Details NASA's (National Aeronautics & Space Administration (USA)) involvement in defining and testing the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) and experience with adapting existing NASA distributed searching DLs (digital libraries) to use the OAI-PMH and metadata harvesting. Discusses some new digital libraries projects that the OAI-PHM has made possible. Explains the strategic importance of the OAI-PHM to the mission of NASA's Scientific and Technical Information Program. (Author/AEF)