Scholarship from New York Law School’s esteemed faculty, collections of the School’s many publications, archival documents from the School’s history, and so much more have made their way around the globe as NYLS’s digital repository reached a new milestone: one million global downloads.
With its first upload going live in 2016, the NYLS’s Digital Commons is an online repository designed to provide open access to the research, scholarship, and intellectual output of the entire NYLS community. Along with preserving that material, the repository is a permanent home to a growing collection of archival material documenting our institutional history. The Mendik Library works in collaboration with colleagues around the School to steward the archive’s growth.
“I cannot overstate the importance of Digital Commons, our institutional repository,” says Camille Broussard, Associate Dean for Information Services and Mendik Library Director. “In addition to making our scholarly content available in an open access and central location, Digital Commons allows us to preserve, organize and showcase our scholarship and history more effectively, and ensures that our materials are easily findable by all internet searchers.”
Indeed, “an internet search for information on any of the myriad of subjects our faculty has addressed will bring the inquirer to our Digital Commons repository,” says Dean of Faculty William P. LaPiana, “which means that Digital Commons is the means for bringing the work of the NYLS faculty to the world.”
Since its launch, NYLS’s Digital Commons has seen steady growth—and then a steep uptick starting in 2020, when the repository reached its first milestone of 250,000 downloads. The repository crossed the million-download mark just under three years later.
“One million is an exciting milestone and demonstrates the tremendous impact our faculty are having on the research world in so many different areas of law and society,” Dean Broussard says. “We look forward to continuing to grow the NYLS Digital Commons for our next one million downloads—and beyond.”
“Knowledge and understanding are meant to be shared freely to build ideas, spread democratic ideals, and shape norms and values to advance humanity,” says Dean and President Anthony W. Crowell. “NYLS’s faculty, alumni, and students bring an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and experience to so many areas of the law, and Digital Commons allows us to have a global impact by celebrating and exposing worldwide the countless exceptional works we produce for all those who seek to learn,” he says.
Among the thousands of documents that have had impact far beyond the NYLS community are the ten most frequently downloaded papers:
- “Obtaining a Full Step-Up in Basis for Jointly Held Property Between Spouses,” William P. LaPiana, Marc S. Bekerman
- “Married Women’s Property Law: 1800-1850,” Richard H. Chused
- “The Struggle for the Rule of Law in South Africa (Symposium: Twenty Years of South African Constitutionalism: Constitutional Rights, Judicial Independence and the Transition to Democracy),” Stephen J. Ellmann
- “Bitcoin Financial Regulation: Securities, Derivatives, Prediction Markets, and Gambling,” Jerry Brito, Houman B. Shadab, Andrea Castillo
- “Hospitalized Patients and the Right to Sexual Interaction: Beyond the Last Frontier,” Michael L. Perlin
- “Defending Pornography: Free Speech & the Fight for Women’s Rights,” Nadine Strossen
- “Conditions of Personal Satisfaction in the Law of Contracts,” James Brook
- “Connection, Capacity and Morality in Lawyer-Client Relationships: Dialogues and Commentary,” Robert Dinerstein, Stephen Ellmann, Isabelle Gunning, Ann Shalleck
- “Critical Legal Studies versus Critical Legal Theory: A Comment on Method,” Frank W. Munger, Carroll Seron
- “Sex, Sin, and Women’s Liberation: Against Porn-Suppression,” Carlin Meyer
The Mendik Library at New York Law School
The Mendik Library is a vital part of the intellectual life of New York Law School, supporting the research and educational needs of students, faculty, and alumni. Dedicated professional librarians are always available to assist members of the NYLS community in finding the resources they need to successfully complete projects and advance scholarship.