The digital object identifier system: digital technology meets content management

The management of intellectual content in a digital environment (Internet) requires the existence of persistent, reliable unique identifiers for each distinguishable piece of content, and associated services activated by these identifiers to manage access and other rights. The digital object identifier (DOI) is a major initiative from the content industries which is now being implemented widely. The DOI is a unique identifier of any piece of intellectual content (in any form), together with a system for using that identifier to locate digital services (on the Internet) associated with that content. This paper describes as separate strands the approach of the technology and the content communities, and how these have been brought together in the DOI initial implementation (as a reliable location tool) and future implementations of other services. The DOI has strong support from many quarters, and is funded by a not‐for‐profit independent foundation.