UK Libraries Broadens UK’s Global Reach, Supports Open Access Research Through UKnowledge

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 24, 2023) — As part of its celebration of International Open Access Week, UK Libraries is spotlighting UKnowledge, its open access institutional repository that makes research from all disciplines available to a national and global audience.

In addition to holding electronic student theses and dissertations, UKnowledge is a platform for hosting open textbooks, journals and special exhibits, conference proceedings and presentations, and research data. Published works that first appear on UKnowledge are assigned a digital object identifier (DOI) so that they are more easily discovered and cited.

“UKnowledge is an exciting and versatile publishing platform that is unique in several ways,” says Kyle Bachman-Johnson, UKnowledge library specialist. “It accepts virtually all file formats, encourages self submission, and provides depositors with monthly metrics updates via email. Virtually every contribution is full text downloadable. Digital Commons enables any group to publish an open access journal and to find support through the full editorial and publishing cycle. UKnowledge takes the UK community’s scholarly and creative work well beyond academia and allows it to be accessed anywhere, any time.”

Since its establishment in 2011, the institutional repository has grown to more than 47,000 research outputs, which users have downloaded more than 14.5 million times. In the past year, more than 1.6 million papers have been downloaded in over 200 countries and territories, in disciplines ranging from architecture and the humanities to engineering and the health sciences. While many users come from the United States, many also access UKnowledge resources from the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines and Singapore.

“What impresses me about UKnowledge is the tremendous number of scholarly contributions to the repository as well as its reach across the Commonwealth and beyond to an active international audience,” says Jennifer Hootman, UK libraries coordinator of Digital Scholarship & Data. “The diversity of unique, intellectual content preserved, shared, and accessed in our institutional repository is a testament to the positive, global impact of UK scholarship and our commitment to the continual democratization of knowledge.”

Some of the most popular papers on UKnowledge include health services commonly provided by local health departments, structural racism and the law, and farm machinery field capacities.

The repository also indexes and makes available videos from UK researchers, such as Professor Gregg Rentfrow’s video explaining how to cure a country ham, which has been viewed 1.8 million times on YouTube.

The open access licensing of UKnowledge’s resources not only benefits the public by providing high-quality research at no cost, but also helps researchers by increasing the impact and reach of their work.

UK researchers interested in depositing their past or current research into UKnowledge can learn more on the Submit Your Research page or by emailing UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.

All UK students, faculty and staff are invited to find out more about UK Libraries’ open access resources at a free, drop-in event on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the lobby of William T. Young Library.

Stop by to meet your open access librarians and learn more about publishing your scholarly and creative work, accessing open datasets, and reducing costs for your classes using open educational resources, including the Alternative Textbook Grant Program.

As the premier research library in the Commonwealth, UK Libraries empowers lifelong learners to discover, create and connect by providing ever-expanding access to quality information and collaborating with academic and creative communities worldwide to advance knowledge, enhance scholarship, and preserve the history and culture of the Commonwealth. More information about UK Libraries can be found on its website.