: Should DOIs ever be preferred to ISBNs? Any ISBN yields a DOI. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. has ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1, which maps to doi:10.978.226/104201, allowing any

Vote Up Vote Down

As you say, DOIs are becoming dominate in scientific publishing, so it would be useful to have one in that arena.

On the other hand ISBN (And it's cousin, the ISSN) are still the main way to identify a publication. There is also a lot of useful things that the ISBN number is used for. Right now you can put an ISBN number into pretty much any bookseller (or search engine) and it will get you to the right publication. Even my library lets me search by ISBN number.

The average book fan also knows what an ISBN number is and have some idea how to use them. They are useful and ubiquitous.

So, to answer your questions, unless you are doing a scientific paper or working in a field that has a strong reliance on DOIs, I would stick with ISBNs. And, as you say, you can make a DOI from the ISBN number, that provides better coverage if you just use the ISBN number.

(0)

Vote Up Vote Down

In the publishing world, ISBNs are the standard. They're rarely reused (though it does happen on occasion) and it's how most booksellers and the like will be able to find a book quickly. I've never heard of someone using a DOI over an ISBN. Most people wouldn't even know what a DOI is.

(0)