Thank you very much Regina.  This explanation helps a lot!

Kasia Stasik
Serials and Continuations Unit Supervisor
Technical Services
University of California Riverside
Library
Tel: (951) 827 2322
Fax: (951) 827 3720
kasia@ucr.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Regina Reynolds
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 7:37 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] ISSN question

Nancy and all--

There are several reasons for the situations you mention.  To begin with,
whether a serial is current or ceased, it can be assigned an ISSN.  The
ISSN does not have to be printed on a serial to be a valid and current
ISSN.  Yes, JSTOR is requesting ISSN for serials it is digitizing
retrospectively.  JSTOR is producing reproductions for the purpose of
providing libraries with surrogates for print journals.  These kinds of
reproductions carry the ISSN of the original, as has long been the policy
for microform reproductions.

If the journal has never been issued in an online edition, that is, a
parallel to the print election edition issued by (or under the auspices
of) the original publisher, it would not be assigned a separate ISSN for
the electronic edition, since, in fact, there never was a separately
published electronic edition.

There have been various discussions about the policy for ISSN assignment
to digital reproductions within the ISSN Network but this is the current
policy.  Perhaps when the revised ISSN standard, including provisions for
a "Medium-Neutral ISSN (MNI)" is approved and implemented, some of these
issues can be resolved by use of the MNI, which will be the same for all
manifestations of a journal

Regina  R. Reynolds                     email: rrey@loc.gov
Head, National Serials Data Program     voice: (202) 707-6379
Library of Congress                     fax    (202) 707-6333
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.           ISSN Web
page: lcweb.loc.gov/issn/
Washington, D.C. 20540-4160

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005, Nancy Chaffin wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> Perhaps I missed something on the discussion lists, but here is my
> question/dilemma:
>
> I am finding records in OCLC for print serials that have long ago
> ceased, but there are ISSNs in the record in a subfield a.
>
> Example: OCLC record # 1480181
> 022 0  1547-6154
> 245 04 The American journal of police science
> 362 0  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1930)-v. 3, no. 2 (Mar.-Apr. 1932).
>
> Clearly the print issues for this title were never printed with an ISSN.
>
> However, this record includes (secondary) information about the
> electronic version of this title available through JSTOR (to which my
> library subscribes) and HeinOnline (to which we have no access).
>
> It has been my (mistaken?) understand that JSTOR had requested ISSNs
> retrospectively for the titles they were scanning and putting online; if
> so, wouldn't the ISSN be the e-ISSN, not the print ISSN?
>
> The OCLC record for the electronic version of this title (an aggregator
> neutral record reflecting availability through both JSTOR and
> HeinOnline) includes the ISSN above, but in a subfield y. (OCLC record #
> 47949278)
>
> Incidently, both of these are ELvl [blank] records. The one for the
> print is 042 lc $a nsdp and the electronic is 042 lc.
>
> I've checked the ISSN site at loc.gov, but other than stating that each
> format should have its own ISSN (which seems to fly in the face of the
> records above), I couldn't find any information re: what I've been
> seeing. Is there some statement or public policy someone on SERIALST can
> point me to explaining how the ISSNs are assigned to these older
> periodicals?
>
> TIA
>
> Nancy
>
> --
> Nancy J. Chaffin
> Metadata Librarian
> Colorado State University Libraries
> Fort Collins, CO 80523-1019
>
> voice:  970.491.1847
> fax:    970.491.4661
> e-mail: Nancy.Chaffin@colostate.edu
>