Core Services in the Architecture of the National Digital Library for Science Education (NSDL)

We describe the core components of the architecture for the (NSDL) National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library. Over time the NSDL will include heterogeneous users, content, and services. To accommodate this, a design for a technical and organization infrastructure has been formulated based on the notion of a spectrum of interoperability. This paper describes the first phase of the interoperability infrastructure including the metadata repository, search and discovery services, rights management services, and user interface portal facilities

A Spectrum of Interoperability, The Site for Science Prototype for the NSDL

The NSDL is a broad program to build a digital library for education in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. It is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education. (The initials NSDL stand for the National SMETE Digital Library, where SMETE is an acronym for Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education.) Several articles in D-Lib Magazine have described the vision for the library and the NSF's strategy for reaching that vision [Wattenberg 1998], [Zia 2001]. Currently, NSF is funding 64 projects, each making its own contribution to the library, with a total annual budget of about $24 million. Many projects are building collections; others are developing services; a few are carrying out targeted research