Content registration - depositing metadata - is at the core of our infrastructure.
Sending us metadata about your publications returns persistent links for better content discoverability and preservation. Watch the video below to find out more:
Publishers of this research join Crossref to let the world know the content exists. They send information about that content–called metadata–to us.
The metadata includes basic fields like titles and dates, but also unique labels that identify the content’s authors, affiliations, funders, and its location on the web. We call those labels persistent identifiers (PIDs).
Crossref metadata is used by numerous systems and organizations, like libraries, funders and others, that together help credit and cite the work, report impact of funding, and track outcomes and activity.
This is Crossref infrastructure. You can’t see infrastructure yet research—and researchers all over the world—rely on it.
Publishers are encouraged to submit and maintain the fullest possible metadata.
Metadata deposits can be submitted by publishers or agents acting on their behalf, such as hosting platforms and may be made via:
It is important to note that while we collect, preserve and make metadata available for the scholarly community, we do not correct, edit or change submitted metadata.
Different schema exist for different content types. For example, the preprints schema is different from the journals schema. So, deposits in XML must be prepared according to each schema. See more on content types below.
Corrections and enhancements of submitted metadata are very much encouraged! There is no charge for re-depositing existing metadata.
Crossref collects metadata and assigns persistent identifiers for many types of scholarly content. There are deposit fees that vary by content type and date of publication. The content types that we currently accept are below.
Journals: at the journal title and article level and includes supplemental materials
Books and reference works: book title and/or chapter-level records, books can be deposited as a monograph, series, or set.
Conference proceedings: information about a single conference and records for each conference paper/proceeding
Reports / working papers: this includes content that is formally published and is published with an ISSN or ISBN.
Standards - includes publications from Standards Development Organizations and Standards Setting Organizations.
Datasets - includes database records or collections. (See also DataCite)
Dissertations - includes single dissertations and theses - not collections.
Posted content: consists of preprints, eprints, working papers, reports, and other types of content that has been posted but not formally published.
Components: typically assigned to parts of a whole, most commonly including figures, tables, and supplemental materials for a journal article or book chapter. If you have a content type that isn’t listed please contact us.
Those new to the deposit process are especially encouraged to verify and test XML prior to submission.
Please see our handy Get Started guide for details.
As this summary shows, the process of registering content and depositing metadata is relatively straightforward:
Once processed, the DOI is live and clickable after the deposit has been processed (usually within minutes) and the metadata is available for use in systems throughout scholarly communications.
Registering content is like dropping a pin to locate your content on the map of scholarly communications.
To make publications discoverable—and to derive the greatest benefit from outbound linking of reference lists–we ask our members to deposit as much metadata as possible.
Richer metadata includes information such as journal title, article author, publication date, page numbers, ISSN, references, abstracts, ORCID iDs, funding information, clinical trials numbers, license information (access indicators for text and data mining) and more. The list will continue to expand as new forms of metadata become embedded.
Publisher Member obligations cover in detail the important work of depositing metadata. Thank you for reviewing them!
Our Fees page lists associated deposits costs.
Please see our FAQs for more information on content registration.
Additional help is provided in our extensive support pages, to assist you with the important work of registering content.
Please contact our member services team with any questions or to get set up, or contact our support team for any technical or troubleshooting questions.