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Staff assembly on 11 December 2024 in Leipzig

The reading rooms of the German National Library in Leipzig will only open at 13:00 on Wednesday 11 December due to a staff assembly. The exhibitions of the German Museum of Books and Writing will open from 10:00 to 18:00.

DNB Glossary

Have you ever been asking yourself what “Germanica” is? Or what is meant when we talk about “online publications”? With our glossary, we offer you the possibility to look up these and many other terms commonly used at the German National Library. Please note that the terminology collection is under construction and does not claim to be complete.

Are you missing a term? Then feel free to contact us at webredaktion@dnb.de.

Ingest level

German: Ingest-Level

The result of an evaluation process for digital objects to be included (‘ingested’) in the collections of the German National Library. Based on the assessment of various criteria relating for example to the data or file format, technical metadata or access restrictions, an ingest level (0 – 4) is established; the higher the determined value, the more suitable e.g. an e-book or audio book is for long-term storage and use.

More about Ingest level on our website

Integrated Authority File (GND)

Abbreviation: GND
German: Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND)

Service operated by the German National Library in cooperation with the library networks and other partners in order to facilitate the collaborative use and administration of authority data. GND authority data represent and describe entities, i.e. persons, corporate bodies, congresses and events, geographic entities, topics and works relating to cultural and academic collections.

More about Integrated Authority File (GND) on our website

International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)

Abbreviation: ISNI
German: International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)

International standard identifier (ISO 27729) used for the unambiguous identification of public identities of persons or organisations. ISNI identifiers are assigned and managed for Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the ISNI Registration Agency at MVB GmbH.

More about ISNI on our website

More about ISNI and the ISNI Registration Agency

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

Abbreviation: ISSN
German: International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

International system for uniquely identifying serial publications such as journals, newspapers or even academic blogs. An ISSN has eight digits, is language-independent and globally valid; the National ISSN Centre for Germany is located at the German National Library.

More about International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) on our website

Contact: webredaktion@dnb.de

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