A method is disclosed. The method includes: obtaining, by an authoritative directory router in an information centric network (ICN), a publish message associated with a publisher node and including: an identifier associated with a content item; and a first anchor prefix for a first anchor directory router for the publisher node; determining that a bidirectional code for the identifier falls within an authoritative code range assigned to the authoritative directory router; and updating, in response to the bidirectional code falling within the authoritative code range, a local code repository associated with the authoritative directory router with the first anchor prefix and the identifier.