The International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) is an identifier system for uniquely identifying the public identities of contributors to media content such as books, television programmes, and newspaper articles. Such an identifier consists of 16 digits. It can optionally be displayed as divided into four blocks.
ISNI can be used to disambiguate named entities that might otherwise be confused, and links the data about names that are collected and used in all sectors of the media industries.
It was developed under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as Draft International Standard 27729; the valid standard was published on 15 March 2012. The ISO technical committee 46, subcommittee 9 (TC 46/SC 9) is responsible for the development of the standard.
ISNI format The FAQ of the isni.org websites states "An ISNI is made up of 16 digits, the last character being a check character." ISNI consists of 15 digits followed by a check character. The check character may be either a decimal digit or the character "X". The check character is calculated using the preceding 15 decimal digits using the ISO/IEC 7064, MOD11-2 algorithm.
Format without space MARC: it was proposed to store the ISNI without spaces, e.g.(isni)1234567899999799 isni.org URL: no spaces, e.g. http://www.isni.org/isni/000000012146438X (old) https://isni.org/isni/000000012146438X (current) https://isni.org/000000012146438X (alternative) viaf.org: URL https://viaf.org/viaf/sourceID/ISNI%7C000000012146438X URL https://viaf.org/processed/ISNI%7C000000012146438X the data dumps contain it in form ISNI|000000012146438X
Format with space In display it is frequently shown with spaces. isni.org viaf.org
Uses of an ISNI The ISNI allows a single identity (such as an author's pseudonym or the imprint used by a publisher) to be identified using a unique number. This unique number can then be linked to any of the numerous other identifiers that are used across the media industries to identify names and other forms of identity.
An example of the use of such a number is the identification of a musical performer who is also a writer both of music and of poems. While they might be identified in various databases using numerous private and public identification systems, under the ISNI system, they would have a single linking ISNI record. The many different databases could then exchange data about that particular identity without resorting to messy methods such as comparing text strings. An often quoted example in the English language world is the difficulty faced when identifying 'John Smith' in a database. While there may be many records for 'John Smith', it is not always clear which record refers to the specific 'John Smith' that is required.
If an author has published under several different names or pseudonyms, each such name will receive its own ISNI.
ISNI can be used by libraries and archives when sharing catalogue information; for more precise searching for information online and in databases, and it can aid the management of rights across national borders and in the digital environment.
Organisations involved in the management ISNI Registration Authority According to ISO the Registration Authority for ISO 27729:2012 is the "ISNI International Agency". It is located in London (c/o EDItEUR)
It is incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 as a private company limited by guarantee.
The 'International Agency' is commonly known as the ISNI-IA.
This UK registered, not-for-profit company has been founded by a consortium of organisations consisting of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC), the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL), the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), the International Performers Database Association (IPDA), the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and ProQuest. It is managed by directors nominated from these organisations and, in the case of CENL, by representatives of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the British Library.
ISNI Registration Agencies A registration agency provides the interface between ISNI applicants and the ISNI Assignment Agency.
+ List of Registration Agencies in order as on ISNI-IA website Name (as on ISNI-IA website) Since RelationAETIS (Online Platform for Intellectual Property protection)AIIMCC (Asociación Intercontinental Independiente Multidisciplinaria de Creadores y Creativos, A.C.) Bibliographic Data ServicesBibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BAnQ)Canada BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) 2014 France Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg LuxembourgBodleian Library, University of Oxford British Library United Kingdom Câmara Brasileira do Livro (CBL) BrazilCambridge University Library Casalini Libri Italy China Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology (CKCEST) China Consolidated Independent (CI) United KingdomDilicomFGEE (Federación de Gremios de Editores de España)SpainICCU (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico della Biblioteche Italiane per le informazioni bibliografiche)ItalyIntellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)Philippines Koninklijke Bibliotheek NetherlandsKBR (Royal Library of Belgium)BelgiumLibrary of Trinity College Dublin, University of DublinMétaMusique Muso.AI MVB Germany National Assembly Library of Korea South Korea National Library of Finland Finland National Library of Korea South KoreaNational Library of Norway National Library of Poland PolandNational Library of ScotlandNational Library of Wales Orfium Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Quansic SwitzerlandRepublic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ringgold organisations, internationalRovix Inc. Sound Credit/ Soundways United States SPARWK SwitchchordTakwene2021MENAWarner Music Group (WMG) World Intellectual Property Organization 2024 International YouTube 2018 international
In 2018, YouTube became an ISNI registry, and announced its intention to begin creating ISNI IDs for the musicians whose videos it features. ISNI anticipates the number of ISNI IDs "going up by perhaps 3-5 million over the next couple of years" as a result.
In 2020, Sound Credit, together with ISNI, announced that music industry ISNI registrations were free and automated. The free registration system is part of Sound Credit user profile creation, used by its larger system for music crediting. It includes an automated search to avoid duplicate ISNIs and a certificate generated by the Sound Credit registration system to officiate newly registered ISNIs.
In 2024, WIPO became an ISNI Registration Agency, enabling its network of Collective Management Organizations around the world to assign ISNI IDs to creators. Through this integration, WIPO aims to facilitate the assignment of unique identifiers to a broad range of creators, including musicians, writers, and other artistic professionals. This move was set to enhance the discoverability and attribution of creative works on a global scale.
ISNI members ISNI members (ISNI-IA Members) -01-18:
ABES (French Bibliographic Agency for Higher Education) Apple BookNet Canada Brill Publishers CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos) FCCN French National Archives (Archives nationales de France) Harvard University Hogeschool van Amsterdam Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen Irish Copyright Licensing Agency (ICLA) ISSN International Centre Library of Congress Maastricht University Meta4Books National Library of New Zealand National Library of Sweden (Kungliga Biblioteket) Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision Publisher's Licensing Services Radboud Universiteit Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Scribd Spotify Technische Universiteit Eindhoven Universiteit Leiden Universiteit van Amsterdam University of Twente University of Utrecht Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Wageningen University & Research
Copyright A subset of the data is available under CC0.
ISNI assignment ISNI-IA uses an assignment system comprising a user interface, data-schema, disambiguation algorithms, and database that meets the requirements of the ISO standard, while also using existing technology where possible. The system is based primarily on the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) service, which has been developed by OCLC for use in the aggregation of library catalogues.
Access to the assignment system and database, and to the numbers that are generated as the output of the process, are controlled by independent bodies known as registration agencies. These registration agencies deal directly with customers, ensuring that data is provided in appropriate formats and recompensing the ISNI-IA for the cost of maintaining the assignment system. Registration agencies are appointed by ISNI-IA but will be managed and funded independently.
ISNI coverage
The following table lists ISNI coverage counts, for millions of identities of all types, millions of people, millions of researchers (also included in people), and organisations.
As of Identities (M) Individuals (M) Researchers (M) Organisations 2017-08-05 9.41 8.757 2.606 654,074 2018-04-19 9.86 9.15 2.86 714,401 2018-07-11 10 9.28 2.87 717,204 2018-08-13 10 9.32 2.87 717,795 2018-10-17 10 9.39 2.87 719,010 2018-12-05 10 9.4 2.88 826,810 2019-03-11 10 9.59 2.88 864,999 2019-06-21 10.5 9.6 2.88 876,017 2019-11-27 10.92 10.01 2.89 908,299 2020-02-13 11.02 10.11 2.91 912,991 2020-10-20 11.51 10.45 2.91 1,062,333 2021-05-30 12.22 11.10 2.93 1,119,480 2021-11-17 14.38 12.79 2.94 1,591,038 2022-09-01 14.7 13.11 2.97 1,645,434 2022-12-25 14.8 13.21 2.97 1,680,892 2023-05-10 15 13.3 2.98 1,705,0252025-10-1316.414.32,017,936
See also Authority control Digital Author Identification (DAI) Digital object identifier (DOI) GRID International Standard Text Code (ISTC) ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) ResearcherID Ringgold identifier
References
Further reading Karen Smith-Yoshimura, Janifer Gatenby, Grace Agnew, Christopher Brown, Kate Byrne, Matt Carruthers, Peter Fletcher, Stephen Hearn, Xiaoli Li, Marina Muilwijk, Chew Chiat Naun, John Riemer, Roderick Sadler, Jing Wang, Glen Wiley, and Kayla Willey. 2016. "Addressing the Challenges with Organizational Identifiers and ISNI." Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research.
External links