International Standard Name Identifier
Enable an agent to recognise an ISNI, assess its assignment to a public identity, and decide whether to use, link, question or request correction of that assignment.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to recognise an ISNI, assess its assignment to a public identity, and decide whether to use, link, question or request correction of that assignment.
It can be Normalise a supplied ISNI and validate its representation while preserving the original input.; Retrieve an authoritative record and compare its public identity with a candidate subject.; Attach an evidenced ISNI to a catalogue contributor or organisation identity.; Propose a cross-system mapping with explicit referent boundaries and supporting evidence.; Prepare an assignment or correction request through a verified service channel.; Reconcile local references after a confirmed canonical-identifier change while preserving history..
Distinguishing features
The referent is a public identity involved in content creation, production, management or distribution, rather than a work or publication. [ISO 27729:2024](https://www.iso.org/standard/87177.html)
The representation has 16 characters: 15 decimal digits followed by a decimal digit or X as the check character; syntax alone does not establish assignment. [Bowker ISNI FAQ](https://isni.bowker.com/faqs)
Separate public identities of one party can have separate ISNIs; spelling and transliteration variants can belong to one public identity. [Bowker ISNI FAQ](https://isni.bowker.com/faqs)
A similarly formatted identifier, including an ORCID iD, must be distinguished through its declared namespace and authoritative record rather than its appearance.
The identifier supports disambiguation and links to other information systems; it does not constitute a comprehensive identity dossier. [ISO 27729:2024](https://www.iso.org/standard/87177.html)
Scope
+ ISNI representation, validation and authoritative lookup
+ The public identity identified and its distinction from the underlying party
+ Evidence supporting or contradicting an identity match
+ Connections to other identity records and related public identities
+ Assignment observations, correction needs and downstream handling
- Comprehensive biographies and organisation profiles
- Identification and description of works, editions, recordings and products
- Copyright ownership, royalty entitlement and licensing decisions
- Authentication credentials and proof of legal identity
- Administration of the ISO standard or operation of the registration service
Characteristics
- Representation validity
- Model assessment: untested, malformed, check-character-failed, syntactically-valid Prevents transcription errors from becoming identity links.
- Assignment verification
- Model assessment: unqueried, lookup-unavailable, no-record-found, record-observed Separates successful validation from evidence that an assignment exists.
- Public-identity referent
- ISNI to the public identity described by the retrieved record Keeps the identified persona distinct from names, works and the underlying party.
- Name relationship
- Model assessment: same-identity-variant, separate-public-identity, unrelated-homonym, unresolved Controls whether an encountered name supports a match or requires separation.
- Identity-match assessment
- Model assessment: supported, ambiguous, contradicted, insufficient-evidence Determines whether the agent may attach the ISNI to the intended subject.
- Evidence age
- Elapsed days since authoritative record observation; unknown if undated Helps decide when an assignment or correction outcome needs another check.
- Canonical identifier relationship
- Observed identifier to authority-reported canonical identifier, with evidence and observation time Supports reconciliation when a previously used identifier is deprecated.
- External mapping assessment
- Model assessment: proposed, supported, disputed, stale Prevents an external cross-reference from silently becoming an assertion of identity equivalence.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 21 questions.
ISNI recognition Determine whether the supplied value is an ISNI candidate and whether its assignment can be observed.
A plausible identifier string is insufficient grounds for identifying a contributor.
Representation checks
Assess the submitted value without discarding information needed to diagnose errors.
ISNI syntax and namespace
Record the original value, normalised candidate, claimed namespace and validation result as separate observations.
- Does the candidate satisfy the ISNI length, permitted-character and check-character rules? measurement
- What establishes that this value belongs to the ISNI namespace rather than another identifier scheme? boundary
Assignment lookup
Separate identifier validation from retrieval of an actual identity record.
Observed ISNI record
Record the lookup source, observation time and returned assignment evidence; distinguish a failed lookup from an explicit absence result.
- Which authoritative record was retrieved for this ISNI, and when? provenance
- Did the lookup return an identity record, an explicit no-record result or a service failure? measurement
Public identity boundaries Establish which public identity the ISNI identifies and how encountered names relate to it.
Matching at the level of a person or a name string can collapse distinct public identities.
Identified persona
Describe the public-facing identity sufficiently to distinguish it from its underlying party and associated content.
Referent and public use
Record the identity's public name, the kind of subject represented and the context in which that identity contributes to content.
- Which public identity does the ISNI record describe, and in what creative or organisational context is it used? definition
- Is the proposed local subject this public identity, the underlying party or an associated work? boundary
Name variation and personas
Assess whether name differences reflect variants, separate identities or unrelated subjects.
Variant or separate identity
Require evidence before treating a spelling, transliteration, abbreviation or pseudonym as equivalent to the target identity.
- What evidence makes this encountered name a variant of the identified public identity rather than a separate persona or homonym? boundary
- If two public identities are linked through a shared party, what published evidence and applicable authorisation support recording that relationship? provenance
Contributor disambiguation Judge whether the ISNI belongs to the contributor or organisation encountered in a particular context.
An existing ISNI can still be attached to the wrong subject, especially when names coincide.
Attribution evidence
Use content associations and contextual identity facts as evidence for a candidate match.
Supporting identity context
Record sourced agreements involving credited works, contribution roles, affiliations or dates without converting them into an exhaustive biography.
- Which credited works, roles or contextual facts connect the intended subject to this ISNI record? provenance
- Which supporting sources are independent, and which repeat the same upstream attribution? provenance
Conflicting candidates
Make homonyms, incompatible attributions and incomplete evidence visible before reuse.
Match decision
Express an evidence-based local match assessment independently of the registration service's own status.
- Which competing identities or conflicting facts prevent a unique match? boundary
- Is the evidence sufficient to attach the ISNI, or must the agent retain competing candidates and seek review? action
Identity system bridging Assess connections between the ISNI public identity and records in other identifier systems.
Useful interoperability requires knowing whether linked records identify the same kind of subject.
External record mappings
Evaluate the provenance and meaning of each proposed external identifier connection.
Mapping referent alignment
Record the external namespace, target record, asserted relationship and evidence rather than assuming universal equivalence.
- Does the external record identify this public identity, a broader party or a different organisational unit? boundary
- Who asserted the mapping, and what evidence supports its current validity? provenance
Catalogue use
Determine how an assessed ISNI can support contributor reconciliation in a consuming system.
Permitted identity inference
Record the specific reconciliation decision supported by the ISNI and the additional evidence needed for stronger conclusions.
- Which contributor records can be linked on the evidence available, and which must remain separate? action
- What additional evidence would be required before using this identity match for ownership, payment or account-access decisions? boundary
Assignment maintenance Track observed assignment changes and prepare justified interventions.
Agents need to distinguish local suspicions, submitted requests and confirmed registration outcomes.
Canonical record tracking
Preserve identifier history when the registration record changes.
Deprecated and canonical ISNIs
Merged records can retain deprecated ISNIs that resolve to the canonical record; retain the observed relationship and its provenance. [Bowker ISNI FAQ](https://isni.bowker.com/faqs)
- Does the authority identify this ISNI as canonical or associate it with another identifier after a merge? measurement
- Which local references require reconciliation after that relationship is verified? action
Assignment and correction requests
Prepare evidence and track outcomes for missing or defective identity assignments.
Justified registration intervention
Record the issue, supporting evidence, verified submission route and outcome; distinguish a request from an accepted change.
- Does the evidence call for an assignment request, metadata correction, duplicate review or public-display review? action
- Which current service channel accepts this request, and what evidence or authority does it require? action
- What subsequent authoritative observation confirms that the requested change took effect? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- What exact validation algorithm, normalisation rules and resolution conventions are required by ISO 27729:2024 and the current registration service?
- Which assignment statuses and merge, split or deprecation transitions are currently exposed, and what operational meaning does each carry?
- What evidence and authorisation are currently required to publish relationships between pseudonymous public identities, including retrospective cases?
- How do current assignment rules distinguish organisational renaming, imprints, departments and successor organisations?
- Which current service routes, metadata requirements and reuse terms govern automated lookup, assignment requests, corrections and downstream synchronisation?