International Standard Name Identifier - Wikipedia
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Identifier for people and organizations
International Standard Name Identifier
Acronym
ISNI
Organisation
ISNI-IA
Introduced
March 15, 2012
2012-03-15
No.
of digits
16
Check digit
MOD 11-2
Example
000000012146438X
Website
isni
.org
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 programs
, 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
edit
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
edit
MARC: it was proposed to store the ISNI without spaces, e.g.(isni)1234567899999799
isni.org URL: no spaces, e.g.
(old)
(current)
(alternative)
viaf.org:
URL
dead link
URL
Archived
12 April 2023 at the
Wayback Machine
the data dumps contain it in form ISNI|000000012146438X
Format with space
edit
In display it is frequently shown with spaces.
isni.org
viaf.org
Uses of an ISNI
edit
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 catalog 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
edit
ISNI Registration Authority
edit
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.
10
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
edit
A registration agency provides the interface between ISNI applicants and the ISNI Assignment Agency.
11
List of Registration Agencies in order as on ISNI-IA website
Name (as on ISNI-IA website)
Since
Relation
AETIS (Online Platform for Intellectual Property protection)
AIIMCC (Asociación Intercontinental Independiente Multidisciplinaria de Creadores y Creativos, A.C.)
Bibliographic Data Services
Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec
(BAnQ)
Canada
BnF (
Bibliothèque nationale de France
2014
12
France
Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Bodleian Library
, University of Oxford
British Library
United Kingdom
Câmara Brasileira do Livro
(CBL)
Brazil
Cambridge University Library
Casalini Libri
Italy
China Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology (CKCEST)
China
Consolidated Independent (CI)
United Kingdom
Dilicom
FGEE (Federación de Gremios de Editores de España)
Spain
ICCU
(Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico della Biblioteche Italiane per le informazioni bibliografiche)
Italy
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
(IPOPHL)
Philippines
Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Netherlands
KBR (
Royal Library of Belgium
Belgium
Library of Trinity College Dublin
, University of Dublin
MétaMusique
Muso.AI
MVB
Germany
National Assembly Library of Korea
South Korea
National Library of Finland
Finland
National Library of Korea
South Korea
National Library of Norway
National Library of Poland
Poland
National Library of Scotland
National Library of Wales
Orfium
Program for Cooperative Cataloging
(PCC)
Quansic
Switzerland
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Ringgold
organisations, international
Rovix Inc.
Sound Credit
/ Soundways
United States
SPARWK
Switchchord
Takwene
11
2021
MENA
Warner Music Group
(WMG)
World Intellectual Property Organization
2024
International
2018
13
14
international
In 2018,
became an ISNI registry, and announced its intention to begin creating ISNI IDs for the musicians whose videos it features.
13
ISNI anticipates the number of ISNI IDs "going up by perhaps 3-5 million over the next couple of years" as a result.
15
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.
16
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.
17
18
19
ISNI members
edit
ISNI members (ISNI-IA Members
20
) as of 2025
[update]
-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
edit
A subset of the data is available under
CC0
21
ISNI assignment
edit
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
edit
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.
22
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
23
14.7
13.11
2.97
1,645,434
2022-12-25
24
14.8
13.21
2.97
1,680,892
2023-05-10
25
15
13.3
2.98
1,705,025
2025-10-13
26
16.4
14.3
2,017,936
See also
edit
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
edit
"ISNI - FAQ"
www.isni.org
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2018
. Retrieved
19 April
2018
"Structure of the ORCID Identifier"
Office, Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards.
"Encoding the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic and Authority Formats"
www.loc.gov
Archived
from the original on 24 June 2018
. Retrieved
19 April
2018
"ISNI 000000012281955X Ai-en-ssu-tan (1879-1955)"
www.isni.org
Archived
from the original on 24 June 2018
. Retrieved
19 April
2018
"viaf/751215307"
Archived
from the original on 4 October 2017
. Retrieved
7 October
2017
Rosenblatt, Bill (15 October 2021).
"What's in a Name? ISNI Can Tell You That"
PublishersWeekly.com
. Retrieved
14 June
2024
"Maintenance agencies and registration authorities"
. Iso.org.
Archived
from the original on 24 June 2018
. Retrieved
16 July
2018
"ISNI International Agency - ISNI International Agency"
. Iso.org.
Archived
from the original on 11 July 2018
. Retrieved
16 July
2018
"Memorandum And Articles Of Associaiton [sic] Of The ISNI International Agency (ISNI-IA)"
(PDF)
"What is ISNI"
Archived
from the original on 19 June 2015
. Retrieved
19 December
2014
"ISNI Registration Agencies"
ISNI |
. Retrieved
23 January
2025
"The National library of France becomes ISNI Registration agency : for a persistent identification of persons and organizations | ISSN"
www.issn.org
. Retrieved
13 October
2025
"YouTube Adopts ISNI ID for Artists & Songwriters"
Isni.org
. Retrieved
13 October
2025
"What's new in Studio Content Manager - YouTube Help"
support.google.com
. Retrieved
14 June
2024
"Transcript: YouTube Knows Who You Are"
. Beyond the Book. 18 March 2018.
Archived
from the original on 24 February 2021
. Retrieved
1 June
2018
"Music Industry ISNI Registrations Now Free and Automated"
. ISNI. 23 October 2020.
Archived
from the original on 29 November 2020
. Retrieved
27 November
2020
"WIPO Partners with ISNI to Assign Standards Identifying Creators"
. Retrieved
18 January
2025
"ISNI Press Release, November 2024: WIPO Joins ISNI as a New Registration Agency, Expanding the Reach of Global Identification Standards"
ISNI |
(Press release). 18 November 2024
. Retrieved
18 January
2025
"WIPO joins forces with ISNI as a new registration agency"
ifrro
. Retrieved
18 January
2025
"ISNI Members"
ISNI |
. Retrieved
18 January
2025
"Linked Data"
"ISNI HomePage"
www.isni.org
Archived
from the original on 17 December 2014
. Retrieved
19 April
2018
"ISNI | Home Page"
. Archived from
the original
on 1 September 2022.
"ISNI | Home Page"
. Archived from
the original
on 25 December 2022.
"ISNI | Home Page"
. Archived from
the original
on 10 May 2023.
"Home Page"
isni.org
. Retrieved
13 October
2025
Further reading
edit
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
edit
Wikidata
has the property:
ISNI (P213)
(see
uses
International numbering standards
Standards
ISO 2108:
International Standard Book Number
(ISBN)
ISO 3297:
International Standard Serial Number
(ISSN)
ISO 3901:
International Standard Recording Code
(ISRC)
ISO 6166:
International Securities Identification Number
(ISIN)
ISO/IEC 7812
: Issuer Identification Number (IIN)
ISO 9362
: Business Entity Identifier (BIC)
ISO 10957:
International Standard Music Number
(ISMN)
ISO 13616:
International Bank Account Number
(IBAN)
ISO 15511:
International Standard Identifier for Libraries...
(ISIL)
ISO 15706:
International Standard Audiovisual Number
(ISAN)
ISO 15707:
International Standard Musical Work Code
(ISWC)
ISO 17316:
International Standard Link Identifier
(ISLI)
ISO 17442:
Legal Entity Identifier
(LEI)
ISO 21047:
International Standard Text Code
(ISTC)
ISO 26324:
Digital Object Identifier
System (DOI)
ISO 27729:
International Standard Name Identifier
(ISNI)
ISO 27730: International Standard Collection Identifier (ISCI)
CAE
IPI
Virtual International Authority File
(VIAF)
International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) standards
List of
ISO standards
ISO romanizations
IEC standards
1–9999
16
17
31
-0
-1
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
-10
-11
-12
-13
68-1
128
216
217
226
228
233
259
261
262
302
306
361
500
518
519
639
-1
-2
-3
-5
-6
646
657
668
690
704
732
764
838
843
860
898
965
999
1000
1004
1007
1073-1
1073-2
1155
1413
1538
1629
1745
1989
2014
2015
2022
2033
2047
2108
2145
2146
2240
2281
2533
2709
2711
2720
2788
2848
2852
2921
3029
3103
3166
-1
-2
-3
3297
3307
3601
3602
3864
3901
3950
3977
4031
4157
4165
4217
4909
5218
5426
5427
5428
5725
5775
5776
5800
5807
5964
6166
6344
6346
6373
6385
6425
6429
6438
6523
6709
6943
7001
7002
7010
7027
7064
7098
7185
7200
7498
-1
7637
7736
7810
7811
7812
7813
7816
7942
8000
8093
8178
8217
8373
8501-1
8571
8583
8601
8613
8632
8651
8652
8691
8805/8806
8807
8820-5
8859
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-8-I
-9
-10
-11
-12
-13
-14
-15
-16
8879
9000/9001
9036
9075
9126
9141
9227
9241
9293
9314
9362
9407
9496
9506
9529
9564
9592/9593
9594
9660
9797-1
9897
9899
9945
9984
9985
9995
10000–19999
10006
10007
10116
10118-3
10160
10161
10165
10179
10206
10218
10279
10303
-11
-21
-22
-28
-238
10383
10585
10589
10628
10646
10664
10746
10861
10957
10962
10967
11073
11170
11172
11179
11404
11544
11783
11784
11785
11801
11889
11898
11940
-2
11941
11941 (TR)
11992
12006
12052
12182
12207
12234-2
12620
13211
-1
-2
13216
13250
13399
13406-2
13450
13485
13490
13567
13568
13584
13616
13816
13818
14000
14031
14224
14289
14396
14443
14496
-2
-3
-6
-10
-11
-12
-14
-17
-20
14617
14644
14649
14651
14698
14764
14882
14971
15022
15118
15189
15288
15291
15398
15408
15444
-3
-9
15445
15438
15504
15511
15686
15693
15706
-2
15707
15897
15919
15924
15926
15926 WIP
15930
15938
16023
16262
16355-1
16485
16612-2
16750
16949 (TS)
17024
17025
17100
17203
17369
17442
17506
17799
18004
18014
18181
18245
18629
18760
18916
19005
19011
19092
-1
-2
19114
19115
19125
19136
19407
19439
19500
19501
19502
19503
19505
19506
19507
19508
19509
19510
19600
19650
19752
19757
19770
19775-1
19794-5
19831
20000–29999
20000
20022
20121
20400
20802
20830
21000
21001
21047
21122
21500
21778
21827
22000
22275
22300
22301
22395
22537
23000
23003
23008
23009
23090-3
23092
23094-1
23094-2
23270
23271
23360
23941
24517
24613
24617
24707
24728
25178
25964
26000
26262
26300
26324
27000 series
27000
27001
27002
27005
27006
27729
28000
29110
29148
29199-2
29500
30000+
30170
31000
32000
37001
38500
39075
40230
40240
40250
40260
40314
40500
42010
45001
50001
55000
56000
80000
Category
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Library cataloging and classification
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