Package ID Working Group

Description

Electronic resources are frequently purchased as packages. While some of the packages contain only a few titles, others can include hundreds of thousands of titles. Many content providers offer a variety of packages with often similar content. Currently the packages can only be identified by their name in the supply chain, such as invoices, publisher websites, knowledge bases etc. The name for the same package can vary, depending on where it is used. In addition, packages may undergo name/label changes over time and may no longer match information included in library invoices or knowledge bases. The unreliability of package names can even affect the user experience because the knowledge base packages often provide the basis for availability settings on a library discovery system.

The NISO Package ID Working Group is charged with creating a Recommended Practice with recommendations for a unique package identifier that provides disambiguation across the supply chain. The unique identifier would allow all stakeholders to streamline and simplify their processes, to track changes and would allow libraries not only to know what titles a package contains but also, for example, to manage claims if a journal moves between publishers and “disappears” from a package.

This working group began its work in May 2026.