Anyone who is following our program, and our blog, is by now familiar with the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, our partnership initiative that was launched a little over a year ago. The members of the NDSA all share a common purpose, contributing to a collaborative effort to preserve access to our national digital heritage.
Since the NDSA is now growing steadily, it seemed like a good time to provide an update on exactly how MUCH it’s growing. The number of participants is a testament to the importance of this effort, and the dedication of the ever growing list of NDSA members. To date, there are a total of 94 organizational members, and 35 of these are the newest members, having joined since the beginning of 2011. And since there are new members joining on a regular basis, these numbers will only grow over time.
In addition to the overall coordinating effort, the current work of the NDSA is centered on specific activities in each of five working groups: Content, Infrastructure, Innovation, Outreach and Standards. All of our organizational members are involved in at least one of these groups (read more about what’s happening with the working groups.)
Carol Minton-Morris, Director of Marketing and Communications for DuraSpace (one of the original organizational members), and Co-chair of the Outreach Working Group, remarked on the importance of this kind of collaboration: “No single person, institution or organization has the power or resources to ensure the integrity of the digital scholarly record for future generations. The task is simply too big and growing exponentially as our digital culture expands.”
Having some direct involvement, such as through the working groups, helps the members to be invested in the overall effort. Minton-Morris says, “the NDSA provides us with the opportunity to be part of this national framework, creating awareness, passion and resources towards saving our collective digital memory.”
So, a big welcome to these newest organizational members, who are from a variety of areas: the university community, the commercial sector, consortia, federal and state government, non-profit, and professional associations. I’m sure you will be hearing about their good work in the years to come.
New Members (from January through September 2011):
COMMERCIAL SECTOR:
Archive Media Partners
E-Z Photo Scan
MAM-A Inc.
Munsell Studio
Tessella
CONSORTIA:
Center for Research Libraries
Council on Library and Information Resources: Digital Library Federation
Legal Information Preservation Alliance
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:
Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Technical Information Service
U.S. National Park Service
NON-PROFIT:
Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Hagley Museum and Library
Jefferson Institute
Rhizome
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION:
Council of State Archivists
STATE GOVERNMENT:
Florida Center for Library Automation
Hawaii State Archives
Montana Department of Administration/State Information Technology Services Division
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
UNIVERSITY:
Auburn University Libraries
Catholic University of America School of Library and Information Science
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Columbia University Libraries / Information Services
Cornell University Library
Emory University Library
Indiana University Libraries
Johns Hopkins University, The Sheridan Libraries
Michigan State University Libraries
Stanford University
University of Minnesota Libraries
University of Southern California
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Membership in the NDSA is free, and provides the opportunity for connection with other organizations committed to saving digital content. See the member page for information on joining this growing collaboration.