Bosniaca is the journal of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is published annually and includes original professional and scientific works in library science as well as systematized practices for the management of collections. On 5 February 2021, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrated the 25th anniversary of Bosniaca with the publication of its 25th issue (2020), which is available in English and indexed in DOAJ. Bosniaca is also indexed in Web of Science, EBSCO, ErihPlus, Slavic Humanities Index, Index Copernicus, ICI Journals Master List, ROAD – the Directory of Open Access scholarly Resources, C.E.E.O.L. (Central and Eastern European Online Library), Hrčak – the central portal of Croatian scientific journals, KoBSON – the Serbian Library Consortium for Coordinated Acquisition.

The ISSN IC, with the support of Thomas Francart (SPARNA Company), has initiated a data upload project in Wikidata to validate and enrich metadata associated with continuing resources. A data model was discussed with the Wikidata community and the dedicated ISSN Bot has been designed to perform regular updates and perform synchronization between the data in the ISSN Portal and the data present in Wikidata. This project has already completed 125,118 Wikidata items corresponding to journal titles by adding specific data, i.e. ISSNs for print and online editions, ISSN-L, key title, language, country of publication and URLs.

More information about ISSN Bot data model can be found here: https://cutt.ly/VkjpCka

The ISSN Review Group, represented officially by Regina Romano Reynolds, Director of ISSN USA, Library of Congress, with assistance from Deanna White, Project Officer at ISSN International Centre, presented two proposals to the MARC Advisory Committee (MAC) meeting, held on 26 January 2021. Ms Reynolds is the ISSN’s long-standing voting member of MAC and valued MARC expert.  The proposals can be read on the MAC website regarding the type of continuing resource: https://www.loc.gov/marc/mac/2021/2021-03.html  and regarding the subfields added to field 022 (ISSN):  https://www.loc.gov/marc/mac/2021/2021-04.html .

As a result, newly defined values for the type of continuing resources code will be useful for faceting and statistical reporting in the ISSN Portal; also, a URI subfield in the ISSN field (022) will serve as an authoritative work identifier for the serial in linked data.

In November 2020, ISSN Uplink opened its virtual doors at the Library of Congress. It is the first online application system for those seeking international standard serial numbers (ISSN) from U.S. ISSN Center at the Library.

For applicants, the benefits of ISSN Uplink are many compared with the paper- and email-based application process it replaces. ISSN requesters not only can apply online for ISSNs, but they can also create accounts that include team members, track the status of their applications, communicate with ISSN staff and view a history of all their applications, communications and ISSNs assigned.
For ISSN staff, the history that Uplink retains will enable them to provide better service to users during the ISSN assignment process and for future inquiries. The system also allows staff to edit communication templates as needed, track ISSN requests and send automated reminders to applicants when published issues the Library wishes to collect are overdue.

The Library of Congress’ ISSN program started in 1972, so it is approaching its 50-year anniversary. What better early anniversary present than ISSN Uplink!
More information about ISSN Uplink: see ISSN page and consult the FAQ.

Typically ISSN are used for continuous publications that appear numbered or dated, but scientific blogs or databases of general interest can also be registered. In the allocation, only the formal criteria are examined. Mareike König clearly explains which requirements must be met in order to be assigned an ISSN, and for which benefits. The ISSN supports visibility and long-term citability, important prerequisites for the recognition of blogs as a form of communication relevant to science.

The new entity CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) was inaugurated with a new Vision on 14 January 2021 by the Union Science and Technology Minister of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan. The new Institute has been established after the merger of two prestigious institutes of CSIR namely, CSIR-NISCAIR and CSIR-NISTADS. The merger will combine strength of two institutes in a synergistic way with a vision to become a globally respected Think Tank and Resource Centre for understanding Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) Policy Research and Communication. CSIR-NISCAIR manages the largest and oldest National Science Library and also distributes International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for Indian continuing resources. It has been the custodian of the National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC) which facilitates access to more than 5,000 e-journals of all major publishers, patents, standards, citations, and bibliographic databases.

Gaëlle Béquet will give a presentation on the production of ISO international standards at the conference organized by AFNOR, the French standardization agency, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Quai Branly Museum and Sorbonne University. This conference will take place on the occasion of the publication of ISO 21110 – Emergency preparedness and response in libraries, archives and museums. Registration is free of charge.​ Program available here.

The ISSN Review Group will present two proposals to update MARC to the MARC Advisory Committee (MAC) on January 26th, 2021. The proposals can be read on the MAC website here: https://www.loc.gov/marc/mac/mw2021_age.html

Gaëlle Béquet, ISSN IC Director, will attend the online conference PIDapalooza -The Open Festival of Persistent Identifiers on 27 January 2021. The program is available.

The ISSN Register was created by UNESCO and France in the 1970s to index and identify analogue and digital serial publications. The ISSN database was available only to Member States and subscribers until 2013, when the ROAD database of open access scientific resources was made available on the web. This movement to free up ISSN data has accelerated under the impetus of a new management and thanks to the support of member countries, leading to the opening of the ISSN Portal in 2018. Today, the ISSN Portal offers a suite of services to libraries, publishers and the information industry that aims to trace as accurately as possible the trajectory of serial publications from their birth to their long-term preservation.

This presentation is intended to provide an overview of the progress made since the opening of ROAD in 2013 and an outline of the 2024 strategy.