The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Digital Commons has grown to rank among the nation’s most accessed online repositories of research materials.

Featuring 100,000 full text items supplied by Nebraska faculty, staff and students, the Digital Commons surpassed the 50-million download mark on Sept. 14. In a survey of other leading online repositories managed by other universities, the total downloads from Digital Commons ranks as the top site in the nation.

The milestone was reached through the stewardship of University Libraries’ employees Paul Royster, coordinator of scholarly communications; Sue Ann Gardner, scholarly communications librarian and professor; and Linnea Fredrickson, production specialist. The trio provide an in-depth knowledge of copyright law, which contributes to successful population of the platform on which Digital Commons is built.

Growth of the Digital Commons is also fueled by the team’s dedication to search engine optimization, which aids users in accessing information efficiently.

“We owe it all to the researchers, scholars and students who have entrusted their materials to us,” Royster said. “We hope they are happy with the global distribution.”

Digital Commons features an interactive map that shows paper downloads in real-time. Overall, Digital Commons is about third largest online repository of research materials in the world, comparable to similar systems at University of Illinois and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The University of California system boasts that largest online repository, with University of Michigan’s Big Blue ranked at No. 2 overall in total materials available.