SISAC barcodes & SICI numbers

SISAC is a data structure for encoding SICI (Serial Item and Contribution Identifier) codes within a Code 128 barcode, used primarily by managers of serial publications and their contributions.

SISAC barcode, which stands for Serials Industry Systems Advisory Committee, is a system used to encode SICI (Serial Item and Contribution Identifier) identifiers. SICI is a code used to uniquely identify serial items (magazine/periodical issues) and/or individual articles. SICI is primarily used by managers of serial titles and/or their contributions.

NOTE: This document explains how to encode SICI codes as SISAC barcodes. How the SICI code itself is formed and what it represents is outside the scope of this document.

For more information on how a SICI code is formed, please refer to http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/SICI/version2.html, which provides a very complete overview of the subject.

Note that a SISAC barcode is actually encoded using Code 128. This means SISAC isn't really a symbology in its own right, but — like UCC/EAN-128 — a format for expressing data within an existing symbology. Once the data has been converted from SICI to SISAC, Code 128 is used to actually encode the barcode.

As mentioned above, a SISAC symbol is, in fact, a Code 128 barcode. However, the SISAC symbol has the following structure within the Code 128 barcode:

1. An 8-digit ISSN number (with a hyphen separating the first and last four characters of the ISSN number).
2. A 3-digit date format code, which indicates the format of the data that follows.
3. A variable number of characters indicating the date of the serial item. The format and length of this field depend on the date format code from #2 above.
4. A 4-digit enumeration data format code.
5. A variable number of characters containing the optional enumeration data specified in #4 above.

Note that, in addition, there must be leading and trailing "white space" in accordance with the Code 128 standard.