The successful development of interoperable networks depends on the ability of clients to uniquely identify and locate data items provided by multiple sources. To address this need, TDWG has adopted Life Science Identifiers (LSID) for use as stable identifiers for data items in Biodiversity Informatics data networks. This presentation provides an introduction to Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs), in particular LSIDs, what they are, and how they are used.

“Why do we need GUIDs”, “to what objects we should apply GUIDs”, “how do we resolve a GUID”, “how do we reuse GUIDs” are common questions that will be addressed in this talk. The presentation is intended to provide an introduction for people who have had limited exposure to these technologies.