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RE: ISSN for RFC Series under Consideration

2008-05-28 19:38:17
Ray Pelletier <rpelletier(_at_)isoc(_dot_)org> writes:

The IETF Trust is considering applying to the U.S. Library of Congress
to obtain an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the RFC
Series and would like community input to inform its decision.  The
Trust
may take up this matter on June 11th.

This idea doesn't seem harmful, at least, but I question the utility of
making references to the RFC series "compact and globally unique" or making
such references easier to construct.  I suppose that someone somewhere has
referenced the entire RFC series (as opposed to a small set of RFCs) but
I've never actually seen it...


An ISSN is applied to serials - print or non-print publications issued
in parts.  A serial is  expected to continue indefinitely. Serials
include magazines, newspapers, annuals, journals, proceedings,
transactions of societies, and monographic series. Other SDOs, such as
the IEEE, have obtained ISSNs for their publications.  A single ISSN
uniquely identifies a title regardless of language or country in which
published, without the burden of a complex bibliographic description.
The ISSN itself has no significance other than the unique
identification
of a serial.

The Trust believes there are advantages to indentifying the RFC Series
with an ISSN.  Among them,
1. Make reference to the series compact and globally unique;
2. Make the series, and individual RFCs, easier to reference in some
contexts;
3. Results in accurate citing of serials by scholars, researchers,
abstracters, and librarians;
4. ISSN registrations are maintained in an international data base and
are made available in the ISSN Register online

According to the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/issn/, for serials
available only in online versions, the ISSN should appear on the title
screen or home page and/or in the masthead or other areas where
information about publisher, frequency, subscribing, copyright, etc. is
given.

There is no cost associated with obtaining ISSNs.

Ray Pelletier
IAD
Trustee

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