The NSDL Central System

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of the National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library (NSDL) Program is to transform science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education and knowledge sharing. The resulting national digital library should not only provide traditional library services, but also encourage new methods of learning, collaboration, and dissemination of resources. This project is building a one-year prototype of the core integrating component of the digital library, that provides a technical infrastructure, standards and guidelines, integration of diverse collections and services, and an organizational framework for the management of the facility. Collaborations on which the PI and team are involved are contributing several technologies and expertise to the project. The Dienst architecture, which has proven effective in a number of distributed digital library applications including the Networked Computer Science Technical Reference Library (NCSTRL), forms the technical foundation for the project, and provides a framework for multiple levels of participation including those defined by the agreements of the Open Archives initiative (which are based on the Dienst protocol). The ongoing leadership role of project staff in metadata initiatives and research, such as the Dublin Core and Warwick Framework, is facilitating the development and incorporation of NSDL metadata standards. The experience of the University Library in developing, refining, and managing the Cornell University Library Gateway provides expertise in licensing, organizing, and managing digital resources. Finally, the project team's high-level of participation in the digital library research community is accelerating crucial technology transfer.