Membership Working Group

The Membership Working Group focuses on making recommendations to enhance recruitment and engagement with more diverse partners while also improving offerings to members. The Group has a two-year charge with the possibility of renewal and will be sending out a call for group members soon.

This group is the result of the Membership Engagement Task Force which conducted a survey and presented its findings and recommendations in the 2021 NDSA Membership Survey Report.

Contact the co-chairs with any questions: Rachel Appel, rappel [at] upenn [dot] edu); Stacey Erdman, staceyerdman [at] arizona [dot] edu.

Activities

  • Identify ways to increase membership engagement by making NDSA more accessible and inclusive. Increasing awareness that NDSA is open to everyone at every stage of their career.
  • Develop explicit criteria for evaluating potential members, clarifying expectations around authorized signatory. Formalize practices for reviewing membership applications, such as how and how frequently applicants are contacted for additional information before an application is rejected for lack of communication.
  • Explore alternative and additional membership models, including an optional paid tier of membership.
  • Formalize the Affiliate Member option for individuals.
  • Explore outreach and relationship building with regional digital stewardship organizations and NDSA student affiliate chapters with a focus on advocacy.
  • Pilot activities such as new member events to welcome new members and support their onboarding. Recommend ways to continue this after the group’s sunset.
  • Explore mechanisms for assisting CAPS with membership-related matters, including updating member contacts and assessing active/inactive status of member organizations.

Group Members

  • Rachel Appel (co-chair), Digital Preservation Librarian, University of Pennsylvania
  • Stacey Erdman (co-chair), Digital Preservation Librarian, University of Arizona
  • Jes Neal, Records Management Project Manager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Ian Collins, Clinical Assistant Professor and Digital Services Librarian, University of Illinois-Chicago
  • Max Prud’homme, Director, Digital Curation, Oklahoma State University
  • Hannah Wang, Digital Preservation Specialist, NARA
  • Thomas Pulhamus, Digital Technology Librarian, University of Delaware