Ashley E. Sands
Senior Library Program Officer
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The National Digital Platform (NDP) is an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) framework that broadly represents the combination of software applications, social and technical infrastructures, and staff expertise that provide digital content, collections, and services to all library and archives users. More specifically, NDP is an IMLS funding project category that has been in place for three years. This year, IMLS staff have analyzed the NDP framework and awards. Two core NDP axioms emerged from these analyses: 1) all libraries can collaborate on shared tools, services, and digital approaches to meeting user needs; and 2) collaborations and shared infrastructures will only be valuable to the extent they are anchored in library and archival principles. This presentation will further explain the importance of digital library infrastructures to manifest the core principles of libraries and archives as embodied in the American Library Association Core Values of Librarianship. Additionally, the presentation will be an early opportunity to recap the October 2017 NDP report and convening with the broader digital library community. The NDP team at IMLS includes Ashley E. Sands, Emily Reynolds, James Neal, and Stephen Mayeaux.