1

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

NSF NSDL: Where are We &

Where Are We Going?

Jane Chu Prey (jprey@nsf.gov)Program Director

National Science FoundationDivision of Undergraduate Education

2

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

National Science Foundation Organization

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R B IO L O G IC A LS C IE N C E S

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R M A T H E M A T IC A L A N DP H Y S IC A L S C IE N C E S

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R E D U C A T IO N A N DH U M A N R E S O U R C E S

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R G E O S C IE N C E S

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R C O M P U T E R A N DIN F O R M A T IO N S C IE N C E A N D E N G IN E E R IN G

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R E N G IN E E R IN G

D IR E C T O R A T E F O R S O C IA L , B E H A V IO R A L ,A N D E C O N O M IC S C IE N C E S

O F F IC E O F B U D G E T , F IN A N C E , A N DA W A R D M A N A G E M E N T

O F F IC E O F IN F O R M A T IO N A N D R E S O U R C EM A N A G E M E N T

D E P U T Y D IR E C T O R

D IR E C T O R

N A T IO N A L S C IE N C E B O A R D

3

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Education and Human Resources (EHR)

E lem en ta ry , S ec o n d a ry , a n dIn fo rm a l E d u c a tio n

(E S IE )

D iv is io n o f G ra d u a teE d u c a tio n (D G E )

E d u c a tio n a l S ys tem R efo rm(E S R )

H u m a n R eso u rc eD ev elo p m en t

(H R D )

E x p erim en ta l P ro g ra m toS tim u la te C o m p etitiv e

R esea rc h (E P S C o R )

D iv is io n o f U n d erg ra d u a teE d u ca tio n (D U E )

R esea rc h , E v a lu a tio n ,a n d C o m m u n ic a tio n

(R E C )

4

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

The NSF National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Education Digital Library (NSDL) ProgramPurpose

To create, develop, and sustain a national digital library to serve as an online network of learning environments and high-quality resources for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education at all levels.

Vision of the digital library• Designed to meet the needs of learners at all levels, in

both individual and collaborative settings• Constructed to enable dynamic use of a broad array of

materials for learning, primarily in digital format• Managed actively to promote reliable anytime - anywhere

access to quality collections and services, available both within and without the network

• Reduce confusion of the web and help people focus their time productively

5

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

NSDL Programmatic History

Digital Libraries Initiative (DLI) - NSF/NASA/ARPA, FY94-97

Digital Libraries Initiative - Phase 2 (DLI-2) - NSF/DARPA/NASA/NLM/LOC/NEH with Smithsonian, National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), FY98 - continuing

in UG Education FY98-99 DLI-2 Special Emphasis

NSDL ProgramNSF, FY00 - continuing

NSDL InitiallyOperationalFall, 2002

6

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

“The network is the library”

7

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

NSDL Connects

• Users: students, educators, life-long learners

• Content: structured learning materials; large real-time or archived datasets; audio, images, animations; primary sources; digital learning objects (e.g. applets); interactive (virtual, remote) laboratories; ...

• Tools: search; refer; validate; integrate; create; customize; publish; share; notify; collaborate; ...

8

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

NSDL Tracks• Core Integration

activities to focus on the coordination and management of the library’s core collections and services

• Collectionsprojects to aggregate and actively manage a subset of the library’s content within a coherent theme or specialty

• Servicesprojects to develop services to increase the impact, reach, efficiency, and value of the library

• Targeted research projects to have direct applicability to one or

more of the other tracts

9

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Core Integration

• Maintain the premier gateway to the digital library;

• Supplement and coordinate services developed to enable effective use of and access to the network’s content;

• Provide leadership in the development of standards for including resource collections and services in the library;

• Work with resource collection providers to establish a suite of review systems for inclusion of material;

• Coordinate the formulation of requirements for resources and services; interoperability, reusability, reliability, and stability;

• Seek out new resource collections to join fully, or otherwise be affiliated with the library.

10

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

www.nsdl.org

11

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Disciplinary-based themes defining a natural body of contentAccess to large real-time or archived data setsSoftware tools for analysis, modeling, simulation, or visualizationReviewed commentary on learning materials and pedagogy

Collections

12

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Collection Projects

Biology Education Online-An Interactive Electronic JournalDigital Community and Collections for Science and

Mathematics Teacher EducationA Digital Multimedia Library for Health Sciences EducationBEN: Bioscience Education NetMATHDL-A Lbrary of Online Learning Materials in

Mathematics and Its ApplicationsTHREDDS: Thematic Real-time Environmental Data

Distributed ServicesGender and Science Digital LibraryElectronic Encyclopedia of EarthquakesWater in the Earth System (WES): An NSDL K-12 ProjectComputing and Information Technology Interactive Digital

Education Library DLESE:Digital Library for Earth Systems Education:A

“Microcosm” of NSDL

13

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Services

Collaborative learning environments using shared resources

Mechanisms for building personal digital information spaces

Metadata system translation

14

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Service Projects

Improving Knowledge Transfer: Prioritizing Content Creation in Digital Libraries Using Competitive Intelligence Systems

Implementing an Electronic Peer-reviewed Journal of Earth System Science Education Resources (JESSE): A Pathfinder for SMETE Resource Peer Review

Collaborative Project: A Component Repository and Environment for Assembly of Teaching Environments (CREATE)

Threading Information Pathways Through NSDL Video (Services Proposal)

Breaking the Metadata Generation BottleneckThe Instructional Architect: A System for Discovering,

Recommending, and Combining Learning ObjectsPeer Review of Digital Learning Materials: Critical Service

for Digital Libraries

15

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Targeted Research

Digital library usage studiesUser interface construction and implementation

16

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Targeted Research Projects

Design and Evaluation of Maintenance Tools for Distributed Digital Libraries

Collaborative Research: Developing a Learner-Centered Metathesaurus for Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education

Developing a National Science Digital Library (NSDL) LibQUAL+ Protocol

Question Triage for Experts and Documents: Expanding the Information Retrieval Function of the NSDL

ReMarkable Texts: A Digital Notepad for the NSDLIntegrating Digital Library Resources into Online CoursesMetaTest: Evaluating the Quality and Utility of MetadataUsing Spatial Hypertext as a Workspace for Digital Library

Providers and PatronsEffective Access: Using Digital Libraries to Enhance High

School Teaching in STEM

17

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Project Characteristics

• Current domains include: various engineering disciplines, life sciences, geosciences, mathematical sciences, chemistry, materials science, anthropology, computer science

• Professional societies involved• Nascent private sector and publisher

involvement• Several formal collaborative projects (more

born at All-Projects meeting); all feature multiple PIs

• 28 with explicit pre-K - 12 links, 19 with strong potential for application to preK - 12

18

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

NSDL Program Accomplishments

• In the first two years of the program (FY00 and FY01) nearly 200 proposals were submitted and ~60 projects funded (~$40M) (core integration [1], collections [31], services [22], targeted research [4])

• Program in the third year (FY02); 156 proposals submitted in three tracks and ~50 funded (collections [34], services [11] and targeted research [6])

• All Projects meetings held in Sept, 2000 and Dec, 2001

• Third Annual All Projects meeting was just held December 2-4, 2002

• http://comm.nsdlib.org -- communications portal

19

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Issues/Questions

• In what ways might this virtual facility become a sustainable resource?

• New role for and relationship between librarians and faculty

• Implications for K-12 sector?• Implications museums and other informal

learning venues?• Implications for graduate programs?

20

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Issues/Questions cont.

• What about non-science, mathematics, engineering, and technology domains?

• International collaborations

21

Nati

on

al S

cie

nce

Fou

nd

ati

on

Conclusions

• Development of digital libraries is a huge challenge as well as a huge opportunity

• Full development of digital libraries will require international cooperation and collaboration across disciplines and across geographical boundaries

• We really don’t know what other exciting ideas are just waiting to happen!