2 messages, 112 lines:

(1)--------------------------
Date:         Mon, 29 Sep 1997 14:11:12 -0400
From:         Regina Reynolds <rrey@LOC.GOV>
Subject:      Re: ISSNs for Electronic Versions of Serials

Jill Yaples in her posting below did infer correctly that JSTOR serials
carry the same ISSN as their print versions because they are exact
reproductions.  The ISSN assignment policy for serials issued in different
physical formats was reaffirmed at the ISSN directors meeting held this
past May in Budapest:  serials issued in different physical formats are
 assigned different ISSN with the exception of reproductions by a
secondary publisher such as JSTOR.  This exception has been true for
microforms for quite a few years.

However, for a variety of reasons, you will see electronic serials that do
not conform to this policy:  some publishers are unaware that they need a
new ISSN for the electronic version and are using the ISSN of the print
version even though the electronic version is not a reproduction.  We at
the U.S. ISSN center are trying to spread the word about the ISSN policy
but given the rapidly evolving state of online publishing it will continue
to be a challenge for us.

Regina R. Reynolds
Head, National Serials Data Program
Library of Congress
rrey@loc.gov
ISSN Web page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/issn/

On Mon, 29 Sep 1997, Jill D. Yaples wrote:

> Is it common for serials that come in both print and electronic versions to
> have 2 different ISSNs, or do they only have different ISSNs if the electronic
> version doesn't exactly duplicate the information in the print version?  One
> of the Reference librarians at my institution asked me about this and when I
> checked a couple of journal Web databases we subscribe to, I got an ambiguous
> answer.  The ISSNs in the JSTOR database matched the print version ISSNs and
> the ISSNs in the Project Muse database were different from the print version.
> JSTOR journals are suppose to be duplicates of the print versions, but Project
> Muse includes a subject index after each article in the Table of Contents and
> enhanced illustrations.  I thought the differences between the electronic and
> print versions of serials found in the Project Muse database might explain the
> different ISSNs.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Jill D. Yaples
> Electronic Cataloger
> Cataloging Unit
> Binghamton University Libraries
> Binghamton, NY 13902
> E-mail:  jyaples@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu

(2)---------------------------
Date:         Mon, 29 Sep 1997 20:23:02 +0100
From:         Bernd-Christoph Kaemper <kaemper@UB.UNI-STUTTGART.DE>
Organization: UB Stuttgart
Subject:      Re: ISSNs for Electronic Versions of Serials
Comments: cc: "Jill D. Yaples" <JYAPLES@BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU>

I guess, the difference is that most of the journals in JSTOR are not
electronic journals qua publisher but only through a retroconversion
digitisation project. (But I may be wrong here.) Otherwise, it does not
matter if content is different from print.

Here is an excerpt from the document "ISSN for Electronic Serials"
published by the National Serials Data Program, Library of Congress. It
 is available at URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/issn/e-serials.html

---------------- excerpt -----------------------------------------------

Criteria for Assigning ISSN

The same criteria for determining if a serial is eligible for an ISSN
apply to electronic and print publications: an intention to continue
publishing indefinitely and being issued in designated parts. In the
case of electronic serials--especially those available online, such as
on the Internet--the most significant criterion is that the publication
must be divided into parts or issues which carry unique, numerical
designations by which the individual issues may be identified, checked
in, etc. Electronic serials that are issued as individual articles meet
this criterion as long as the articles carry a unique designation. Thus,
a database issued quarterly on CD-ROM and carrying quarterly date
designations would be eligible for an ISSN while the same database as an
online service which was being continually and seamlessly updated would
not be eligible.

How Many ISSN?

Another question that arises with serials in electronic form is how many
ISSN are needed. Separate ISSN are needed for serials in different
physical media (with the exception of reproduction microforms). Thus the
print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSN. Also, a
CD-ROM version and an online version of a serial require different ISSN
since two different media are involved. However, the same ISSN can be
used for different file formats (ASCII, PostScript, and hypertext) of
the same online serial. (...)

--------------- end of excerpt -----------------------------------------

Regards,

Bernd-Christoph Kaemper
Stuttgart University Library
<kaemper@UB.UNI-STUTTGART.DE>