Created in 1997, the DOI system originated from an initiative by academic publishers of digital content. Since 1998, it has been managed by the International DOI Foundation , which aims to promote intellectual property in electronic publishing and facilitate the location of documents on the internet, ensuring their persistence and availability.
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique and permanent digital identifier assigned to objects (such as journal articles, books, etc.).
A DOI provides detailed information about the digital object (e.g. author, title, publication data, etc.) through metadata, as well as its location on the internet. It uses the handle system, meaning the URL remains unchanged even if the object's location does (this is known as a persistent identifier).
A DOI provides a unique identifier for an electronic publication and ensures a stable reference to its location, even if the URL or email address changes. This enhances the visibility and impact of academic publications.
DOIs may link to open-access content, or to restricted material if we do not have a subscription.
In our institutional repository, the Dipòsit Digital de Documents of the UAB, all document URLs function as persistent identifiers. They serve the same purpose as the Handle or DOI systems: ensuring permanence and stability, so the URLs never change. Example
