September 14, 2012
OpenSIUC hits milestone in downloads
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In just four years OpenSIUC, Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s institutional repository of scholarly research and creative output, has logged its one-millionth download.
Morris Library funds and manages the resource that houses a collection of more than 8,000 materials produced by faculty and students. The virtual library includes journal articles, conference presentations, technical reports, theses, dissertations, and much more. The collection also includes locally produced journals including “The Psychological Record,” “Kaleidoscope” and “The Online Journal of Workforce Education.”
“I have been extremely impressed with the number of downloads of Honors students’ work. Many are proud and happy that their honors theses are reaching such a large audience. OpenSIUC provides access to important work being done at our institution. The numbers clearly indicate that people are interested in what we do at SIU,” said Lori Merrill-Fink, director of the University Honors Program.
OpenSIUC went online in Sept. 2008, and hit the one million mark for downloads this month. More than 2,000 featured documents have logged at least 100 downloads. If not for this resource, library officials say much of the material would find a limited audience. It is now accessible to anyone in the world with an Internet connection, and expands the visibility and reach of the University’s research and scholarship.
“’The Psychological Record’ has a distinguished history of disseminating innovative research from renowned behavioral psychologists in the absence of administration by a professional organization. OpenSIUC has thus been monumental in the journal’s dissemination of cutting-edge research to people all over the globe in recent years. I am grateful to have had OpenSIUC as a partner and collaborator,” said Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, editor of the journal.
More information about OpenSIUC is available by visiting opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/.