diff --git a/datamodel/copy.go b/datamodel/copy.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b237fd4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/datamodel/copy.go
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+package datamodel
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+// Copy does an explicit shallow copy of a Node's data into a NodeAssembler.
+//
+// This can be used to flip data from one memory layout to another
+// (for example, from basicnode to using using bindnode,
+// or to codegenerated node implementations,
+// or to or from ADL nodes, etc).
+//
+// The copy is implemented by ranging over the contents if it's a recursive kind,
+// and for each of them, using `AssignNode` on the child values;
+// for scalars, it's just calling the appropriate `Assign*` method.
+//
+// Many NodeAssembler implementations use this as a fallback behavior in their
+// `AssignNode` method (that is, they call to this function after all other special
+// faster shortcuts they might prefer to employ, such as direct struct copying
+// if they share internal memory layouts, etc, have been tried already).
+//
+func Copy(n Node, na NodeAssembler) error {
+	switch n.Kind() {
+	case Kind_Null:
+		if n.IsAbsent() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("copying an absent node makes no sense")
+		}
+		return na.AssignNull()
+	case Kind_Bool:
+		v, err := n.AsBool()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsBool method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignBool(v)
+	case Kind_Int:
+		v, err := n.AsInt()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsInt method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignInt(v)
+	case Kind_Float:
+		v, err := n.AsFloat()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsFloat method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignFloat(v)
+	case Kind_String:
+		v, err := n.AsString()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsString method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignString(v)
+	case Kind_Bytes:
+		v, err := n.AsBytes()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsBytes method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignBytes(v)
+	case Kind_Link:
+		v, err := n.AsLink()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("node violated contract: promised to be %v kind, but AsLink method returned %w", n.Kind(), err)
+		}
+		return na.AssignLink(v)
+	case Kind_Map:
+		ma, err := na.BeginMap(n.Length())
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		itr := n.MapIterator()
+		for !itr.Done() {
+			k, v, err := itr.Next()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if v.IsAbsent() {
+				continue
+			}
+			if err := ma.AssembleKey().AssignNode(k); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if err := ma.AssembleValue().AssignNode(v); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+		return ma.Finish()
+	case Kind_List:
+		la, err := na.BeginList(n.Length())
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		itr := n.ListIterator()
+		for !itr.Done() {
+			_, v, err := itr.Next()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			if v.IsAbsent() {
+				continue
+			}
+			if err := la.AssembleValue().AssignNode(v); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+		return la.Finish()
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("node has invalid kind %v", n.Kind())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/datamodel/nodeBuilder.go b/datamodel/nodeBuilder.go
index c29bea1c..ed3f9558 100644
--- a/datamodel/nodeBuilder.go
+++ b/datamodel/nodeBuilder.go
@@ -3,16 +3,36 @@ package datamodel
 // NodeAssembler is the interface that describes all the ways we can set values
 // in a node that's under construction.
 //
-// To create a Node, you should start with a NodeBuilder (which contains a
+// A NodeAssembler is about filling in data.
+// To create a new Node, you should start with a NodeBuilder (which contains a
 // superset of the NodeAssembler methods, and can return the finished Node
 // from its `Build` method).
+// While continuing to build a recursive structure from there,
+// you'll see NodeAssembler for all the child values.
+//
+// For filling scalar data, there's a `Assign{Kind}` method for each kind;
+// after calling one of these methods, the data is filled in, and the assembler is done.
+// For recursives, there are `BeginMap` and `BeginList` methods,
+// which return an object that needs further manipulation to fill in the contents.
+//
+// There is also one special method: `AssignNode`.
+// `AssignNode` takes another `Node` as a parameter,
+// and should should internally call one of the other `Assign*` or `Begin*` (and subsequent) functions
+// as appropriate for the kind of the `Node` it is given.
+// This is roughly equivalent to using the `Copy` function (and is often implemented using it!), but
+// `AssignNode` may also try to take faster shortcuts in some implementations, when it detects they're possible.
+// (For example, for typed nodes, if they're the same type, lots of checking can be skipped.
+// For nodes implemented with pointers, lots of copying can be skipped.
+// For nodes that can detect the argument has the same memory layout, faster copy mechanisms can be used; etc.)
 //
 // Why do both this and the NodeBuilder interface exist?
-// When creating trees of nodes, recursion works over the NodeAssembler interface.
-// This is important to efficient library internals, because avoiding the
+// In short: NodeBuilder is when you want to cause an allocation;
+// NodeAssembler can be used to just "fill in" memory.
+// (In the internal gritty details: separate interfaces, one of which lacks a
+// `Build` method, helps us write efficient library internals: avoiding the
 // requirement to be able to return a Node at any random point in the process
 // relieves internals from needing to implement 'freeze' features.
-// (This is useful in turn because implementing those 'freeze' features in a
+// This is useful in turn because implementing those 'freeze' features in a
 // language without first-class/compile-time support for them (as golang is)
 // would tend to push complexity and costs to execution time; we'd rather not.)
 type NodeAssembler interface {
@@ -69,7 +89,8 @@ type MapAssembler interface {
 	// just feed data and check errors), but it's here.
 	//
 	// For all Data Model maps, this will answer with a basic concept of "string".
-	// For Schema typed maps, this may answer with a more complex type (potentially even a struct type).
+	// For Schema typed maps, this may answer with a more complex type
+	// (potentially even a struct type or union type -- anything that can have a string representation).
 	KeyPrototype() NodePrototype
 
 	// ValuePrototype returns a NodePrototype that knows how to build values this map can contain.