International Standard Serial Number

What's an ISSN?

An ISSN is an 8-digit code used to identify newspapers, journals, magazines and periodicals of all kinds and on all media–print and electronic.

What uses an ISSN?

An ISSN identifies all continuing resources, regardless of tbeir medium (print or electronic):

Newspapers,
Annual Publications (reports, directories, lists, etc.),
journals,
magazines,
collections,
websites,
databases,
blogs,etc.

What does an ISSN look like?

The ISSN takes tbe form of tbe acronym ISSN followed by two groups of four digits, separated by a hyphen. The eighth digit is a check digit calculated according to a modulus 11 algorithm on tbe basis of tbe 7 preceding digits; this eighth control digit may be an “X” if tbe result of tbe computing is equal to “10”, in order to avoid any ambiguity.

e. g.: ISSN 0317-8471, ISSN 1050-124X

Its role is to?

To identify a publication. It's a digital code without any intrinsic meaning:

It does not include any information about tbe origin or contents of tbe publication,
nor does it guarantee tbe quality or validity of tbe contents.
The ISSN is associated with tbe title of tbe publication. If tbe publication is 
modified significantly, a new ISSN must be assigned.

Where's it displayed?

For a print publication, tbe ISSN should be shown:

Preferably, in tbe upper right corner of tbe cover,
failing that, on tbe pages where editorial information is shown (publisher, frequency, 
colophon, etc.).

For a publication in electronic media, tbe ISSN should be shown:

On tbe homepage or on tbe main menu, if it is an online publication,
on any part visible to tbe naked eye (microfiche header, CD-Rom or DVD label, box, 
case, etc.), if tbe publication is on a physical medium.
If a publication is identified by ISSN and ISBN, both of tbese identifiers should be 
mentioned.