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The ISIL Standard Identifiers of Finnish Libraries





You can search the ISIL registry by selecting a suitable option from the drop-down menu and entering a query into the search field.
The query is automatically truncated and capitalization is ignored. An empty search returns a complete list of ISIL identifiers.



ISIL - International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations

An ISIL identifies a library, an archive, a museum or a related organization, or one of its subordinate units. Besides these institutions, an ISIL can also be assigned to agencies co-operating or doing business with these organizations, such as suppliers, publishers, (pilkku) and government institutions. ISIL is intended to be used as a permanent identifier. The structure and scope of an ISIL is defined in the standard ISO 15511:2011. An ISIL consists of three components:

  1. a prefix, usually an alpha-2 country code,
  2. a hyphen and
  3. a unit identifier.
A country code consists of two uppercase letters as specified in ISO 3166-1. The country code for Finland is FI. A unit identifier is an alphanumeric element designed to identify an organization. Existing identifiers, such as the Finnish Union Catalogue, or Melinda codes, can be used to form an ISIL by attaching them to a prefix element. The possible Scandinavian characters must be converted to their international counterparts (ä, å --> a, ö --> o).

An example: The ISIL of the Turku University's Teacher Education Library in Rauma is FI-Tro, where FI is the country prefix and Tro the unit identifier (previously used Linda code).
An ISIL is a permanent identifier for organizations. Therefore, it cannot be modified after registration. However in the case of a significant organizational change, such as a merger, a new ISIL can be allocated.

Distribution

ISIL standard identifiers are assigned and administered by national allocation agencies. In Finland the agency is the National Library. The international ISIL Registration Authority is the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces.

Contact information for the Finnish agency:
National Library of Finland
Library Network Services
Box 15 (Yliopistonkatu 1)
00014 University of Helsinki
E-mail: isil-tunnistepalvelu(a)helsinki.fi
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