2020 wasn’t all bad. In April of last year, we released our first public data file. Though Crossref metadata is always openly available––and our board recently cemented this by voting to adopt the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure (POSI)––we’ve decided to release an updated file. This will provide a more efficient way to get such a large volume of records. The file (JSON records, 102.6GB) is now available, with thanks once again to Academic Torrents.
Our colleague and friend, Kirsty Meddings, passed away peacefully on 10th December at home with her family, after a sudden and aggressive cancer. She was a huge part of Crossref, our culture, and our lives for the last twelve years.
Kirsty Meddings is a name that almost everyone in scholarly publishing knows; she was part of a generation of Oxford women in publishing technology who have progressed through the industry, adapted to its changes, spotted new opportunities, and supported each other throughout.
Crossref has supported depositing metadata for preprints since 2016 and peer reviews since 2018. Now we are putting the two together, in fact we will permit peer reviews to be registered for any content type.
2020 has been a very challenging year, and we can all agree that everyone needs a break. Crossref will be providing very limited technical and membership support from 21st December to 3rd January to allow our staff to rest and recharge. We’ll be back on January 4th raring to answer your questions. Amanda explains more about why we made this decision.
Using the suffix pattern you have chosen, you create DOIs for your content, and register them and their associated metadata during content registration. We don’t provide your DOIs for you.
You don’t need to include any specific or descriptive information in the DOI - that information is included in the metadata submitted when you register your content.
If you do choose to include bibliographic information in a DOI string it will have no meaning within the Crossref or DOI system.
Existing identifiers can also be used for the DOI suffix such as an ISBN, PII (personally identifying information), or existing internal numbering scheme.
This advice applies to DOIs at all levels, whether at journal or book level (a title-level DOI), or volume, issue, article, or chapter level.
From the prefix, you can tell which member originally deposited metadata for a given DOI. However, as content can move between members, the owner of a DOI is not necessarily the same as the owner of the prefix. Learn more about transferring responsibility for DOIs.
Tips for creating a DOI suffix
Be concise: Make the suffix short and easy to read. Remember, DOIs will appear online and in print; users will also re-type DOIs.
Be unique: A suffix must be unique within your prefix.
Be case insensitive: A suffix is case insensitive, so 10.1006/abc is the same as 10.1006/ABC.
Be consistent: The suffix should reflect a consistent, logical system that can be easily recorded and understood by employees of your organization. For example, you might want the suffix to include existing internal identifiers.
Avoid page numbers: choosing a pattern that is linked to page numbers makes it difficult to put content online before pagination is complete for a print version, or if the items are published online only.
Only use approved characters: Your DOI suffix can be any alphanumeric string, using the approved characters “a-z”, “A-Z”, “0-9” and “-._;()/” You might see some older (pre-2008) DOIs which contain other characters.
Make suffixes extensible: DOI suffixes should be extensible, to allow DOIs to be assigned to parts of a content item, such as figures, graphs, and supplementary materials. In an example article with DOI 10.1006/jmbi.1998.2354, the second figure in the article might be assigned this DOI: 10.1006/jmbi.1998.2354.f002
