About the NDSA

NDSA was launched in July 2010 as an initiative of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) of the Library of Congress. For an inaugural four-year term, the Library of Congress provided secretariat and membership management services to the NDSA as well as contributing leadership, expertise, and administrative support.

The NDSA’s institutional home as of January 1, 2016, is the Digital Library Federation (DLF), at the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). Selection of DLF followed a nationwide search and evaluation of cultural heritage, membership, and technical service organizations, in consultation with NDSA Interest Groups, their members, and external advisors.

Although originally constituted as a US-centric organization, NDSA has since opened up its membership to international participation in recognition of the innovative and impactful work being done across national boundaries. The NDSA is a consortium of organizations committed to the long-term preservation of digital information.

Who We Are

Membership in the NDSA is at the institution level, with 278 members representing universities, government and non-profit organizations, commercial businesses and professional associations. Multiple individuals from each institution are encouraged to participate in NDSA activities.

Activities of the NDSA most often take place through Interest and Working groups. Members of the NDSA are encouraged to join one or more Interest and Working Groups and/or become chairs/co-chairs of the Groups.

Interest Groups are standing groups that provide information about areas of interest to the membership. Interest groups may be formed as needed with approval from the Coordinating Committee. Working Groups originate with the goal to complete a task or project. Working Groups may be ongoing or spun up or down as needed.

How We Work

NDSA members join by completing a membership application, agreeing to our Foundational Principles and Membership Agreement and by participating in Interest and Working Groups. There are no fees to join the NDSA but members do commit to work collaboratively and share expertise. An elected Coordinating Committee provides strategic direction for the NDSA.

What We Do

The NDSA organizes a global network of collaborative partners to take stewardship action toward three primary objectives:

  • Identifying, communicating and advocating for common needs of member organizations.
  • Convening and sustaining a national community of practice for digital stewardship.
  • Providing professional development opportunities for staff at member organizations.

We work toward those goals through three primary types of activities:

  • Reports and Guidance Materials: Interest Groups produce a range of reports and guidance materials; for example, the Levels of Digital Preservation, the NDSA Storage Survey, and the NDSA Staffing Survey each serve to identify and communicate common needs of member organizations. In 2014, the NDSA published the inaugural NDSA Agenda for Digital Stewardship, a guiding document that outlines the challenges and opportunities related to digital preservation activities. Subsequent Agendas were published in 2015 and 2020.
  • Meetings and Events: Regional gatherings, meetups, and NDSA’s annual Digital Preservation conference are particularly important as professional development opportunities and as a means to connect and network a national community of practice for digital stewardship. See the NDSA Calendar for a list of NDSA meetings and upcoming presentations at conferences.
  • Knowledge Exchange: Regular briefings, demos, and webinars on tools, techniques, and approaches to digital preservation serve as ongoing professional development opportunities for staff at member organizations, while disseminating information about the tools and services many NDSA member organizations are developing. For a calendar of upcoming events, including Interest Group calls and presentation dates, see the NDSA Calendar.

You can read about past NDSA projects and activities on NDIIPP’s The Signal, and future ones in the NDSA category of DLF’s blog.

Key Resources

Questions?

For additional questions about the NDSA, its relationship to the DLF, or how to support either organization, write to ndsa.digipres@gmail.com.