About us

Significance of the ISIL

ISIL stands for "International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations" and is used to uniquely identify memory institutions in interlibrary loan, databases and other applications.

The ISIL number is also used as an identifier in RFID technology, for automated data exchange and as an author identifier in the Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND).

The ISIL is based on the standard ISO 15511:2019.

The (Danish Agency for Culture) is responsible for the international coordination of ISIL registration.

Swiss ISIL Centre

The Swiss National Library (NL) maintains the national ISIL centre for memory institutions (libraries, archives, documentation centres and museums) from Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein.

It assigns the ISIL number and maintains the address list of registered institutions in the ISIL directory.

ISIL directory

The ISIL directory contains the addresses of all memory institutions in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein with an ISIL number.

The ISIL institutions are responsible for ensuring that their entry in the ISIL directory is up to date and accurate. Changes can be reported using the contact form.