You have certainly already noticed or used this perhaps mysterious code on serials which you read or consult or in references concerning articles or serials : the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).

The ISSN is the standardized international code which allows the identification of any serial publication, including electronic serials, independently of its country of publication, of its language or alphabet, of its frequency, medium, etc. The ISSN number, therefore, preceded by these letters, and appears as two groups of four digits, separated by a hyphen , has no signification in itself and does not contain in itself any information referring to the origin or contents of the publication.

ISSN numbers are assigned by the ISSN national Centers coordinated in a network. All ISSN are accessible via the ISSN Register. The ISSN is not “just another administrative number”. The ISSN should be as basic a part of a serial as the title.

A precise definition, which allows agreement on the exact field of application of the ISSN can be found in the IS0 3297 standard (ISSN): “A publication, in any medium, issued in successive parts, usually having numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued with no predetermined end. NOTE : this definition excludes works intended to be published in a finite number of parts.(…) The ISSN is applicable to the entire population of serials, whether past, present or to be published in the foreseeable future. Serials include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, directories, etc.), the journals, series, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies.”

In certain countries, all serial publications covered by legal deposit must have an ISSN. ISSN are automatically assigned and publishers should ensure that it is printed on each issue.

The ISSN should be as basic a part of a serial as the title. The advantages of using it are abundant and the more the number is used the more benefits will accrue.

• As a standard numeric identification code, the ISSN is eminently suitable for computer use in fulfilling the need for file update and linkage, retrieval and transmittal of data.
• As a human readable code, the ISSN also results in accurate citing of serials by scholars, researchers, information scientists and librarians.
• In libraries, the ISSN is used for identifying titles, ordering and checking in, claiming serials, interlibrary-loan, union catalog reporting etc.
• ISSN is a fundamental tool for efficient document delivery. ISSN provides a useful and economical method of communication between publishers and suppliers, making trade distribution systems faster and more efficient, in particular through the use of bar-coding and EDI (electronic data interchange).
• ISSN provides a useful and economical method of communication between publishers and suppliers, making trade distribution systems faster and more efficient.
• All ISSN registrations are maintained in an international data base and are made available in the ISSN Register online.

ISSN is assigned by a network of over 60 centers worldwide coordinated by the ISSN International Centre located in Paris. ISSN is assigned to serials published in India by the NSL being National Centre for ISSN. Serials published outside of India are assigned ISSN by the national center of their country of publication, or, in the case of countries lacking a national center, by the ISSN International Centre. Information about the ISSN network and ISSN centers worldwide can be found on the ISSN International Center’s home page.