RE: ISSN for RFC Series under Consideration

Ray Pelletier <rpelletier@isoc.org> writes:

> The IETF Trust is considering applying to the U.S. Library of Congress
> to obtain an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the RFC
> Series and would like community input to inform its decision.  The
> Trust
> may take up this matter on June 11th.

This idea doesn't seem harmful, at least, but I question the utility of
making references to the RFC series "compact and globally unique" or making
such references easier to construct.  I suppose that someone somewhere has
referenced the entire RFC series (as opposed to a small set of RFCs) but
I've never actually seen it...

> 
> An ISSN is applied to serials - print or non-print publications issued
> in parts.  A serial is  expected to continue indefinitely. Serials
> include magazines, newspapers, annuals, journals, proceedings,
> transactions of societies, and monographic series. Other SDOs, such as
> the IEEE, have obtained ISSNs for their publications.  A single ISSN
> uniquely identifies a title regardless of language or country in which
> published, without the burden of a complex bibliographic description.
> The ISSN itself has no significance other than the unique
> identification
> of a serial.
> 
> The Trust believes there are advantages to indentifying the RFC Series
> with an ISSN.  Among them,
> 1. Make reference to the series compact and globally unique;
> 2. Make the series, and individual RFCs, easier to reference in some
> contexts;
> 3. Results in accurate citing of serials by scholars, researchers,
> abstracters, and librarians;
> 4. ISSN registrations are maintained in an international data base and
> are made available in the ISSN Register online
> 
> According to the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/issn/, for serials
> available only in online versions, the ISSN should appear on the title
> screen or home page and/or in the masthead or other areas where
> information about publisher, frequency, subscribing, copyright, etc. is
> given.
> 
> There is no cost associated with obtaining ISSNs.
> 
> Ray Pelletier
> IAD
> Trustee
> 
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