Before you start publishing your journal, you should apply for an ISSN, a unique, internationally recognized identifier for serial publications. Once you have made some fundamental decisions, applying for an ISSN isn’t difficult, and having an ISSN is essential to the growth of your publication’s reputation.
What is an ISSN? #
As we noted in our introduction to identifiers, ISSNs are assigned to serials. Also known as an “ongoing publication”, a serial can be described as a series of publications that does not have a planned endpoint. For example, a trilogy of novels typically would not have an ISSN, but a newspaper, magazine, or academic periodical should. You might also give a series of monographs or proceedings an ISSN — one identifier for the whole series. (Side note: If you wanted to give an individual monograph an identifier, you’d get it an ISBN. We won’t be talking in-depth about ISBNs for now, but just be aware that the system shares a lot of core structural principles with the ISSN and DOI systems.) Additionally, several types of online resources are eligible for ISSNs if they meet certain criteria. For purposes of the small academic publisher, though, the most relevant assignee of the ISSN is the research journal.
The international organizing body for ISSNs is the ISSN International Centre, which maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide. Thanks to this organization and its member agencies, each of which is responsible for a different geographical region, you can look up any published serial and its ISSN at portal.issn.org — and at most libraries around the world.
Why get an ISSN? #
The ISSN is one of the few pieces of data guaranteed to be unique about your publication. There may be two journals in existence with the same name, the same subject matter, the same publisher, and even the same editorial board; but there will never be two journals that share the same ISSN.
ISSNs are also woven into the fabric of libraries and academia. Library systems are very familiar with the ISSN, and consistently use it to identify works. Databases like Scopus, the Web of Science, and the Directory of Open Access Journals usually require a publication to have an ISSN registered in the central international database before they will consider listing it, meaning that only journals with ISSNs get impact factors and other citation-based metrics. Basically: If you want your publication to be taken seriously, you need to give it an ISSN.
When do I need to get an ISSN? #
Your publication needs an ISSN for each of the following:
- each format in which the journal is published (for example, print or online);
- each different language edition; and
- each different geographic edition of the same publication (provided the actual published content differs between editions).
For MSP’s journals, this typically means two ISSNs: one for the print format that is mailed to libraries, and one for the electronic version available online.
You may also need to obtain a new ISSN for an existing publication if it has changed significantly. If you’ve changed the title, for example, you will likely need a new ISSN for the publication.
You can often get a provisional ISSN a few months before you’ve actually begun publishing your new journal. This is what we recommend, when possible. (Your local ISSN authority may have its own guidelines for how far in advance of publication you may submit your application.) This way, you can start including your provisional ISSN on your journal’s website and any marketing materials, making it easy for libraries and potential authors to find accurate information about your upcoming publication. However, ISSN application forms require you to provide some basic details about your journal — title, planned publication frequency, and so on — so you won’t be able to submit an application until you’ve made those decisions.
How do I get an ISSN? #
To get an ISSN, most publishers work with a smaller ISSN authority specific to their geographical location. For example, publishers in the US work with the U.S. ISSN Center, which is part of the Library of Congress.
Specifically, to apply for an ISSN in the United States, a publisher must have or create an account on ISSN Uplink, the U.S. ISSN Center’s web-based system for accepting and managing ISSN applications. This online system guides applicants through a series of questions about the journal, such as:
- What is the title of your journal? What variations of the title exist? If this journal used any other titles previously, what are they?
- In which formats will your journal be published? (Remember, you’ll need a separate ISSN for each format — but you can request all of them with a single application.)
- On what date was the first issue published? Or, if the first issue has not yet been published, when is publication planned?
- What is the volume and number of the first issue?
- How often do you plan to publish your journal? (Annually? Quarterly? Five times per year?)
- How can readers access your journal? If it’s online, what is the URL? (If login is required, you’ll need to provide login information that the ISSN Center can use to view your content.)
- What subscription model, if any, will the journal use? What address should potential subscribers use to contact you?
- Where are you, the publisher, located?
- How can you, the publisher, be contacted?
At MSP, we find it most efficient to have this information on hand before we begin our applications, but if you need to, the system will let you save your answers and come back to finish later.
The ISSN Uplink system will also ask you to provide some samples of your journal’s cover, title page, and table of contents, plus any pages showing the name and address of the publisher or other publication information. If you’re applying after publication has begun, you should provide images of the actual published content and, for print, you’ll need to mail a physical copy of a journal issue to the ISSN Center (the ISSN Uplink system will provide instructions for this). If you’re applying before initial publication, you can simply provide digital mock-ups. Either way, these samples are required for processing of your application.
After you’ve submitted your application, you’ll be able to log back in to ISSN Uplink anytime to check on its progress. If there are additional steps you need to take — for instance, if you need to send a print sample, or if the ISSN Center staff have a question about the information you provided — you’ll see messages for you in the account. Also, if you want others at your organization to be able to track and manage ISSN applications, you can use ISSN Uplink to invite them to create their own accounts, which can be given access to the application you’ve started.
Finally, when your application has been fully processed (officially within 6 weeks, though we’ve found it’s often quite a bit faster), you’ll receive a message through your ISSN Uplink account notifying you about the result. If you applied for a prepublication ISSN, you’ll also get reminders through the account to notify the Center when your journal is actually published; this will allow your ISSN assignment to become permanent.
Of course, this is just how applying works in the United States. If you’re in another country, you’ll need to work with your own ISSN authority, which you can look up at the ISSN International Centre’s website or find by searching at their page on requesting an ISSN. Or, if your country doesn’t have its own center, you’ll communicate with the ISSN International Centre itself. The exact organization you work with will have its own process and guidelines — for example, while submitting an application to the U.S. ISSN Center is free, other centers may charge an application fee. And, naturally, the details of the systems and requirements for ISSN applications are subject to change. You should always make sure you’re following the latest instructions and advice from your local ISSN authority.
Still, you can expect to take broadly the same steps no matter where you are:
- Get in contact with the correct agency.
- Tell them about your publication.
- Provide sample materials.
- Wait for the result.
And in all cases, once you’ve received your permanent ISSN assignment, the very last step is simply to check that it correctly appears in the ISSN International Centre’s online portal. It may take some time for your local authority to submit the information to the International Centre, but soon enough, you should be able to find information about your publication by searching for it in the online catalog at portal.issn.org — meaning that the rest of the world can find it, too.
Now I’ve got it — how do I use it? #
According to the ISSN International Centre — and in order to get the most benefit out of your ISSNs — you should display your publication’s ISSNs prominently on the published material. For print, the ISSN International Centre recommends (in order of preference, but subject to binding or design needs) the “front cover, title page, caption, masthead, back cover, colophon or editorial pages”. For online versions, that means the title screen, main menu, and/or “if applicable, any labels permanently affixed to the application” (such as the first page of the PDF).
If your journal is published in multiple formats, you should list all its ISSNs together, clearly labeling which is for which format. When displayed on the publication, the ISSN should in each case be preceded by the letters “ISSN”.
You should also include your ISSNs as part of the publication metadata, wherever you provide it.
And, of course, make sure you include your ISSNs on any relevant price lists or promotional materials. Make it as easy as possible for readers to know they’re looking at your journal, and not someone else’s!
The bottom line on ISSNs #
If you’re publishing a journal, you’re going to want to get it an ISSN. Fortunately, the process is fairly simple — all you need is internet access, some simple plans for your publication (which you’d need to come up with eventually anyway), and, in order to make the ISSN permanent, a sample of actual published work. And once it’s been assigned, your journal’s permanent ISSN will signal that your publication is ready to appear on library shelves and in citation databases around the world.
Further reading #
ISSN Portal
The ISSN Network Today
The ISSN International Centre’s ISSN Manual
Requesting an ISSN (ISSN International Centre)
U.S. ISSN Center
How to obtain an ISSN (for U.S. publishers)
Header image by Aviv Rachmadian, available from Unsplash. Free to use under the Unsplash license.