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Schulich Law Scholars reached a major milestone last month – across its entire digital collection, the publications it houses have now garnered more than one million downloads. This marks a significant moment for scholarly publishing at the Schulich School of Law.

Hannah Rosborough, instruction and scholarly communications librarian at the Sir James Dunn Law Library, joined the law faculty in 2016 and has been closely involved in building and maintaining the open-access institutional repository since 2019, when it was first launched.

“Reaching one million downloads in December highlights the power of open access to share legal scholarship far beyond traditional academic boundaries,” Rosborough shares. “Schulich Law Scholars has recorded engagement from users in more than 233 countries/regions in under six years; this is just one of the ways it demonstrates the global need for accessible legal research.”

From articles and book chapters to PhD dissertations and podcasts, its contents are available at no cost to users, making research accessible online to readers in every corner of the world; more than 5,178 publications are presently available, reflecting the breadth and impact of legal scholarship produced at the law school, and new material is being added regularly.

“This accomplishment reflects a shared commitment among Schulich Law faculty to remove barriers to access and ensure that their research supports meaningful engagement and real-world impact,” says Rosborough.

The repository also supports the open access publication of Schulich Law’s affiliated journals. These include the faculty-run Dalhousie Law Journal, which relies on Schulich Law students for copyediting, citation, and source checking, as well as the entirely student-run Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies. “Together, these publications account for approximately half a million downloads,” she explains. “Their open access availability has significantly expanded their reach."

The Schulich Law Scholars’ new research portal has further expanded the visibility of the faculty’s work. It was designed to make research easier to discover online, thus helping ensure that scholarship reaches its intended audiences – university and college students, academics, legal practitioners, journalists, policymakers, and members of the public.

“The new research portal highlights the breadth of research produced by Schulich Law faculty,” says Rosborough. “It showcases each faculty member’s unique background and credentials alongside their various publications, projects, courses, etc. The research profiles also affiliate faculty with the important work of our institutes within the law school, as well as with external collaborations.”

As the repository continues to grow, the one-million-download milestone stands as a testament to the law school’s collective commitment to openness, accessibility, and meaningful impact through legal scholarship.