Die Deutsche Bibliothek

Keywords:
Persistent Identifier, Uniform Resource Name, long-term availability, permanent referencing, Die Deutsche Bibliothek

Abstract

Long-term availability of digital objects e.g. online dissertations embedded in a distributed heterogeneous information environment causes new challenges. This applies particularly to national libraries with a legal mandate for collecting, archiving and indexing national cultural heritage. Several aspects must be considered in order to guarantee long-term access to the digital resources e.g. the preservation of the bitstream of digital objects, realizing migration, and emulation strategies. An essential component to achieve long-term availability is the use of Persistent Identifiers (PI) that solve the problems of unequivocal resource identification and reliable addressing.

This article discusses the implementation of URNs at the German National Library (Die Deutsche Bibliothek) within the international name space of national libraries “National Bibliography Number“ (NBN). Following, the practical experience of URN management at Die Deutsche Bibliothek will be presented.

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