Traditionally, references to
web content have been made by using URL hyperlinks. However, as links are
'broken' when content is moved to another location, a reference system based on
URLs is inherently unstable and poses risks for continued access to web
resources. To create a more reliable system for referring to published material
on the web, from the mid-1990s a number of schemes have been developed that use
name spaces to identify resources, enabling retrieval even if the location on
the web is unknown.
A recently published report
explains the principle of persistent identifiers and helps institutions decide
which scheme would best fit their needs. It discusses Handles, Digital Object
Identifiers (DOIs), Archival Resource Keys (ARKs), Persistent Uniform Resource
Locators (PURLs), Uniform Resource Names (URNs), National Bibliography Numbers
(NBNs), and the Open URL, providing examples and extensive references for each.
The report was written by
the Research and Development Department of the
Ordering information:
Implementing Persistent
Identifiers. Overview of concepts, guidelines and recommendations Hans-Werner
Hilse and Jochen Kothe ISBN 90-6984-508-3
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:7-isbn-90-6984-508-3-8
Copies can be ordered from
the ECPA Secretariat at the address below or through the ECPA website.
The price is 40 euros,
exclusive of postage and handling.
You will also find the
report as a PDF file on the website of each of the publishers:
http://www.cerl.org and http://www.knaw.nl/ecpa
European Commission on
Preservation and Access (ECPA) c/o Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences P.O. Box 19121, NL-1000 GC Amsterdam, The Netherlands visiting
address: Trippenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal 29,
NL-1011 JV Amsterdam, The
tel. ++31 - 20 - 551 08 39
fax ++31 - 20 - 620 49 41
Executive Secretary
Digital Preservation Coalition
Innovation Centre
Heslington
YO10 5DG
e: [log in to unmask]
t: +44 (0) 1904 435 362