DOI K.V.Lakshmi, Trainee, , NCSI, 01/03/2002.

Table of Contents Introduction IDF What is DOI? What are the components of DOI? Technology behind DOI i.e., Handle System  Features of Handle System  Working of Handle System Applications of DOI Advantages Issues and problems with DOI Conclusion

Introduction Information professionals have always known that if you can't identify a work uniquely, you've got chaos. Now that the Web has blasted its way into public consciousness, the rest of the world has begun to recognize the same truth. ISBNs, ISSNs, Abstracter/Indexer accession numbers, Technical report numbers, and Visual material through information on labels, jackets, and envelopes. URLs (uniform resource locators), URNs (uniform resource names), the SICI (Serial Item and Contribution Identifier) for serial issues and/or components, and OCLC's PURL (persistent URL). These identifiers have their own problems. In order to over come these problems, the first steps in developing the DOI numbering system were taken by the American Association of Publishers in 1996, by issuing a Request for Proposal to develop an online document identification scheme initially called the Uniform File Identifier, soon renamed the Digital Object Identifier. The request required an agency.

IDF The International DOI Foundation was formed in 1998 to bring together a broad consensus group of content owners and technology companies from all media types to ensure precise identification of content and thereby enable precise management of rights.

What is DOI? DOI is an acronym for “Digital Object Identifier” The DOI is an identification system for intellectual property in the digital environment The DOI system is a system for  Identifying and exchanging intellectual property in an interoperable digital environment;  Providing extensible framework for managing intellectual content in any form at any level of granularity;  Linking customers with content suppliers;  Facilitating of electronic commerce and;  Enabling automated copyright management for all types of media. DOI is an application of the Handle System

What are the components of DOI? The DOI Components include:  Enumeration  Description  Resolution  Policy

Enumeration For the purpose of the DOI system, the DOI is a unique “dumb number” assigned to an entity - only when accompanied by metadata, can any information be determined from the enumeration. The metadata may change (i.e. when ownership of the entity changes), but the identifier remains persistent for the life of the digital object. The DOI is comprised of a prefix and a suffix separated by a forward slash: –Content producers may choose to have a single prefix for all their products, or a prefix for each imprint, label, product line, or whatever level makes sense for their purposes –The suffix can be identifiers or product numbers employed within a particular industry or private proprietary codes used within a content producer's organization. The suffix can be assigned to entities of any size or granularity or any file type.

Description The DOI mandates a minimum level of public structured associated metadata to describe an entity and enable a user to ensure that the identified entity found is the one sought: > a DOI > any existing industry or proprietary identification number/code > a title, agent and role (e.g. publisher, producer, author) > type (digital file, physical object, abstract, performance) > mode (text, audio, visual, audiovisual, abstract) Additional required metadata is determined according to the User Community/ Application Profile, but is always in a form that interoperates across different systems for all media types. Not all metadata is public. The minimum level of public data must always be provided. A User Community may then decide to make additional data openly available; or may decide to make it available only under specified conditions to specified users. The metadata associated with a DOI on registration is decided by the content owner.

Resolution The power of the DOI system comes from the combination of resolution and structured metadata. Because digital content may change ownership or location over the course of its useful life, the DOI system uses a distributed central directory. A user who clicks on a DOI can be taken either directly to the content, which could be stored in different formats or at multiple locations, or provided with a list of related sources of information about that content (e.g, articles, reviews, purchase options, rights information, etc.) to select from. When the object is moved to a new server or the copyright holder moves the product line to another company, one change is recorded in the directory and all subsequent users will be sent to the new location.

Policy The DOI System management rules ensure that the system is predictable and consistent. These rules are to some extent implicit in the technology and its implementation, but also explicit for Registrants, Registration Agencies and users of the DOI system. The formulation of policy is in many ways more complex than the management and development of the technology. How the DOI is implemented affects the way in which intellectual-property based businesses employ the DOI in the network environment. Policies with respect to metadata access and exploitation, for example, influence business models of Registration Agencies and the cost to manage the DOI System as a whole. The IDF ensures that its members are fully involved in all aspects of policy formulation and have the opportunity democratically to affect its outcome.

DOI Administration - Creation Administrator (publisher.com) Identifier: DOI: 10.XXXX/1234 URL: Title: New Horizona - Latin Jazz Agent = Author: John Jakob-Jemènez Type: digital file Mode: Text: 250 pages Images: 20 Moving Images: 2 Audio: 20 Release Date: January 1, 2001 Rights Profile: Translation Paperback Electronic Contact: Other Titles by Author: Title 2; Title 3 Retailers: amazon; bol; DOI data and metadata (XMLbatch) DOI data and metadata Registration Agency Metadata Collection metadata DOI System DOI data

Multiple Resolution Syndicator - Retailer Distributor - Rights Person Trade Association Multimedia Publisher Data Aggragator - Consumer Resolution Request DOI System Metadata Collection DOI 10.XXXX/123 Type Data Index

DOI Administration - Updating Syndicator - Retailer Distributor - Rights Person Trade Association Multimedia Publisher Data Aggragator - Consumer eBook Retailer Administrator (publisher.com) New eBook Retailer X eBook Retailer X X ?

DOI Administration - Updating Administrator (publisher.com) DOI System Syndicator - Retailer Distributor - Rights Person Trade Association Multimedia Publisher Data Aggragator - Consumer Resolve 10.XXXX/123 Modify data for DOI 10.XXXX/123.

Technology behind DOI Is “Handle System” Handle system was developed by CNRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives), funded by DARPA with a view to develop a framework for the underlying technology of Digital libraries. The Handle System is a distributed computer system for naming digital objects and storing the names and the information that is needed to locate and access these items via the Internet.

What are Naming Systems and Services? Naming systems are used to identify objects on networks such as on the Internet Existing Naming systems  DNS (Domain Name System)  URL (Uniform Resource Locator) Limitations of these systems  The resource moves from one location to another, for whatever reason, the URL breaks  DNS names are typically managed by the network administrator(s) at the DNS zone level, and no facilities for anyone other than network administrators to create or manage names.

What are Handles? Handle consists of two parts: its naming authority, otherwise known as its prefix, and a unique local name under the naming authority, otherwise known as its suffix. The naming authority and local name are separated by the ASCII character "/". Thus handle may be defined as  ::= "/" Ex: Handle: “ /january99-bearman” * article published in D-Lib magazine Handle Naming Authority : “ ” * administrative unit of creation * globally unique Handle Local Name: “january99-bearman” * local name given by the administrator

Handles Resolve to Typed Data Handle data loc.ndlp/amrlp URLhttp:// HandleData type URLhttp:// Extensible Data Types XYZ

Handle Resolution Client Browser Extension Handle System is a collection of Handle Services GHS LHS HS #1 HS #2 HS #3 each of which consists of one or more Handle Servers HS #3 HS #3 which may be replicated loc.ndlp/amrlp URL

How the Handle System Functions Web Browser Browser Extension GHS LHS GHS LHS Client Handle System The Digital Object Request to Resolve Handle Send the Handle Data …

Handle Administration Each handle has one or more administrators (someone who creates, modifies or deletes handles). Administrator should have a globally unique ‘ID’ which is also a handle and doubles as a ‘naming authority’. The administrator has to authenticate herself / himself to obtain permissions to perform operations on the Handle System. A Handle can also have various levels of administrators.

Features of Handle System Global Scope – a name which does not imply a location Uniqueness Persistence – globally unique forever Multiple Instances Scalability – URN can be assigned to any resource International Support (Unicode 2.0) Legacy Support Extensibility - permit future extensions Distributed Administrative Service Efficient Resolution Service

How the mentioned Technology Works Handle Administration:  Request a prefix from the DOI Directory Manager  Get a unique prefix, user ID and Password  Register handles for your objects in the Directory using Administration Forms.Administration Forms

Digital Object Architecture: How d oes it work in reality………. Client Repository / Collections Resolution System Search Engines Metadata Databases Catalogues, Guide, etc. Resource Discovery

Applications of DOI DOIs can handle a variety of applications, some representing bibliographic control, others electronic commerce, and some, well, "other." For example, a DOI can help to retrieve a document or image, license usage, or pay a clearinghouse. It can:  Take you to information about the item.  Take you to the full text or the full item.  Take you to other products sold by the publisher.  Take you to related material.  Initiate a transaction, such as subscribing. DOIs can solve the question of identifying an image uniquely. This task is often difficult because 1) text doesn't stay with an image, and 2) it is difficult to identify an image so precisely that it can't be confused with another image.

Advantages of DOI Allows each piece of property unique identification — even images, sound, and video. Insures rights-holder, control over property (authorized use only and no tampering), while still allowing for fair use. Allow the user to trace the rights-holder easily, including when transferred rights. Make sure that each piece of intellectual property can be found, even as rights-holders change ISPs, domain names, and locations. Make it easy for authors, publishers, and information providers to collect payment for the use of their work. Unlike URLs, DOIs don't change and go out of existence

Issues and problems with DOI Gone But Not Forgotten: What if a publisher stops maintaining something a DOI points to? What will happen when copyright expires on a work and it enters the public domain? Who's On First?: What happens if multiple vendors sell the same content? Do they each assign their own DOI to the same article? (In other words, how will IAC, DIALOG, LEXIS-NEXIS, etc., handle DOIs with full text?) These questions haven't been resolved either. Hello?... Hello?... Hello?: What if the publisher's server goes down? The Number, Please! How does someone who wants to cite material find out the DOI? My Job, Your Job, Our Job: Who gets to assign DOIs to their work? What about individual photographers who want to assign DOIs to images they offer at their Web sites? What about small publishers or individual authors who self-publish their materials? What if two different abstracting services abstract the same article? Is a unique DOI assigned to each?

Conclusion DOI system is a challenging effect on the global information community and provides a focal point for the coordination of many information industry activities by pointing to standardized identifiers as effective and creative methods of managing the online information universe.