diff --git a/docs/contributing_readers.rst b/docs/contributing_readers.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b99b96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/contributing_readers.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+====================================
+Making a Reader for Your Application
+====================================
+
+DSI readers are the primary way to transform outside data to metadata that DSI can ingest. Readers are Python classes that must include a few methods, namely ``__init__``, ``pack_header``, and ``add_row``.
+
+Initializer: ``__init__(self) -> None:``
+-------------------------------------------
+``__init__`` is where you can include all of your initialization logic, just make sure to initialize your superclass. 
+Note: ``__init__`` can also take whatever parameters needed for a given application.
+
+Example ``__init__``: ::
+
+  def __init__(self) -> None:
+    super().__init__()  # see "plugins" to determine which superclass your reader should extend
+
+Pack Header: ``pack_header(self) -> None``
+---------------------------------------------
+
+``pack_header`` is responsible for setting a schema, registering which columns 
+will be populated by the reader. The ``set_schema(self, column_names: list, validation_model=None) -> None`` method 
+is available to subclasses of ``StructuredMetadata``, which allows one to simply give a list of column names to register. 
+``validation_model`` is an pydantic model that can help you enforce types, but is completely optional.
+
+Example ``pack_header``: ::
+
+  def pack_header(self) -> None:
+    column_names = ["foo", "bar", "baz"]
+    self.set_schema(column_names)
+
+Add Row: ``add_row(self) -> None``
+-------------------------------------
+
+``add_row`` is responsible for appending to the internal metadata buffer. 
+Whatever data is being ingested, it's done here. The ``add_to_output(self, row: list) -> None`` method is available to subclasses 
+of ``StructuredMetadata``, which takes a list of data that matches the schema and appends it to the internal metadata buffer.
+
+Note: ``pack_header`` must be called before metadata is appended in ``add_row``. Another helper method of 
+``StructuredMetadata`` is ``schema_is_set``, which provides a way to tell if this restriction is met.
+
+Example ``add_row``: ::
+
+  def add_row(self) -> None:
+    if not self.schema_is_set():
+      self.pack_header()
+
+    # data parsing can go here (or abstracted to other functions)
+    my_data = [1, 2, 3]
+
+    self.add_to_output(my_data)
+
+Implemented Examples
+--------------------------------
+If you want to see some full reader examples in-code, some can be found in 
+`dsi/plugins/env.py <https://github.com/lanl/dsi/blob/main/dsi/plugins/env.py>`_.
+``Hostname`` is an especially simple example to go off of. 
+
+Loading Your Reader
+-------------------------
+There are two ways to load your reader, internally and externally.
+
+ - Internally: If you want your reader loadable internally with the rest of the provided implementations (in `dsi/plugins <https://github.com/lanl/dsi/tree/main/dsi/plugins>`_), it must be registered in the class variables of ``Terminal`` in `dsi/core.py <https://github.com/lanl/dsi/blob/main/dsi/core.py>`_. If this is done correctly, your reader will be loadable by the ``load_module`` method of ``Terminal``.
+ - Externally: If your reader is not along side the other provided implementations, possibly somewhere else on the filesystem, your reader will be loaded externally. This is done by using the ``add_external_python_module`` method of ``Terminal``. If you load an external Python module this way (ex. ``term.add_external_python_module('plugin','my_python_file','/the/path/to/my_python_file.py')``), your reader will then be loadable by the ``load_module`` method of ``Terminal``.
+ 
+
+Contributing Your Reader
+--------------------------
+If your reader is helpful and acceptable for public use, you should consider making a pull request (PR) into DSI.
+
+Please note that any accepted PRs into DSI should satisfy the following:
+ - Passes all tests in ``dsi/plugins/tests``
+ - Has no ``pylama`` errors/warnings (see `dsi/.githooks <https://github.com/lanl/dsi/tree/main/.githooks>`_)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst
index 5b3df85..2f1f421 100644
--- a/docs/index.rst
+++ b/docs/index.rst
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ The Data Science Infrastructure Project (DSI)
 
    introduction
    installation
+   contributing_readers
    core
    plugins
    drivers