Bowker to Include ISNI in ONIX 2.1

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ProQuest affiliate Bowker will now include the ISO-certified International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) in its ONIX 2.1 data feeds to retailers such as Barnes & Noble, as well as all the major search engines, ensuring that authors are accurately identified in search and discovery. ISNIs are unique 16-digit codes applied to public identities. This single identifier is leveraged across many applications, syncing alternate or disparate spellings of the same name, and eliminating confusion when names are the same or alike. ONIX 2.1 is used by the book trade to automate the exchange of massive amounts of metadata about books in any format. With more than 2.3 million authors now using ISNIs, their inclusion in ONIX will significantly boost the system's precision.

To learn about how ISNI makes identification easy, visit http://www.isni.org/

ISNI was created just over two years ago and has topped 8 million assignments, with rapid uptake by authors and other contributors. They are in use by organizations such as Wikipedia, Digital Science, ORCID, Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) and many others who value the standard's ability to pinpoint the correct identity. For example, ProQuest is adding ISNI functionality in its Pivot, Flow, and Community of Scholars solutions, enabling scholars to include their ISNIs in their profiles.

The ISNI International Agency -- a worldwide group of organizations that serves researchers, rights management organizations, authors, musicians, and other public contributors -- created the standard in 2012. ISNI act as a link for data:

• First, an ISNI is assigned by a registration agency, who then shares it across the global digital information industry,
• Participating organizations apply it to content held in their databases by or about that identity
• Users tapping into any of the organizations that use ISNIs will need only a name and just enough background data (such as a birth date or book title) to zero in on the correct identity.
• ISNIs are especially critical for rights management, accurate royalty payments, and cross-domain linking.

Organizations and individuals can apply for an ISNI for any public identity – real or fictional – through a registration agency, such as Bowker. To apply for ISNIs through Bowker or obtain more information, contact Laura Dawson, Product Manager for Identifier Services, at 888-269-5372. Use ISNI's free lookup interface at http://www.isni.org/search.  

About the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)

The International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) is an ISO Standard (ISO 27729:2012) whose scope is the identification of public identities across multiple fields of creative activities. ISNI streamlines content distribution chains, disambiguating natural, legal and fictional parties that might otherwise be confused.

ISNI is a creation of the ISNI International Agency (ISNI-IA) founded by CISAC, the Conference of European National Librarians (represented by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the British Library), IFRRO, OCLC, ProQuest, SCAPR. The founding members include consortia representing more than 26,000 major world libraries, 300 rights management societies and research information giants OCLC and ProQuest, along with its business unit Bowker.

About Bowker^® (www.bowker.com)
Bowker® is the world's leading provider of the bibliographic information that connects publishers, authors, booksellers, and libraries with readers. The company has a 140+year history of organizing and applying metadata for books to support industrywide efficiency. With an expanded focus on Identifier Services (myidentifiers.com), Bowker provides resources to make authors' and publishers' titles more discoverable. Through its Books In Print® data services – including the industry leading Books In Print® database -- Bowker provides tools to promote, organize and sell books, supporting such ProQuest services as Syndetic Solutions™, Books In Print online, and the new library management system Intota™ Assessment, as well as discovery systems for book retailers and providers around the world. As the official ISBN Agency for the United States and its territories and Australia, Bowker makes books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order, and experience. A ProQuest affiliate, Bowker is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey with additional operations in the United Kingdom and Australia.

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