Learn more about the Science Data Management Branch or explore our other data management tools.
What does this tool do?
The Persistent Identifier Registration (PIR) Tool allows USGS personnel to generate or register unique, persistent identifiers (PIDs) and unique persistent URLs (PURLs) for USGS metadata, images, and models. USGS PIDs make our research more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR).
Who is the audience for this tool?
The primary audience for this tool is USGS data repository owners, as well as managers for image and model catalogs. USGS repositories, such as ScienceBase, have established workflows for registering PIDs for metadata, as required by the Federal Data Catalog, Data.gov. The Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program uses the PIR Tool to assign PIDs for images stored in the Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System. Finally, the USGS Model Catalog team uses the PIR Tool to assign PIDs for models.
How do I get started?
Login to the PIR Tool Application, Visit the PIR Tool application programming interface (API) Documentation, or Read the PIR Tool Frequently Asked Questions.
What is the difference between the PIR Tool and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Tool?
The PIR Tool provides generic persistent identifiers (PIDs) for research assets such as metadata records, individual images, and models. These PIDs are generally used to aid in the management of these assets within USGS systems. These identifiers are not necessarily globally unique and are not registered with an external organization.
The DOI Tool provides DOIs, which are a type of globally unique, persistent identifiers that are widely used in the research and publishing communities to support data and software identification and citation. DOIs generated through the USGS DOI Tool are registered with DataCite, an internationally recognized non-profit organization.