Three Years In, the UND Scholarly Commons Grows Daily

Founded in September 2017, UND’s institutional repository, the UND Scholarly Commons, has become one of the library’s most popular resources! In September 2019 the Commons surpassed 100, 000 downloads. A year later, we’ve exceeded half a million downloads. 2020 has seen the addition of several notable collections to UND’s repository, including the North Dakota Law Review journal, The Road Less Travelled art exhibit, and the Why? Radio podcast archive.  

Additionally, many exciting new collections will be joining the Commons soon! The Chester Fritz Library is two months into collaborating with UND faculty on the NEH grant funded project “Strengthening North Dakota’s Humanities Infrastructure”. The $265,875 grant is being used to digitize several library collections relevant to North Dakota’s history, including the papers of Senator William “Wild Bill” Langer, transcripts from the Nuremberg trials, and government documents related to the five federally recognized Indigenous tribes in North Dakota; as well as to update a website for the Elwyn B. Robinson Special Collections department’s Bygdebok collection, a series of Norwegian town history books used for genealogy. Those interested in the project can check out the Nuremberg Transcripts collection on the Commons for early updates and keep your eyes open for more! 

Have questions about the Scholarly Commons? You can reach out to Zeineb Yousif, Digital Initiatives Librarian, or Ask Us using our 24/7 chat service.