link
Established in 2000, CrossRef is an independent membership association founded and directed by publishers to give the research community easier access to online publications. CrossRef’s objective is to provide the most robust citation-linking network possible—across publishers, business models, and content types. CrossRef does not aggregate full-text content. Rather, it uses a system of "distributed aggregation" whereby full-text content is linked through a database consisting of publisher-provided metadata.
To ensure that each link is persistent and accurate, CrossRef uses Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to permanently identify and track scholarly items on the web. Through CrossRef and DOIs, you can link to millions of items from hundreds of publishers and societies. CrossRef integrates with the OpenURL and is completely access-model neutral.
Note For a more detailed description, see How CrossRef works. For information about the current number of CrossRef members and registered DOIs, see CrossRef Indicators on the CrossRef web site.
By using this help system, you can learn more about DOIs—what they are and why they're useful—and how to:
CrossRef is operated by the Publishers International Linking Association (PILA) and is located at 50 Salem Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940.
