diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 508b6b30baa..9e4a8df6440 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ This project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.htm
 - Support Go 1.19.
   Include compatibility testing and document support. (#3077)
 - Upgrade go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp from v0.18.0 to v0.19.0 (#3107)
+- Add an `Attribute` field to the `Scope` type in `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/instrumentation`. (#3131)
+- Add the `WithScopeAttributes` `TracerOption` to the `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace` package. (#3131)
+- Add the `WithScopeAttributes` `MeterOption` to the `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric` package. (#3132)
 
 ### Changed
 
@@ -20,6 +23,8 @@ This project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.htm
 - The exponential histogram mapping functions have been updated with
   exact upper-inclusive boundary support following the [corresponding
   specification change](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/pull/2633). (#2982)
+- Attempting to start a span with a nil `context` will no longer cause a panic. (#3110)
+- Export scope attributes for all exporters provided by `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace`. (#3131)
 
 ## [1.9.0/0.0.3] - 2022-08-01
 
diff --git a/bridge/opentracing/bridge_test.go b/bridge/opentracing/bridge_test.go
index a64d6f73919..7286bd77823 100644
--- a/bridge/opentracing/bridge_test.go
+++ b/bridge/opentracing/bridge_test.go
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	ot "github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go"
+	"github.com/opentracing/opentracing-go/ext"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/bridge/opentracing/internal"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/propagation"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace"
 )
@@ -425,3 +427,44 @@ func TestBridgeTracer_StartSpan(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func Test_otTagsToOTelAttributesKindAndError(t *testing.T) {
+	tracer := internal.NewMockTracer()
+	sc := &bridgeSpanContext{}
+
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		opt      []ot.StartSpanOption
+		expected trace.SpanKind
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "client",
+			opt:      []ot.StartSpanOption{ext.SpanKindRPCClient},
+			expected: trace.SpanKindClient,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "server",
+			opt:      []ot.StartSpanOption{ext.RPCServerOption(sc)},
+			expected: trace.SpanKindServer,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "client string",
+			opt:      []ot.StartSpanOption{ot.Tag{Key: "span.kind", Value: "client"}},
+			expected: trace.SpanKindClient,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "server string",
+			opt:      []ot.StartSpanOption{ot.Tag{Key: "span.kind", Value: "server"}},
+			expected: trace.SpanKindServer,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			b, _ := NewTracerPair(tracer)
+
+			s := b.StartSpan(tc.name, tc.opt...)
+			assert.Equal(t, s.(*bridgeSpan).otelSpan.(*internal.MockSpan).SpanKind, tc.expected)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation.go b/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation.go
index 7aaec38d22a..4dcddb17809 100644
--- a/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation.go
+++ b/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation.go
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ func InstrumentationScope(il instrumentation.Scope) *commonpb.InstrumentationSco
 		return nil
 	}
 	return &commonpb.InstrumentationScope{
-		Name:    il.Name,
-		Version: il.Version,
+		Name:       il.Name,
+		Version:    il.Version,
+		Attributes: Iterator(il.Attributes.Iter()),
 	}
 }
diff --git a/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation_test.go b/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..634d1dfaf00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform/instrumentation_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tracetransform // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/internal/tracetransform"
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/instrumentation"
+	commonpb "go.opentelemetry.io/proto/otlp/common/v1"
+)
+
+func TestInstrumentationScope(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Empty", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Nil(t, InstrumentationScope(instrumentation.Scope{}))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Mapping", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var (
+			name    = "instrumentation name"
+			version = "v0.1.0"
+			attr    = attribute.NewSet(attribute.String("domain", "trace"))
+			attrPb  = Iterator(attr.Iter())
+		)
+		expected := &commonpb.InstrumentationScope{
+			Name:       name,
+			Version:    version,
+			Attributes: attrPb,
+		}
+		actual := InstrumentationScope(instrumentation.Scope{
+			Name:       name,
+			Version:    version,
+			SchemaURL:  "http://this.is.mapped.elsewhere.com",
+			Attributes: attr,
+		})
+		assert.Equal(t, expected, actual)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/exporters/stdout/stdoutmetric/example_test.go b/exporters/stdout/stdoutmetric/example_test.go
index 8a2528661dd..6dcf163c47f 100644
--- a/exporters/stdout/stdoutmetric/example_test.go
+++ b/exporters/stdout/stdoutmetric/example_test.go
@@ -142,7 +142,9 @@ func Example() {
 	//     {
 	//       "Scope": {
 	//         "Name": "example",
-	//         "Version": "v0.0.1"
+	//         "Version": "v0.0.1",
+	//         "SchemaURL": "",
+	//         "Attributes": null
 	//       },
 	//       "Metrics": [
 	//         {
diff --git a/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace/trace_test.go b/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace/trace_test.go
index 8f056460cdb..82bd2fcabd7 100644
--- a/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace/trace_test.go
+++ b/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace/trace_test.go
@@ -185,7 +185,9 @@ func expectedJSON(now time.Time) string {
 	],
 	"InstrumentationLibrary": {
 		"Name": "",
-		"Version": ""
+		"Version": "",
+		"SchemaURL": "",
+		"Attributes": null
 	}
 }
 `
diff --git a/metric/config.go b/metric/config.go
index 621e4c5fcb8..ddadd62f9f9 100644
--- a/metric/config.go
+++ b/metric/config.go
@@ -14,10 +14,13 @@
 
 package metric // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric"
 
+import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+
 // MeterConfig contains options for Meters.
 type MeterConfig struct {
 	instrumentationVersion string
 	schemaURL              string
+	attributes             attribute.Set
 }
 
 // InstrumentationVersion is the version of the library providing instrumentation.
@@ -30,6 +33,11 @@ func (cfg MeterConfig) SchemaURL() string {
 	return cfg.schemaURL
 }
 
+// Attributes returns the scope attribute set of the Meter.
+func (t MeterConfig) Attributes() attribute.Set {
+	return t.attributes
+}
+
 // MeterOption is an interface for applying Meter options.
 type MeterOption interface {
 	// applyMeter is used to set a MeterOption value of a MeterConfig.
@@ -67,3 +75,13 @@ func WithSchemaURL(schemaURL string) MeterOption {
 		return config
 	})
 }
+
+// WithScopeAttributes sets the attributes for the scope of a Meter. The
+// attributes are stored as an attribute set. Duplicate values are removed, the
+// last value is used.
+func WithScopeAttributes(attr ...attribute.KeyValue) MeterOption {
+	return meterOptionFunc(func(cfg MeterConfig) MeterConfig {
+		cfg.attributes = attribute.NewSet(attr...)
+		return cfg
+	})
+}
diff --git a/metric/config_test.go b/metric/config_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..359e14c0603
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metric/config_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package metric // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric"
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+)
+
+func TestMeterConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Empty", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(), MeterConfig{})
+	})
+
+	t.Run("InstrumentationVersion", func(t *testing.T) {
+		v0, v1 := "v0.1.0", "v1.0.0"
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithInstrumentationVersion(v0),
+		).InstrumentationVersion(), v0)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithInstrumentationVersion(v0),
+			WithInstrumentationVersion(v1),
+		).InstrumentationVersion(), v1, "last option has precedence")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("SchemaURL", func(t *testing.T) {
+		s120 := "https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.2.0"
+		s130 := "https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.3.0"
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithSchemaURL(s120),
+		).SchemaURL(), s120)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithSchemaURL(s120),
+			WithSchemaURL(s130),
+		).SchemaURL(), s130, "last option has precedence")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Attributes", func(t *testing.T) {
+		one, two := attribute.Int("key", 1), attribute.Int("key", 2)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithScopeAttributes(one, two),
+		).Attributes(), attribute.NewSet(two), "last attribute is used")
+
+		assert.Equal(t, NewMeterConfig(
+			WithScopeAttributes(two),
+			WithScopeAttributes(one),
+		).Attributes(), attribute.NewSet(one), "last option has precedence")
+	})
+}
diff --git a/metric/meter.go b/metric/meter.go
index 21fc1c499fb..b548405353c 100644
--- a/metric/meter.go
+++ b/metric/meter.go
@@ -24,15 +24,50 @@ import (
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric/instrument/syncint64"
 )
 
-// MeterProvider provides access to named Meter instances, for instrumenting
-// an application or library.
+// MeterProvider provides Meters that are used by instrumentation code to
+// create instruments that measure code operations.
+//
+// A MeterProvider is the collection destination of all measurements made from
+// instruments the provided Meters created, it represents a unique telemetry
+// collection pipeline. How that pipeline is defined, meaning how those
+// measurements are collected, processed, and where they are exported, depends
+// on its implementation. Instrumentation authors do not need to define this
+// implementation, rather just use the provided Meters to instrument code.
+//
+// Commonly, instrumentation code will accept a MeterProvider implementation at
+// runtime from its users or it can simply use the globally registered one (see
+// https://pkg.go.dev/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric/global#MeterProvider).
+//
+// Warning: methods may be added to this interface in minor releases.
 type MeterProvider interface {
-	// Meter creates an instance of a `Meter` interface. The instrumentationName
-	// must be the name of the library providing instrumentation. This name may
-	// be the same as the instrumented code only if that code provides built-in
-	// instrumentation. If the instrumentationName is empty, then a
-	// implementation defined default name will be used instead.
-	Meter(instrumentationName string, opts ...MeterOption) Meter
+	// Meter returns a unique Meter scoped to be used by instrumentation code
+	// to measure code operations. The scope and identity of that
+	// instrumentation code is uniquely defined by the name and options passed.
+	//
+	// The passed name needs to uniquely identify instrumentation code.
+	// Therefore, it is recommended that name is the Go package name of the
+	// library providing instrumentation (note: not the code being
+	// instrumented). Instrumentation libraries can have multiple versions,
+	// therefore, the WithInstrumentationVersion option should be used to
+	// distinguish these different codebases. Additionally, instrumentation
+	// libraries may sometimes use metric measurements to communicate different
+	// domains of code operations data (i.e. using different Meters to
+	// communicate user experience and back-end operations). If this is the
+	// case, the WithScopeAttributes option should be used to uniquely identify
+	// Meters that handle the different domains of code operations data.
+	//
+	// If the same name and options are passed multiple times, the same Meter
+	// will be returned (it is up to the implementation if this will be the
+	// same underlying instance of that Meter or not). It is not necessary to
+	// call this multiple times with the same name and options to get an
+	// up-to-date Meter. All implementations will ensure any MeterProvider
+	// configuration changes are propagated to all provided Meters.
+	//
+	// If name is empty, then an implementation defined default name will be
+	// used instead.
+	//
+	// This method is safe to call concurrently.
+	Meter(name string, options ...MeterOption) Meter
 }
 
 // Meter provides access to instrument instances for recording metrics.
diff --git a/sdk/instrumentation/doc.go b/sdk/instrumentation/doc.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6e923acab43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdk/instrumentation/doc.go
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+// Package instrumentation provides types to represent the code libraries that
+// provide OpenTelemetry instrumentation. These types are used in the
+// OpenTelemetry signal pipelines to identify the source of telemetry.
+//
+// See
+// https://github.com/open-telemetry/oteps/blob/d226b677d73a785523fe9b9701be13225ebc528d/text/0083-component.md
+// and
+// https://github.com/open-telemetry/oteps/blob/d226b677d73a785523fe9b9701be13225ebc528d/text/0201-scope-attributes.md
+// for more information.
+package instrumentation // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/instrumentation"
diff --git a/sdk/instrumentation/library.go b/sdk/instrumentation/library.go
index 246873345de..39f025a1715 100644
--- a/sdk/instrumentation/library.go
+++ b/sdk/instrumentation/library.go
@@ -12,13 +12,6 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-/*
-Package instrumentation provides an instrumentation library structure to be
-passed to both the OpenTelemetry Tracer and Meter components.
-
-For more information see
-[this](https://github.com/open-telemetry/oteps/blob/main/text/0083-component.md).
-*/
 package instrumentation // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/instrumentation"
 
 // Library represents the instrumentation library.
diff --git a/sdk/instrumentation/scope.go b/sdk/instrumentation/scope.go
index bbbed01c5b3..3001b6cc907 100644
--- a/sdk/instrumentation/scope.go
+++ b/sdk/instrumentation/scope.go
@@ -12,16 +12,16 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-/*
-Package instrumentation provides an instrumentation scope structure to be
-passed to both the OpenTelemetry Tracer and Meter components.
-
-For more information see
-[this](https://github.com/open-telemetry/oteps/blob/main/text/0083-component.md).
-*/
 package instrumentation // import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/instrumentation"
 
-// Scope represents the instrumentation scope.
+import "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+
+// Scope represents the instrumentation source of OpenTelemetry data.
+//
+// Code that uses OpenTelemetry APIs or data-models to produce telemetry needs
+// to be identifiable by the receiver of that data. A Scope is used for this
+// purpose, it uniquely identifies that code as the source and the extent to
+// which it is relevant.
 type Scope struct {
 	// Name is the name of the instrumentation scope. This should be the
 	// Go package name of that scope.
@@ -29,5 +29,14 @@ type Scope struct {
 	// Version is the version of the instrumentation scope.
 	Version string
 	// SchemaURL of the telemetry emitted by the scope.
-	SchemaURL string `json:",omitempty"`
+	SchemaURL string
+	// Attributes describe the unique attributes of an instrumentation scope.
+	//
+	// These attributes are used to differentiate an instrumentation scope when
+	// it emits data that belong to different domains. For example, if both
+	// profiling data and client-side data are emitted as log records from the
+	// same instrumentation library, they may need to be differentiated by a
+	// telemetry receiver. In that case, these attributes are used to scope and
+	// differentiate the data.
+	Attributes attribute.Set
 }
diff --git a/sdk/trace/provider.go b/sdk/trace/provider.go
index 3c8abb8c1aa..7498017903a 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/provider.go
+++ b/sdk/trace/provider.go
@@ -142,9 +142,10 @@ func (p *TracerProvider) Tracer(name string, opts ...trace.TracerOption) trace.T
 		name = defaultTracerName
 	}
 	is := instrumentation.Scope{
-		Name:      name,
-		Version:   c.InstrumentationVersion(),
-		SchemaURL: c.SchemaURL(),
+		Name:       name,
+		Version:    c.InstrumentationVersion(),
+		SchemaURL:  c.SchemaURL(),
+		Attributes: c.Attributes(),
 	}
 	t, ok := p.namedTracer[is]
 	if !ok {
@@ -153,7 +154,13 @@ func (p *TracerProvider) Tracer(name string, opts ...trace.TracerOption) trace.T
 			instrumentationScope: is,
 		}
 		p.namedTracer[is] = t
-		global.Info("Tracer created", "name", name, "version", c.InstrumentationVersion(), "schemaURL", c.SchemaURL())
+		global.Info(
+			"Tracer created",
+			"name", name,
+			"version", c.InstrumentationVersion(),
+			"schemaURL", c.SchemaURL(),
+			"attributes", c.Attributes(),
+		)
 	}
 	return t
 }
@@ -241,10 +248,7 @@ func (p *TracerProvider) Shutdown(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to load span processors")
 	}
-	if len(spss) == 0 {
-		return nil
-	}
-
+	var retErr error
 	for _, sps := range spss {
 		select {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
@@ -257,10 +261,15 @@ func (p *TracerProvider) Shutdown(ctx context.Context) error {
 			err = sps.sp.Shutdown(ctx)
 		})
 		if err != nil {
-			return err
+			if retErr == nil {
+				retErr = err
+			} else {
+				// Poor man's list of errors
+				retErr = fmt.Errorf("%v; %v", retErr, err)
+			}
 		}
 	}
-	return nil
+	return retErr
 }
 
 // TracerProviderOption configures a TracerProvider.
diff --git a/sdk/trace/provider_test.go b/sdk/trace/provider_test.go
index 39caf5a91df..6ec3df6794d 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/provider_test.go
+++ b/sdk/trace/provider_test.go
@@ -72,6 +72,28 @@ func TestFailedProcessorShutdown(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, err, spErr)
 }
 
+func TestFailedProcessorsShutdown(t *testing.T) {
+	stp := NewTracerProvider()
+	spErr1 := errors.New("basic span processor shutdown failure1")
+	spErr2 := errors.New("basic span processor shutdown failure2")
+	sp1 := &basicSpanProcesor{
+		running:             true,
+		injectShutdownError: spErr1,
+	}
+	sp2 := &basicSpanProcesor{
+		running:             true,
+		injectShutdownError: spErr2,
+	}
+	stp.RegisterSpanProcessor(sp1)
+	stp.RegisterSpanProcessor(sp2)
+
+	err := stp.Shutdown(context.Background())
+	assert.Error(t, err)
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "basic span processor shutdown failure1; basic span processor shutdown failure2")
+	assert.False(t, sp1.running)
+	assert.False(t, sp2.running)
+}
+
 func TestFailedProcessorShutdownInUnregister(t *testing.T) {
 	handler.Reset()
 	stp := NewTracerProvider()
diff --git a/sdk/trace/trace_test.go b/sdk/trace/trace_test.go
index 8d95782115b..8badccc4240 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/trace_test.go
+++ b/sdk/trace/trace_test.go
@@ -363,6 +363,16 @@ func TestStartSpanWithParent(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Test we get a successful span as a new root if a nil context is sent in, as opposed to a panic.
+// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/issues/3109
+func TestStartSpanWithNilContext(t *testing.T) {
+	tp := NewTracerProvider()
+	tr := tp.Tracer("NoPanic")
+
+	// nolint:staticcheck // no nil context, but that's the point of the test.
+	assert.NotPanics(t, func() { tr.Start(nil, "should-not-panic") })
+}
+
 func TestStartSpanNewRootNotSampled(t *testing.T) {
 	alwaysSampleTp := NewTracerProvider()
 	sampledTr := alwaysSampleTp.Tracer("AlwaysSampled")
@@ -901,6 +911,8 @@ func TestSetSpanStatusWithoutMessageWhenStatusIsNotError(t *testing.T) {
 func cmpDiff(x, y interface{}) string {
 	return cmp.Diff(x, y,
 		cmp.AllowUnexported(snapshot{}),
+		cmp.AllowUnexported(attribute.Set{}),
+		cmp.AllowUnexported(attribute.Distinct{}),
 		cmp.AllowUnexported(attribute.Value{}),
 		cmp.AllowUnexported(Event{}),
 		cmp.AllowUnexported(trace.TraceState{}))
diff --git a/sdk/trace/tracer.go b/sdk/trace/tracer.go
index f4a1f96f3d6..7b11fc465c6 100644
--- a/sdk/trace/tracer.go
+++ b/sdk/trace/tracer.go
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ var _ trace.Tracer = &tracer{}
 func (tr *tracer) Start(ctx context.Context, name string, options ...trace.SpanStartOption) (context.Context, trace.Span) {
 	config := trace.NewSpanStartConfig(options...)
 
+	if ctx == nil {
+		// Prevent trace.ContextWithSpan from panicking.
+		ctx = context.Background()
+	}
+
 	// For local spans created by this SDK, track child span count.
 	if p := trace.SpanFromContext(ctx); p != nil {
 		if sdkSpan, ok := p.(*recordingSpan); ok {
diff --git a/trace/config.go b/trace/config.go
index f058cc781e0..a7b7eab2172 100644
--- a/trace/config.go
+++ b/trace/config.go
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ import (
 type TracerConfig struct {
 	instrumentationVersion string
 	// Schema URL of the telemetry emitted by the Tracer.
-	schemaURL string
+	schemaURL  string
+	attributes attribute.Set
 }
 
 // InstrumentationVersion returns the version of the library providing instrumentation.
@@ -37,6 +38,11 @@ func (t *TracerConfig) SchemaURL() string {
 	return t.schemaURL
 }
 
+// Attributes returns the scope attribute set of the Tracer.
+func (t *TracerConfig) Attributes() attribute.Set {
+	return t.attributes
+}
+
 // NewTracerConfig applies all the options to a returned TracerConfig.
 func NewTracerConfig(options ...TracerOption) TracerConfig {
 	var config TracerConfig
@@ -314,3 +320,13 @@ func WithSchemaURL(schemaURL string) TracerOption {
 		return cfg
 	})
 }
+
+// WithScopeAttributes sets the attributes for the scope of a Tracer. The
+// attributes are stored as an attribute set. Duplicate values are removed, the
+// last value is used.
+func WithScopeAttributes(attr ...attribute.KeyValue) TracerOption {
+	return tracerOptionFunc(func(cfg TracerConfig) TracerConfig {
+		cfg.attributes = attribute.NewSet(attr...)
+		return cfg
+	})
+}
diff --git a/trace/config_test.go b/trace/config_test.go
index a4cafcbcd09..d46a8e137c6 100644
--- a/trace/config_test.go
+++ b/trace/config_test.go
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ func TestTracerConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	v1 := "semver:0.0.1"
 	v2 := "semver:1.0.0"
 	schemaURL := "https://opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.2.0"
+	one, two := attribute.Int("key", 1), attribute.Int("key", 2)
 	tests := []struct {
 		options  []TracerOption
 		expected TracerConfig
@@ -246,6 +247,24 @@ func TestTracerConfig(t *testing.T) {
 				schemaURL: schemaURL,
 			},
 		},
+
+		{
+			[]TracerOption{
+				WithScopeAttributes(one, two),
+			},
+			TracerConfig{
+				attributes: attribute.NewSet(two),
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			[]TracerOption{
+				WithScopeAttributes(two),
+				WithScopeAttributes(one),
+			},
+			TracerConfig{
+				attributes: attribute.NewSet(one),
+			},
+		},
 	}
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		config := NewTracerConfig(test.options...)
diff --git a/trace/trace.go b/trace/trace.go
index 3e009873219..97f3d83855b 100644
--- a/trace/trace.go
+++ b/trace/trace.go
@@ -503,17 +503,48 @@ type Tracer interface {
 	Start(ctx context.Context, spanName string, opts ...SpanStartOption) (context.Context, Span)
 }
 
-// TracerProvider provides access to instrumentation Tracers.
+// TracerProvider provides Tracers that are used by instrumentation code to
+// trace computational workflows.
+//
+// A TracerProvider is the collection destination of all Spans from Tracers it
+// provides, it represents a unique telemetry collection pipeline. How that
+// pipeline is defined, meaning how those Spans are collected, processed, and
+// where they are exported, depends on its implementation. Instrumentation
+// authors do not need to define this implementation, rather just use the
+// provided Tracers to instrument code.
+//
+// Commonly, instrumentation code will accept a TracerProvider implementation
+// at runtime from its users or it can simply use the globally registered one
+// (see https://pkg.go.dev/go.opentelemetry.io/otel#GetTracerProvider).
 //
 // Warning: methods may be added to this interface in minor releases.
 type TracerProvider interface {
-	// Tracer creates an implementation of the Tracer interface.
-	// The instrumentationName must be the name of the library providing
-	// instrumentation. This name may be the same as the instrumented code
-	// only if that code provides built-in instrumentation. If the
-	// instrumentationName is empty, then a implementation defined default
-	// name will be used instead.
+	// Tracer returns a unique Tracer scoped to be used by instrumentation code
+	// to trace computational workflows. The scope and identity of that
+	// instrumentation code is uniquely defined by the name and options passed.
+	//
+	// The passed name needs to uniquely identify instrumentation code.
+	// Therefore, it is recommended that name is the Go package name of the
+	// library providing instrumentation (note: not the code being
+	// instrumented). Instrumentation libraries can have multiple versions,
+	// therefore, the WithInstrumentationVersion option should be used to
+	// distinguish these different codebases. Additionally, instrumentation
+	// libraries may sometimes use traces to communicate different domains of
+	// workflow data (i.e. using spans to communicate workflow events only). If
+	// this is the case, the WithScopeAttributes option should be used to
+	// uniquely identify Tracers that handle the different domains of workflow
+	// data.
+	//
+	// If the same name and options are passed multiple times, the same Tracer
+	// will be returned (it is up to the implementation if this will be the
+	// same underlying instance of that Tracer or not). It is not necessary to
+	// call this multiple times with the same name and options to get an
+	// up-to-date Tracer. All implementations will ensure any TracerProvider
+	// configuration changes are propagated to all provided Tracers.
+	//
+	// If name is empty, then an implementation defined default name will be
+	// used instead.
 	//
-	// This method must be concurrency safe.
-	Tracer(instrumentationName string, opts ...TracerOption) Tracer
+	// This method is safe to call concurrently.
+	Tracer(name string, options ...TracerOption) Tracer
 }
diff --git a/website_docs/_index.md b/website_docs/_index.md
index a21cc50329d..a1ab8723779 100644
--- a/website_docs/_index.md
+++ b/website_docs/_index.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ This is the OpenTelemetry for Go documentation. OpenTelemetry is an observabilit
 
 The current status of the major functional components for OpenTelemetry Go is as follows:
 
-| Tracing | Metrics | Logging |
+| Traces  | Metrics | Logs    |
 | ------- | ------- | ------- |
 | Stable  | Alpha   | Not Yet Implemented |