selected for the Library of Congress receive full cataloging. If new records are needed for non-selected resources, full CONSER descriptions but no authority or subject analysis is done by section technicians and the records are coded as minimal level. Each week new or updated records for U.S. ISSN are processed and become part of the ISSN Portal. Answering questions from publishers also requires the time and expertise of ISSN staff. Some questions are easy: how do I get an ISSN? (please use the application form on our web site); how long does it take? (six to eight weeks); how much does it cost? (it's free: your tax dollars at work); can ISSN be assigned to old or ceased serials? (yes! 128 ISSN have been assigned to 17th century serials and over 2,000 ISSN have been assigned to 18th century serials, most of which are long dead). Some questions and situations are much harder: is a quirky new electronic resource a continuing resource and therefore eligible? (maybe); how many ISSN are needed for a resource published in various forms and formats? (some receive their own ISSN, e. g. CD-ROM; some do not, e.g., print on demand from an online version); does this supplement need its own ISSN? (it depends); which ISSN center is responsible for a resource published in Guam? (the U.S. ISSN Center). Some questions call for serial publishing advice: how do I get a bar code? Should I start numbering over again when I change my title? Can I indicate "published in cyberspace" as the place of publication? In addition to answering questions from legitimate publishers, dealing with so called "predatory publishers" (see http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/01/02/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2015/# more-4719 <http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/01/02/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2015/ %23more-4719> ) is a huge and time-consuming challenge for everyone in the U.S. ISSN Center and the ISSN Network. These publishers exploit the open access model and unsuspecting authors by soliciting articles and charging high publishing fees to have articles published in low quality journals. The most egregious publishers engage in fraudulent practices such as taking fees for articles or conference registrations and failing to provide services, making false claims about impact factors and indexing, stating affiliations with prestigious organizations (e.g., "sponsored by the Library of Congress" because they were given an ISSN), or listing editorial board members who have never agreed to be on their boards. The ISSN Network has instituted a policy of refusing ISSN or revoking ISSN for those publishers who engage in misleading or deceptive practices. Making the determination of who can receive an ISSN assignment and from what center (many are located outside the U.S. but use U.S. mail drop addresses) can be difficult. Refusing an ISSN often results in a disgruntled publisher who may complain repeatedly over the course of several days. We all prefer to assign ISSN rather than deny ISSN, so time spent dealing with this relatively new phenomenon is frustrating. CONSER activities, ISSN Network activities, and standards work also engage staff who have contributed to both the CONSER Cataloging Manual and the ISSN Manual. We also write and speak about ISSN, participate in standards work such as NISO's PIE-J recommended practices or revision of the ISSN standard. Within the Library of Congress, we are working on automating ISSN workflows and batch processes. An exciting ISSN activity for 2015 is the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ISSN Network. Stay tuned for announcements of activities planned to celebrate this occasion both in the U.S. and in ISSN centers around the world later in the year. Editor's Note: Just as this article is being completed, ALA's ALCTS division, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, announced that the Library's very own U.S. ISSN Center and ProQuest have received the 2015 ALCTS Outstanding Collaboration Citation. The award will be presented to Regina Romano Reynolds, Director of the U.S. ISSN Center, and Allison Feist, Lead Metadata Librarian, ProQuest, at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, Calif., in June. For more information see http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/04/us-issn-center-and-proquest-r eceive-alcts-collaboration-award.
