Why Contribute to Loyola eCommons?

What are the benefits of participating in Loyola eCommons?

• Increased citation rates
  Numerous studies have shown that articles made available in open-access archives are cited more frequently than those published only in traditional subscription-based journals, which means that your research is more widely used and makes a greater contribution to the scholarly record.
• Increased visibility
  Depositing your work in Loyola eCommons will make it more visible to search engines like Google Scholar. A listing of materials in Loyola eCommons is also regularly harvested by aggregators of academic information such as WorldCat, making it even more discoverable.
• Trustworthy preservation
  Computers crash, flash drives fail, and file formats become obsolete and unreadable. Ensure the longevity of your works by depositing them with a trusted archive. The University Libraries are committed to preserving works deposited in Loyola eCommons and making sure they are accessible for future generations of scholars.
• Simple, professional profile pages
  Contributors have the option to create professional-looking, easy-to-maintain online profile pages to showcase their publications and other content uploaded to the repository, link to a CV, display research interests, awards, and other information, and set up email subscription lists and RSS feeds to alert colleagues of newly available works.
• Go beyond traditional publishing
  Loyola eCommons is a great place to deposit materials that may enhance a journal article (data sets, images, etc.) but that may not fit into the traditional publishing model. It can also serve as an archive of materials not well served by traditional publication, such as presentation slides, gray literature, or field notes.
• Sharing simplified
  Loyola eCommons is an online repository of your research that makes it easy to share materials and keep colleagues up to date with your latest publications. Instead of sending files (not to mention tracking down the right version of your paper), send a link to the item in Loyola eCommons. Once you create an account, you can also create an email subscription list or an RSS feed to automatically send out notifications of new works.
• Get feedback on usage
  All contributors to Loyola eCommons receive an automatic monthly email that provides information on the number of times your works have been viewed and downloaded.
• Expand access to knowledge
  Works deposited in Loyola eCommons can be freely accessed by anyone, regardless of institutional affiliation, academic credentials, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other classification. Open access represents the democratization of information as a public good, and reflects the university's mission, which calls for "knowledge in the service of humanity" and "learning and leadership in openhanded and generous ways to ensure freedom of inquiry."
• Enable re-use and re-purposing of knowledge and data
  The proliferation of quality scholarly information and cultural heritage materials in an online, open-access, harvestable, structured format exposes connections between research, learning, and cultural materials, allowing new lines of inquiry and exploration, and serving as part of the foundation for developments in digital humanities, e-science, and cyberinfrastructure.