ISSN
The process of publishing a work in any format includes registering them in a series of standardized identification systems. In research, these systems are used to refer correctly to any published work. This section describes the identifiers commonly used in the publication process.
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is an eight-digit number that identifies serial publications.
Each ISSN number is associated with a single serialized publication (a change in the title means a different ISSN). As long as the title is not changed, the ISSN remains the same and must be printed on each issue, volume or iteration of the serialized publication it identifies.
Spain has been part of the ISSN network since 1978, when the Spanish National ISSN Center was created, which is now part of the National Library's Bibliographic Control Department.
ISBN
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) began in Berlin in the mid-1960s, following an initiative by British publishers to number and identify books, giving them individual “license numbers” identifying their country, publisher, title and a control digit to validate the number. This was a private initiative for voluntary public use. Spain joined in 1973, on a public basis given the political regime at the time, when around 20,000 books were being published per year (the figure is now around 100,000).
Since January 2011, the Spanish ISBN Agency has been privately managed by the Spanish Association of Publishers' Guilds, through an agreement signed by the Ministry of Culture, the Department of Culture and Media of the Government of Catalonia, and the Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds (published in Official State Gazette no. 187 of August 3, 2010).
Why the ISBN is used
The ISBN is a registration number enabling books to be commercially identified, thus making them easier to find with computer tools in the distribution and sales chain. For this reason, there is little point in requesting an ISBN number for a work which will not be distributed commercially.
Professional publishers are registered in and manage their ISBN numbers through DILVE (Distributor of information on Spanish books in print).
Researchers who want to publish a book themselves without the help of a professional publisher can request an ISBN from the Spanish ISBN Agency as the author/publisher of a work. Traditionally, this register has been used by various competitions and tenders for accrediting publications. This has led to the ISBN Agency issuing the following clarification:
• The ISBN does not guarantee the quality of the content of a work, as this is outside its remit. Furthermore, the registration process uses only the identifying details of the work (author, title, publisher, physical description, etc.).
• The ISBN is not obligatory. Since 2009 it has not been obligatory for publications to have an ISBN number, even for requesting the Legal Deposit.
• The ISBN does not protect intellectual property rights: the mere fact of publication, or alternatively, entry in the Intellectual Property Register is how intellectual property is protected.
Procedure for requesting an ISBN number
• Request and payment. The interested party requests an ISBN number by filling out the personal information and invoicing form. Next, they pay the corresponding amount and receive a receipt for the transaction.
• Confirmation. The author/publisher receives an email confirmation with a link to the ISBN platform where they can fill out a form with the bibliographic data of the work to be published.
• Registration. If the bibliographic data are correct, within the agreed period, the author/publisher will receive an email advising them that the registration is available as a PDF. If the data are not correct, the process may be delayed for correction.
• Cataloging. Later, the book will be cataloged by the Agency and its entry will appear in the database of books published in Spain (MECD). They will then receive email confirmation.
Fees
There is a fee for ISBN registration and the issue of the certificate: €45 for normal processing and €95 for urgent processing.
Intellectual Property
The ISSN is not connected with ownership rights to publications, titles or headings. The only way to protect ownership rights to publications, titles or headings is by registering them in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.
Legal Deposit
Legal Deposit is the only legal process affecting serial publications. For this reason, the Spanish National ISSN Center requires the Legal Deposit to have already been processed before assigning the ISSN (except for serial publications published online).
Fees
The number is assigned free of charge.
Legal Deposit
A code assigned to each edition and which must appear on each copy in compliance with the legal obligation of publishers to deposit a certain number of copies at the Legal Deposit office, in order to collect and preserve bibliographic, sound, visual, audiovisual and digital heritage.
Who must do it?
In Spain, the Legal Deposit is obligatory for publishers based permanently in Spanish territory, regardless of where works are printed.
Who requests it?
The publishers of a work published in a tangible format are required to request a Legal Deposit number.
What materials must bear a Legal Deposit number?
• Paper books and leaflets, however they are printed, and whether or not they are intended for sale
• Ongoing resources such as serialized publications, journals, yearbooks, annual reports, newspapers, and supplementary resources, such as updated loose-leaf material
• Digital documents on any medium if not freely accessible online.
• A copy of the entire document, in its original form, of any cinematographic documentary or fiction film by a producer with a permanent residence or business establishment in Spain, and a copy of the corresponding advertising material
• Sheet music
• Original picture cards in any medium
How many copies should be deposited?
Three or four copies, depending on the type of material.
More information is available at:
Legal Deposit Office of the Region of Madrid
DOI
- DOI is a digital object identifier system. The object can be any digital entity, although in the field of academic publishing it is used to identify a specific article.
- The main advantage of the DOI is that even if the article is relocated to a different URL than the original publication, it will still be accessible, as the code includes metadata which enable it to be found.
- The DOI was developed by the CNRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives), an American non-profit association to promote the development of information and communication technology in the field of scientific research. The European DOI Registration Agency is mEDRA.
- More information on DOI
