NDSA Bylaws

Article I. Name

The name of this organization is NDSA. It was formerly named the National Digital Stewardship Alliance.

Article II. Mission

NDSA is an international alliance of members that fosters advocacy, expertise, leadership, support, and a community of practice for the preservation of digital heritage. NDSA works to benefit the entire digital preservation community of practitioners, service providers, and organizations on behalf of the creators, owners, and users of digital heritage content.

Article III. Values and Principles

NDSA’s values are described below, followed by derived principles that guide the organization.

  • STEWARDSHIP is the core value of NDSA. This recognizes the vital role played by digital heritage materials in all aspects of modern life and the pressing need to collect, protect, and make that heritage available for future generations.

    NDSA and its members recognize that:

    • digital preservation requires long-term, holistic, and sustainability planning;
    • stewardship methods change over time, though motivations typically remain the same;
    • there is no one single solution to the digital preservation challenge and organizations may employ a variety of strategies to achieve their goals;
    • a strong documentation and policy infrastructure helps to secure a digital preservation program during transitions;
    • exit strategies should be created to avoid entrenchment of any particular tool or system.

  • COLLABORATION, EXCHANGE, and INCLUSIVENESS are the operational values of NDSA. The vision of NDSA is expansive, and progress towards it depends upon harnessing the complementary and coordinated actions of all appropriate organizational and individual participants, including voices and perspectives that have been historically marginalized.

    NDSA and its members recognize that:

    • digital preservation requires a community of practitioners with a variety of distributed roles and responsibilities and diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds;
    • communities of practice foster collaboration and exchange that lead to more productive, effective, and sustainable digital preservation;
    • collaborating on digital preservation infrastructure and practices strengthens outcomes.

  • ETHICAL BEHAVIOR is the imperative value of NDSA. NDSA members are ethical stewards who act towards each other and stakeholder communities with integrity, respect, and accountability.

    NDSA and its members recognize that:

    • human rights are unassailable and everyone deserves respect;
    • digital preservation should be sustainable for people, the environment, and organizational budgets;
    • ethical stewardship respects the privacy and security needs of digital materials, including information security of the content and system security of the technical infrastructure;
    • adopting a professional code of ethics, such as the Society of American Archivists Code of Ethics for Archivists, is good practice.

  • TRANSPARENCY and OPENNESS are the community values of NDSA. NDSA members promote knowledge exchange, innovation, and facilitate maintenance and accountability. Digital preservation is complex and the entire community benefits from sharing practices, strategies, and ideas.

    NDSA and its members recognize that:

    • publicly accessible policies, practices, and procedures benefit the entire community;
    • transparency is essential for trust and is needed for fruitful digital preservation partnerships;
    • open development and sharing of software and code enhances the community.

Article IV. Membership

Section 1. Membership Eligibility. NDSA organizations have an active interest in the field of digital stewardship. As NDSA members, they share expertise, tools and practices to benefit local efforts while contributing to the stewardship of a growing national and international collection of diverse digital content. Members collaborate on projects to benefit the digital preservation community and their organization.

  • Members will be organizations or consortia;
  • Members will have demonstrated an active commitment to digital preservation;
  • Members will share the stated values of NDSA;
  • Members will agree to participate in one or more Interest Groups, Working Groups such as NDSA surveys, dissemination activities, and/or related efforts.

Section 2. Rights and Privileges.

  • Members will have one vote on organizational and governance matters affecting NDSA, e.g., voting for Coordinating Committee nominees, regardless of how many participants they contribute to NDSA.
  • Individual participants will have effective decision-making power at the Working Group and Interest Group level, e.g., deciding on work plans and work products.
  • Individual participants may serve in Leadership roles, either as a Chair or Co-Chair of an Interest Group or Working Group, or as an elected member of the Coordinating Committee.

Section 3. Benefits of Membership. Members share in the advantages of NDSA, including:

  • Developing and disseminating expertise, tools, and practices through participation in Interest Groups or Working Groups;
  • Sharing knowledge and building a professional network with other NDSA members through in-person and virtual gatherings;
  • Participating in the core surveys NDSA conducts of its membership;
  • Reviewing proposed NDSA reports and guidance.

Section 4. Consortia and Membership Organizations. NDSA welcomes applications from potential consortial members and membership organizations, provided that there is a clear representative identified to participate from each collective group.

Section 5. Commercial Members and Vendors. Vendors that support digital preservation functions may be NDSA members. Vendors may be both non-profit and for-profit entities. They may participate in Interest Groups, surveys, and related efforts. However, they may not use NDSA events, projects, or publications as marketing opportunities with the exception of sponsoring the DigiPres conference.

Article V. Coordinating Committee

Section 1. Purpose. The Coordinating Committee (CC) is dedicated to the advancement of NDSA activities and furthering communication within the broader preservation community.

The Coordinating Committee is responsible for:

  • Setting the strategic vision and priorities for NDSA.
  • Updating eligibility standards for membership as necessary.
  • Proposing changes to the mission or principles.
  • Providing guidance and oversight to the various Interest and Working Groups within the NDSA community.
  • Reviewing reports and other outputs created by NDSA groups.
  • Nominating a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary from the elected CC Members.
  • Voting on elements of NDSA management (e.g. elections of officers).

The Coordinating Committee also assists NDSA members in evaluating the effectiveness of the Interest Groups and Working Groups and eliminating unnecessary duplication of effort. The Coordinating Committee will recommend the creation of new or retirement of old Interest and Working Groups.

Section 2. Composition. The number of elected Coordinating Committee members shall be no more than nine (9). Elected CC members must be affiliated with a member organization. A tenth non-voting ex officio Coordinating Committee member is appointed by and from NDSA’s Host Organization.

Coordinating Committee members shall serve in staggered appointments of three years. Any CC member may be consecutively elected for up to two terms, after which they are not eligible for CC elections for at least one year. Any member may resign at any time by notification in writing to the Coordinating Committee or through the office of the Host Organization. Vacancies on the Coordinating Committee shall be filled by special election.

Section 3. Officer Roles.
A. Coordinating Committee Chair. The role of the CC Chair is to facilitate communication both within the Leadership Team and with the NDSA membership as a whole. The Chair convenes and facilitates the NDSA Leadership meeting. The Chair also takes the lead in strategic planning and management of the Leadership Team’s tactical roadmap. The Chair serves for one calendar year.

B. Coordinating Committee Vice-Chair. The CC Vice-Chair is elected by the CC and becomes Chair the following year; as such the role of the CC Vice-Chair is to shadow the CC Chair to learn the processes of chairing the CC and NDSA Leadership in order to provide continuity. The Vice-Chair serves for one calendar year.

C. Coordinating Committee Secretary. The CC Secretary is elected by the CC. The Secretary is responsible for managing the minutes of the Leadership Team and maintaining NDSA’s organizational policies and procedures. The Secretary may serve consecutive one-year terms at the approval of the CC.

Section 4. Leadership Team. The Leadership Team is made up of the Coordinating Committee members, the co-chairs of Interest Groups, and the co-chairs of active Working Groups, which in collaboration provide strategic leadership for the organization.

In terms of the difference between the roles and responsibilities of the Coordinating Committee and the broader Leadership Team, the nine elected CC members will vote to approve new members, to elect CC officers, and to approve changes to the bylaws. The Leadership Team will approve the formation of new Interest and Working Groups, provide updates on the activities of their Groups, and contribute to NDSA’s strategic goals and priorities.

Article VI. Groups

Section 1. Purpose. NDSA has established Interest Groups focusing on broad areas of digital preservation, out of which smaller Working Groups often emerge. Anyone from an NDSA member organization is welcome to join one or more groups.

Interest Groups (IGs) provide a venue for discussion, idea sharing, activity sharing, and community building and are the gateway for new members into NDSA activities.

Working Groups (WGs) are created to work on a particular project that produces a specific result, such as a report. They can be one-time, cyclical, or ongoing.

Section 2. Requirements.

  • Groups must have at least one Chair to help organize and facilitate the meetings, calls, and work to be done. Cyclical and ongoing groups should have two Co-Chairs in place for the sake of continuity.
  • In addition to the Co-Chair(s), groups must have a minimum of three other participants from different organizations.
  • Groups shall follow NDSA’s Code of Conduct.
  • Groups will keep the Leadership Team up-to-date with group activities through Chair participation in the monthly Leadership meetings.

Section 3. Group Formation and Dissolution. NDSA participants may form Interest Groups and Working Groups at will, in order to discuss mutual interests, and advance joint projects. Groups can be proposed at any time by any member of the NDSA community. A lightweight charter including the topic, scope, and group objectives should be documented and presented to the Leadership Team for approval. If the proposal is for a new Working Group, a timeline and description of the final product should be included. Group formation will be discussed and approved by the Leadership Team. Calls for interest and participation in new groups should be made to NDSA-ALL.

When they are deemed to be inactive or have completed their objectives, groups will be dissolved. Working Groups who expect to be doing work on a cyclical basis should be deemed dormant rather than dissolved. This status will be made clear in NDSA’s strategic plans and goals. Formal dissolution will be discussed and approved by the Leadership Team.

Article VII. Elections

Section 1. Coordinating Committee Elections. Three CC members are elected each year by a simple majority of the NDSA members who cast a vote. Votes shall be cast by the designated Program Representative of any member organization. In general, a CC term runs for 3 years unless a special situation arises and is approved by the CC.

A. Eligibility. Elected CC members must be affiliated with an NDSA member institution. If, during a term, a CC member changes affiliation and the new organization is not a member, they will have 4 months to have their new organization join. If this is not possible, the CC member must resign so someone from a member organization can fill the slot.

Section 2. Vice-Chair Elections. Internal elections within the CC will take place annually for a Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair will hold the position for one year, followed by a year in the Chair position.

A. Eligibility. Any CC member who has at least two years left in their term is eligible. After the CC election is complete, the incoming CC members are notified that they are eligible for the Vice Chair position. Typically, each year a total of 6 CC members are eligible to serve as Vice-Chair (3 incoming, 3 entering their 2nd year of a 3 year term).

Section 3. Special Elections. In the case of a Chair, Vice-Chair, or other CC member needing to step down, the CC will determine an appropriate course of action, such as holding a special election, taking into consideration the time of year and other election timelines.

Article VIII. Amendments

These bylaws may be amended by a simple majority vote of the Coordinating Committee. Members will be provided a reasonable opportunity to comment prior to a vote.