The National Science Foundation (NSF) has worked to promote science, to advance health, prosperity and welfare, to secure national defense and more since 1950. Martek has worked with NSF since winning an original contract in 2012 and subsequently winning the re-compete. Now, NSF is relocating its headquarters from Arlington, Virginia to Alexandria. While the new facilities are impressive, the area allocated to the library is much smaller than the existing space. As a result, NSF needed to “downsize” and digitize its collection—and it needed the professionals with the right experience to make this happen.

NSF maintains a unique library collection, as it houses not just its own work, but also scientific and research data from other agencies. The massive collection is moving with the NSF, but much of it had to be digitized first to make the move possible. In addition to digitizing a large percentage of the works, the project also had to perform reconciliation analysis on duplicate records, validate all bibliographic information, have experience curating data for specialized STEM collections and more. The librarian professionals who could handle this process had to be incredibly specialized with master’s degrees, extensive research experience, an understanding of curating data for specialized STEM collections and more. As a result, this type of modernization is an enormous undertaking—and the NSF relied on Martek to provide professional support for this effort.

The professionals who are qualified to take on such a colossal undertaking are difficult to recruit. Martek’s project recruitment process is a proactive and ongoing initiative. The company focuses on establishing unique networks for recruitment. As part of this strategy, Martek’s professionals have spent years building relationships with top-tier universities. By working with these colleges, the Martek team has access to niche professionals. In this case, Martek was able to build a team that not only met the educational requirements, but also had the exact work experience and skills needed to successfully complete this project.

With Martek’s help, NSF’s entire library collection was audited and effectively downsized, on time. In just two years, the entire system has been modernized, much of the library’s collections have been digitized and the library has been completely prepared for a successful transition to the new facility. All support was provided on-time and within budget.