At CHORUS, persistent identifiers (PIDs) are foundational. The work we do to identify articles for open accessibility, and to link research output, datasets, and funder information, depends on PIDs for connection and interoperability.
The PID Forum is a global information and discussion platform for persistent identifiers (PIDs) which brings together the various communities working with PIDs in the research world. If you’re like us and want to immerse yourself in the discussion, or if you just want to learn more about the issues, the PID Forum is a great place for sharing best practices, asking questions, and learning about events.
CHORUS had a chance to catch up with Alice Meadows, NISO’s Director of Community Engagement (and a former CHORUS board member), to hear more about the goals for the PID Forum and how the community can get involved.
What’s the PID Forum?
[AM] The PID Forum was launched in January 2019, as part of the EU-funded FREYA project. My organization, NISO (the National Information Standards Organization) was selected as the Forum’s new home following the end of that project in late 2020, and the transition was completed in January 2021.
The three main goals of the Forum are to provide:
- An open discussion forum for PID questions and challenges, where we can make the most of our community by sharing our individual and collective experiences and expertise
- A place for community collaboration and coordination – a helpful way to keep each other informed about PID related events and activities, invite input and feedback, and share news and updates
- A space for technical discussions about PIDs for those who are deeply embedded in implementation and best practices
Popular features include the Knowledge Hub of basic information and resources about PIDs; regular updates on PID news, events, and policies; and the questions and best practices categories.
Describe the community (is it mostly techies or other roles, too)?
[AM] The PID Forum is open to everyone who’s interested in persistent identifiers—so yes, techies responsible for PID integrations, but also community engagement and product managers interested in how/why the community uses them, individual PID users, and more. We currently have over 700 users from a wide range of organizations—though of course some are more active than others, so we are working on ways to increase engagement. This includes translating content into languages other than English and setting up non-English interest groups (PIDs canal en español and PIDS-Kanal auf Deutsch, for example). We are also keen to involve a wider range of PID organizations, beyond the usual suspects. At present, DataCite, the IGSN 2040 group, the RDA PID Interest Group, and ROR all have their own spaces on the Forum—we’d welcome other PID organizations to do the same, and to share their news and updates with us.
How do they engage, and about what?
[AM] To answer this, let me give you some idea of how wide-ranging the topics posted on the Forum are, here’s what was shared in the last week:
- An announcement about the publication of the new Netherlands PID policy, including a summary of the five recommendations
- News about the formation of the new ARK Alliance, with some useful background information on what ARKs (Archival Resource Keys) are and how they’re used
- The latest responses in ongoing conversations about the DataCite Commons GraphQL API and PIDs for events
- A save the date notice for our next community meeting (more on that below!)
- A reminder about the DataCite consortium leads open hours meeting
- A request for participation in an Alliance for Biodiversity Knowledge consultation on PIDs for digital extended specimens
Everyone is welcome to ask and answer questions, and to comment (respectfully, of course) on posts on the Forum—as well as sharing their own. That might be news about an upcoming PID-related event, a request for feedback on a survey or consultation, a good (or bad!) experience that others can learn from—anything, really, that the PID community is likely to be interested in and/or able to help with!
Why should I get involved, and how do I go about it?
[AM] We welcome anyone with an interest in PIDs to get involved—from simply signing up and selecting your preferred notifications or following us on Twitter (@ForumPid), to sharing occasional posts, comments, and questions, to being a PID Forum Champion or Expert. We also hold regular (virtual) community meetings, open to all, where we share updates on the Forum and invite your questions, feedback, and ideas. The next one is at 1pm UCT on July 19 and we’ll be posting more information on the Forum nearer the time. So please sign up for the Forum today and join us then!
