If documents are to be traceable and to remain available, they need to be accessible in a manner that is persistent. An Internet address may change or a document may be altered. The result: an error message saying that the material you are looking for can no longer be found: a “broken link”. A “Persistent Identifier” assigns every digital object a number that represents that object for all time. It also means that a citation cannot cease to be valid or no longer lead to the publication concerned. This persistent identification number always refers to the digital object to which it has been assigned, regardless of the underlying locator technology (at the moment these are web addresses; in the future, however, an object’s location may be completely different).
Working with Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) and the National Library of the Netherlands, SURFshare is coordinating various activities regarding the Persistent Identifier system. The National Library ensures that the digital objects concerned will continue to be readable with future technologies.
SURFshare is making efforts to ensure that institutions commit themselves to using Persistent Identifiers. It is also consulting with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) about using Persistent Identifiers in NARCIS. Internationally too, SURFshare is collaborating with its Knowlegde Exchange partners on Persistent Identifiers.
Click here for the report which proposes working towards a system of Persistent Identifiers.