Digital Object Identifier - DOIs

ANSI/NISO Z39.xx-199x
that the DOI system would have a broader scope and that it should work with established
standard bodies as much as possible. ANSI/NISO involvement was requested in early 1998 in
order to recognize the broader potential use of a digital object identifier and it was decided to
develop a standard for the syntax of the DOI identifier string.
Goals
*Decide on the syntax for the DOI identifier string to enable DOI registration. It has been
possible to register DOIs for quite awhile but there has been concern that the syntax had
not been conclusively set. This standard will remedy the situation.
*Decide on the elements of the DOI identifier string. A number of proposals were made
to add certain elements to the DOI identifier string and the committee spent much of its
time deciding whether to include them or not.
*Limit the scope of the standard to the DOI identifier string. The DOI system is made up
of a number of parts including the identifier string, the resolution mechanism and the
Directory. This standard addresses only the syntax for the identifier string so the actual
standard is brief.
While limiting itself to the DOI identifier string, the Syntax Committee took into account
the wider context of the DOI system, the Handle system, the International DOI
Foundation and the Internet. In order to provide further information about this context
there is this Forward and a number of Appendices; however, these are not part of the
Standard. They do provide important information and references for understanding the
DOI system, how the DOI is being used, how it relates to other standards and the Internet
and where to get more information.
Elements of the DOI String
The DOI string is made up of a Prefix and Suffix. The Registration Agency assigns the
Prefix while the Registrant determines the Suffix. There were a number of proposals to
add elements to the Prefix and Suffix, the most important being the identifier, or
bracketed, code for the Suffix. This code would have been added in parentheses as the
beginning of the Suffix when a standard identifier, such as the ISRC, ISBN or SICI, was
used. This raised the issue of whether the DOI would be “dumb” or “intelligent”, i.e.
whether the DOI string would contain any meaningful data about the thing it identified.
The DOI string was originally created to be a “dumb” number and adding the identifier
code would have fundamentally changed the nature of the DOI string. So, a conscious
decision was made to leave out the identifier code and keep the DOI string a dumb
number. However, this decision raised many important issues and highlighted the
importance of metadata in the DOI system.
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