The lifespan of electronic publications is short, and the same, by all accounts, may also be said of many publishers of electronic material. Permanent storage can be secured only with the Legal Deposit Act and its provisions on archiving. Electronic publications can be altered without difficulty. With scientific publications, it is important to be able to ensure not only the origin of the publication but also the accuracy of information on its publishing history. This can only be arranged through strictly controlled database solutions.
Authentication is also a matter of reliable and unambiguous identification.
The URN identifier system has been developed specifically for electronic publications, corresponding to the ISBN code for printed publications. In May 1998, the Helsinki University Library began issuing these URN codes, and was the first national library in the world to do so. Proposals regarding the submission of electronic publications The working group proposes that publications appearing on physical data carriers should be submitted in two copies. The responsibility for submission would lie with the producer of the publication. It is proposed that the practical procedures should be resolved in detail via regulations at a lower level.