Created in 1997, the DOI system is the result of an initiative of academic publishers of digital content. Since 1998, it is a project managed by the International DOI Foundation to promote intellectual property in electronic publishing and to locate documents on the Internet, ensuring their persistence and availability.
A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a unique and permanent digital identifier for objects (journal articles, books, etc.).
A DOI name provides information about the digital object (author, title, publication data, etc.) through metadata and about its Internet location. It uses the handle system, that is to say, the URL does not change even if its location changes (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
