DOI in 2004: Where are the tipping points?

Introduction

?2003 may well be the year when ? [DOI] ? technologies and systems become mainstream, and electronic publishing at last gets its ISBN.?

David Worlock, EPS Insights 2 January 2003

On several fronts DOI stands on the edge of becoming a dominant standard. Following the success of CrossRef from 2000 onwards and a growing recognition in 2003 of the value of DOIs, despite the presence of only a few headline implementations, 2004 is likely to be the year which determines whether DOIs will become standard identifiers in other information publishing sectors, government information, the music and movie industries and even supply chain management for physical goods.

Supported by expert opinion, this report considers the progress of DOIs to date and reflects on likely developments in 2004.

Factors which are likely to influence the spread of this system are:

• The creation of further examples of the value of DOI in action;

• Decisions made by copyright holders in the debate between DRM and litigation;

• Pressure from governments on speeding up improvements in information dissemination in the public sector;

• The attitude taken towards DOI by bodies creating existing identifiers such as bar codes;

• Enthusiasm for DOIs from a major internet player such as Amazon or Google.