The National Science Digital Library & Shibboleth

What is NSDL?   NSDL: a digital library, organized in support of science and mathematics education for all levels

Digital Library Metadata  Standard resource info given to NSDL  NSDL creates a searchable catalog Data:  Links to described resources

Physical Library Metadata  Card catalog  Electronic catalog (e.g. NYPL’s LEO)  Other descriptive info Data  Books on the shelves

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics NSDL: ‘S’ stands for science, short for STEM

NSDL Teaching Tools  Authoritative results  Collaboration, interaction, participation  Curricular materials  Research results and data sets  Lesson plans and teaching aids  Textbooks, journals, video, audio, multimedia, etc.

NSDL Offers…  AskNSDL  NSDL Recommender  Approx. 200 NSDL Awards  300+ Collections, and growing  Aggregator of aggregators

Collection Highlights

Collection Development Policy  Quality = accuracy, appropriateness, relevance, and technical reliability  Editorial boards, peer recommendations, user annotations, or other processes  NSDL supports materials that support its mission: excellence in STEM education

Q: Why NSDL? What about Google or other popular search engines? A: NSDL offers authority and safety. For example, compare searches for keyword, “Venus.”

Venus Search on Google

Venus Search on NSDL

Levels of Access  Open access: freely available materials through NSDL.org; no registration  Personal access: access to proprietary materials requires affiliation with a subscribing institution. Benefits include customized or personalized services:  annotation  asynchronous services (e.g. )  synchronous services (e.g. chat/office hours)  personal selections (for teachers and students)  archival services

Shibboleth To personalize/localize access, NDSL advocates Shibboleth implementation  Consolidates administration  Provides single sign-on capabilities  Scaleable and capable of virtually any identity management need.

Single Sign-on  Enables login into multiple resources with a single username

What is Shibboleth ?  Shibboleth is software, more specifically referred to as middleware  Middleware is a layer of software that acts as a facilitator between a network and its applications, providing services such as identification, authentication, and authorization  Shibboleth was developed by Internet2/MACE. The current version is v1.2 Internet2/MACE

Shibboleth in Middle Schools  Funded with an NSF/NSDL grant, Columbia University is investigating the feasibility of implementing Shibboleth in a pilot group of middle schools  Columbia is interested in partnering with schools in its local community

Implementing Shibboleth  Software (Free)  Web Server  Java Servlet Container  Login system (local identity management)  Agreement with federation policies

Partnership Possibilities  Integration of NSDL resources into middle school science teaching activities  Professional development opportunities to guide teachers and administrators in the most effective uses of internet technologies  Understanding district privacy policies, practices, concerns, and emerging technologies  Pilot implementation of Shibboleth

Websites to Note    

Ways to Participate  Bookmark on school PCshttp://NSDL.org  Link to NSDL on school websites  Inform colleagues about NSDL  Promote student use of NSDL  Ask about Shibboleth

Contact Information James Burger, Manager, Subscriber Services National Science Digital Library (NSDL) (212) Columbia University 417 Watson Hall 612 West 115th Street New York, NY 10025