Earth’s frozen regions—its snow, ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and frozen ground—collectively form the cryosphere, a sensitive indicator of global climate change. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) paved the road for cryospheric data management, establishing its roots in 1957 as a World Data Center (WDC) for glaciology. In 1976, NSIDC widened its data holding to become the center it is today, winning the support of various institutions—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and NASA—as a trusted custodian of their data. NSIDC manages and distributes scientific data, creates tools for data access, supports data users, performs scientific research, and educates the public about the cryosphere.