Persistent Identifiers at the National Gallery

Abstract

• The National Gallery has conducted exploratory work related to persistent identifiers (PIDs) over the last number of years. This work has led to the development of a beta PID system based on URIs that is now transitioning to a production system. This case study provides an overview of their implementation and lessons learned through it. The National Gallery is home to the UK's national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition, comprising 2,300 paintings. It also houses additional material including a 'History Collection'; samples relating to paintings both within and external to the Gallery; a collection of digital images and frames; and library and archive collections. Within the context of this case study, a PID is an identifier that is globally unique, actionable (it can be resolved to a resource or information about a resource), and where it is managed to remain unique and actionable for the long term. The systems that create, maintain and hold these identifiers are referred to as PID infrastructure.