Short answers, pulled from the story.
The National Science Digital Library was established in 2000 by the National Science Foundation. It was created to provide an organized point of access to STEM educational content gathered from a variety of digital libraries, NSF-funded projects, and national STEM stakeholder providers.
The National Science Digital Library is operated by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education. NSDL was transferred to that organization in 2014, and in 2024 it was incorporated into OER Commons as a Hub.
NSDL provides instructional materials, activities, lesson plans, audio and video materials, images, websites, simulations, visualizations, tools, and services. The library also collects paradata, meaning comments, ratings, and usage information attached to existing resources.
Access to NSDL.org is free and does not require creating a user account. Some individual content providers within the library may require a nominal fee or subscription for their specific resources.
The NSDL began as a collaboration among Cornell University, Columbia University, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). The library eventually became entirely hosted at UCAR in Boulder, Colorado.
The NSF ended its NSDL grant-making program in the Division of Undergraduate Education in February 2011, and did not issue an NSDL program solicitation for fiscal year 2011. The grant program had run from 2000 through 2011.