Digital Commons Showcases Montclair State Scholarly and Creative Works

For the first time, University research and creative works can be digitally accessible under the Digital Commons umbrella. Managed by Sprague Library, the recently launched institutional repository, Montclair State University Digital Commons, makes University scholarship available to a worldwide audience through an open-access environment.

Digital Commons is a hosted institutional repository platform that more than 500 colleges, universities and research centers subscribe to in order to collect, preserve and share their scholarly and creative output. It serves the interests of Montclair State – a national- and state-designated research university – by preserving and showcasing the work of faculty and University community members, as well as archival materials documenting the University’s history.

According to Dean of Library Services Judith Lin Hunt, the repository fosters scholarly networking and creative collaboration by making University research – and creative works – available to a broad regional, national and international network. “A professor in Sweden may discover a Montclair State professor conducting research in the same field – which allows them to collaborate and expand their network to a professor in South Africa,” she explains.

“By capturing the intellectual output of the University, the repository provides visibility and influence to a worldwide audience, which, in turn, opens up new avenues for further research and collaboration,” says Sprague Library Research and Projects Specialist Karen Ramsden.

With Digital Commons, the University community gains a useful tool for exploring past and current research, individual author and contributor profiles – and for supporting current scholarship and creativity.

Hunt and Ramsden are pleased with the repository’s reception. “While the site continues to be populated, as of May 2018, the site has been viewed in over 80 countries – with over 1,500 items uploaded and more than 2,400 downloads,” Ramsden reports.

Content can be searched by author name, research interest or department and is readily accessed by visiting the repository site at https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu . If you would like more information, please contact Karen Ramsden at ramsdenk@montclair.edu or 973-655-5276.