Policies and Guidelines

NSDL policies and rubrics/checklists aid collection builders in the development of high quality materials for contribution to NSDL. NSDL policies cover the NSDL.org portal and any other sites or services under NSDL's administration. Other portals and services may have their own policies, which may differ. Users are urged to be aware of the relevant policies on the portals and services they use.

NSDL welcomes your comments and feedback on policies and guidelines. Please use the Contact Us form to provide feedback, entering "Policy feedback" in the subject line. Thanks!

Policies

• NSDL Collection Policy [.pdf]  (Jan 1 2012)
  This policy is a revised policy defining collection building practices and recommendations for NSDL. This policy should be referenced in conjunction with related quality rubrics listed below. 

• NSDL Accessioning Board (NAB) - as stated in the Collection Policy, the NSDL Accessioning Board is responsible for approving collections for accessioning and deaccessioning. The board is comprised of up to five (5) representative members of the NSDL and STEM education community (including educators and science librarians) who do not have explicit conflict of interest in NSDL collection or collection review activities. Nominations for membership in the NAB are solicited through NSDL community engagement mechanisms. Final membership of the NAB is confirmed by the NSDL Pathways PIs, as the primary core partnerships in NSDL.  The NAB meets when necessary. Board members are expected to serve two year terms. Terms of individual board members alternate in order to provide continuity. Board members should demonstrate interest in review of digital resources and collections and or be an experienced user of digital resources and collections, especially in educational settings.

    * Richard H. Audet, Ed.D: STEM Education Consultant, STEM Solutions, Inc.
    * Elizabeth Brown, Librarian: Binghamton University Libraries
    * Suzanne Larsen: Librarian: University of Colorado
    * Jo Ellen Misakian: Director, Educational Technology: Fresno Pacific University
    * Luti Salisbury; Librarian, University of Arkansas Libraries; Chair

• Privacy Policy [.pdf] (Jan 2008).   This policy is undergoing revision and updating, as of January 2013. The currently linked privacy policy is to the 2008 version and covers the privacy practices of the NSDL.org portal and those portals and services directly under the authority of NSDL. If you have questions, please contact us.

Guidelines, Rubrics, and Best Practices for Collection Building

• NSDL Collection Development Blueprint (Jan 1 2012) 

• NSDL Resource Quality Checklist (Jan 1 2012)  (replaces the prior NSDL Resource Quality Guidelines of February 2010) 

• NSDL Resource Metadata Rubric (revised June 1 2012) 

• NSDL Annotation Metadata Rubric (Jan 1 2012) 

• NSDL Paradata Metadata Rubric (Jan 1 2012) 

• NSDL Weeding Plan 2012, v.1  (Mar 14, 2012)  

• Best Practices for Metrics Collection and Analysis: Final Report of the NSDL Metrics Working Group [.pdf] (August 2010)

• Recommendations to the NSDL Community for Privacy Policy Implementation. This document contains suggestions and considerations to keep in mind when developing a website privacy policy.

• Contribute A Resource or Collections   Guidelines for contributing to NSDL, including Metadata Guidelines, which define the categories of metadata used by NSDL in describing educational resources for the provision of digital library services and the administration of those resources.