The Most Important Number in Publishing?

Happy 50th birthday to ISSN! Yes, this week marks the half-century of ISSN International Centre, the body that manages the identifications of serial publications globally. Originally known as the International Serials Data System (ISDS), it was set up jointly by the UNESCO and France in 1975, and has been based in Paris ever since.

The ISSN – or International Standard Serial Number – covers all serials (e.g., journals, newspapers, magazines) and what are known as ‘ongoing integrating resources’ (e.g., websites or databases). Individuals or organizations can apply for an ISSN as a unique identifier for their publication, but books will not be considered as they should use an ISBN or International Standard Book Number. There are some publications that can have both, for example, book series where there is regular publication in a monograph format as part of an ongoing series.

Numerical advantage

It seems fitting to help celebrate ISSN’s 50^th anniversary with some numbers:

• There are 45,184 ISSNs added per year, with over 200,000 updated
• ISSN currently covers 413,114 online publications, but there are over a million links to historical records
• There are now 95 international centres representing ISSNs around the world
• Over 65,000 records are to Open Access journals
• Sadly, there are no records listed in the ISSN Portal for 1234-5678, 0000-0001, or 9999-9999.

But just how are the numbers assigned, and more pertinently, how can we use them in the scholarly communications industry? The number has evolved considerably in its first 50 years, witnessing rapid growth in journal numbers, the move online in the 1990s, and the opening up of non-journal publishing options since the turn of the Millennium.

To obtain an ISSN, online publishers need only to show evidence of five articles, together with a URL and physical address of the publisher. While there is a charge payable, it is only €25-€50 in total, depending on the country where the publisher is based. This all seems straightforward, but there are some further issues that publishers should consider:

• Any incomplete or inaccurate application will be returned to the registrant and marked “incomplete”
• The ISSN International Centre does reserve the right to reject any ISSN assignment request if misleading information has been provided or displayed on the publication by the applicant. This can include information concerning the resource itself, name of the publisher, place of publication (e.g., publisher’s address), members of the editorial board, referencing by indexing services or databases, participation in digital preservation programs, or authorship of the articles provided.
• If any of the above subsequently comes to light, an ISSN can also be revoked, or a publisher’s account can be blocked.

Magic number?

Such measures will help mitigate against publishing fraud, however, it is outside the brief of ISSN to stop publishers from producing deceptive publications. Indeed, at least 40% of the 19,000+ journals listed in Cabells Predatory Reports also have an ISSN – some of which are honestly granted, others which are simply made up to give the air of legitimacy. However, the ISSN International Centre has recently reviewed the ISSN Manual in order to address some fraudulent publishing practices, such as disputes between publishers, title hijacking, and other fraudulent practices (https://www.issn.org/understanding-the-issn/assignment-rules/issn-manual-2/).

With all this in mind, what does the future look like for the eight-digit number? At a special conference this week, the body will seek to address current issues around heritage, scientific research, and access to knowledge, dovetailing with UNESCO’s efforts to protect written resources and widen accessibility globally to enhance educational progress. The conference also promises to reflect on the “future of research and the dissemination of knowledge on a global scale.” This begs the question of what journals will look like in another 50 years, if we even still have them by then.