This International Standard establishes the specifications for the International Standard Collection

Identifier (ISCI) as a unique international identification system for each collection, fonds and (archival) series,

and part(s) of collections, fonds and series. This International Standard establishes the specifications for the

structure of an identifier and promotes the use of the identifier with regard to identifying systems that already

exist. It also gives a list of recommended metadata elements that describe a collection.

This International Standard does not specify the description of collections, fonds and series, nor the relationships

between collections and sub-collections.

The ISCI is intended for use by organizations that manage collections of cultural materials. These include

cultural heritage institutions such as libraries, museums and archives, as well as other types of organizations

such as publishers operating in the supply chain of cultural materials.