Scholarly Commons @CWRU, an online archive that provides access to scholarly output from Case Western Reserve University, has reached an impressive milestone of more than 1,000 downloads.
“I’m very excited about reaching this milestone so quickly,” said Scholarly Communication and Copyright Librarian Karen Caputo. “It shows the global interest in scholarship and research occurring at Case Western Reserve University.”
Since its launch in November 2022, faculty works have been downloaded by Scholarly Commons readers in 78 different countries and across most continents.
“Most of our downloads are coming from educational institutions in North America and Europe,” said Caputo. “But, readers from international and local companies, organizations and governments are also accessing scholarship on the site.”
She said the data shows most readers are finding Scholarly Commons through Google and Google Scholar searches. Scholarly Commons is an open-access repository, meaning that its content is freely available to anyone around the world.
“Part of my role on campus is to advocate for open access to research and scholarship because it increases visibility and access to a global audience regardless of institutional affiliations or financial means,” said Caputo. “I hope this increases faculty support for the proposed Faculty Open Access Policy.”
She added that faculty interested in learning more about the proposed policy can join a virtual information session Tuesday, June 27, from 1 to 2 p.m.
Faculty interested in submitting works should follow these guidelines:
- Works can be published—such as journal articles and books—or unpublished, such as white papers,
- Submit work through the repository's online submission page or via email at digitalcommons@case.edu,
- A librarian will review each submission, including rights checks, to ensure compliance with publisher agreements where applicable.
When faculty add their work to the repository, they gain access to an author dashboard and receive monthly updates to monitor the impact of their scholarship.
With Scholarly Commons @CWRU now serving as the home for scholarly output, the library’s pre-existing repository, Digital Case, remains active to hold Kelvin Smith Library’s archival and special collections.