Knowledge Commons

Blue poster with the caption "Impact of Human Rights on development of National Legal System by Nyaay Shastra"

Here is a #ResearchSpotlight for those interested in how human rights shape national legal systems over time. Check out this piece by Nyaay Shastra on the impact of human rights on legal development: works.hcommons.org/records/xm61...

SPARC Webinar Recordings - SPARC

If you've missed any of our webinars, we have several archived for viewing at your convenience! Learn about basics of #OpenAccess & #OpenEd, #PIDs, #publicaccess funder mandates, #copyright and more here: sparcopen.org/our-work/web...

Brett Bobley Named 2025 AUPresses Stand UP Award Winner - Association of University Presses Honoring digital humanities advocate and funding champion Brett Bobley, former Office of Digital Humanities Director with the National Endowment for the Humanities

Congratulations @brettbobley.bsky.social on this incredibly well deserved honor for your incredible work at @neh-odh.bsky.social from @aupresses.bsky.social! aupresses.org/news/brett-b...

Why You Should Donate to Knowledge Commons: Insights from Our Team All last week as part of our Giving Tuesday campaign, we featured posts on our social media from our team members. We asked them to reflect on what is most impactful to them about working on Knowledge Commons, and why you should consider donating to support the Commons. Below you can read all of their reflections.

All last week as part of our Giving Tuesday campaign, we asked our team to reflect on what is most impactful to them about working on Knowledge Commons, and why you should consider donating to support the Commons. Read all their posts on our blog! about.hcommons.org/2025/12/08/w...

Knowledge Commons is an inviting space, open to all, where anyone inside and outside academia can contribute their work and collaborate – a space built and maintained with so much care. As an Infrastructure Developer, I enjoy working behind the scenes to enable our members to use our platform in order to make a difference in the world and I have the privilege to work with a team of like-minded individuals. The inspiration behind my decision to work for this project was an urge to support and help improve an open platform that was not owned by a big tech corporation that offers a tool for education just as a means to gain more customers. In today’s world, where scientific knowledge and research are under enormous threat, I believe that people who care about these issues are going to support Knowledge Commons and together we can see it grow and thrive as a sustainable and valuable resource to the world.

Knowledge Commons needs your support now more than ever. Donate today: givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

Blue poster with the caption "A Human Rights Approach to Climate-Induced Displacement: A Case Study in Central American and Colombia by Camila Bustos and Juliana Vélez-Echeverri"

Explore how climate-induced displacement challenges human rights protections in Central America and Colombia. This #ResearchSpotlight reveals the crucial role of legal frameworks in protecting vulnerable communities:https://works.hcommons.org/records/8xvk6-adz09

“Knowledge Commons provides an inclusive, welcoming space for scholars inside and outside the academy to engage in spirited, open intellectual discussion and dissemination of scholarship and research. So many contemporary digital spaces are depressingly enclosed by corporate interest. Knowledge Commons works differently. We are here to ensure that everybody can have their own space on the web to disseminate their work and to engage in vibrant debate with others. I work with a great team of people who keep the system running, build new features, and generally ensure that we can continue this enterprise. But we can't do this without ongoing funding. Your donation will help sustain and improve the Commons, ensuring that we continue to offer a radical, free, and open space for the dissemination and discussion of scholarship.” ~ Martin Paul Eve, Technical Lead

The small but mighty team that runs Knowledge Commons needs your support this week of #GivingTuesday. Donate today: givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

“In my time working with those on the Knowledge Commons development team, it's become apparent that the people who build and maintain Knowledge Commons authentically support the interests of those who wish to participate in research and open scholarly work. Knowledge Commons has improved consistently over the last several years I've been collaborating on this platform and holds promise to continue that improvement in the future. Consider your contribution to be a reinforcement of its continuity as an ever-improving resource for supporting those engaged in research and open scholarly work. If you have found Knowledge Commons to provide you any benefit at all, please contribute to its future.” ~ Grant Eben, Information Technologist and Web Developer

#GivingTuesday is over, but you can still support Knowledge Commons! We need the support of our users more than ever to keep KC, KCWorks, and hcommons.social available to everyone. Donate today: givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

Knowledge Commons NEEDS your support in order to build a more open internet. This #GivingTuesday, we would love for you to join us in ensuring that the over 60,000+ users who have discovered KC are able to help sustain our team’s work into the future. Donate today: givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

Poster with a backdrop of fists with the caption "Knowledge Commons Works Deposit Spotlight"

Kicking off a new #ResearchSpotlight series on human rights, featuring open access work that connects law, justice, and everyday lives. Explore open-access scholarship that illuminates the intersections of law, society, and human rights from diverse perspectives.

a penguin wearing a hat is carrying a stack of books including a book that says " tudgy 101 " Alt: a penguin wearing a hat is carrying a stack of books including a book that says " tudgy 101 "

🧵 (4/4) We'd love you to spread the word that we're an academy-led, non-profit project that is free and open to scholars around the world! 🌎

🧵 (3/4) Not in a space to financially contribute? You can...

📚 Upload to KCWorks and share on social media
🗣️ Encourage your colleagues to create a free account
💕 Talk to librarians, teaching and learning folks, and department heads about institutional membership: about.hcommons.org/institutiona...

🧵 (2/4) You can financially donate to us on our Crowdpower page! Help us reach our goal directly here: givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

a cartoon drawing of two hands making a heart shape Alt: a cartoon drawing of two hands making a heart shape

🧵 (1/4) Want to know more about how you can support Knowledge Commons on #GivingTuesday? We have a thread for you. 🙂

* | Giving to Michigan State University | Michigan State University Giving to MSU

🧵 (3/3) Donate directly to our #GivingTuesday campaign through our Crowdpower page! We're aiming to raise $5,000 that will help run our Mastodon server, cover web hosting costs, and contribute to the salaries of our team members. Every little bit helps! givingto.msu.edu/causes-to-su...

Quote graphic with text: "I love getting up in the morning knowing that I get to help build something that matters. I really believe in Knowledge Commons’ vision: providing a free, open, trustworthy place for researchers to meet, work, and exchange ideas. I think this kind of space is crucial to the survival of real scholarship at a time when corporate interests and political interference threaten our open dialogue. We need a place that belongs to researchers, is controlled entirely by researchers, and is accessible to people regardless of their geographic location or resources. If you have an internet connection, you can participate in a global dialogue and connect with other people digging into the questions that you care about. That’s something worth investing in, whether it’s energy, time, or the money required to keep it free and open.” ~ Ian Scott, KCWorks Lead Developer

🧵 (2/3) When you donate to us this #GivingTuesday, you’re giving back in a way that goes beyond our team and platform. You’re supporting the thousands of students, teachers, researchers, and scholars across the globe who have entrusted their work to KC, including hundreds of independent scholars. 💖

A Giving Tuesday Call to Action We know what you’re thinking: not another Giving Tuesday blog post. Believe us, we wish we didn’t have to add our voice to this week’s chorus, but here we are.

🧵 (1/3) Happy #GivingTuesday! Knowledge Commons needs the support of our users more than ever to keep our services open and available to everyone. By donating to KC, you are directly helping our team keep doing our work. You can read more on our blog: about.hcommons.org/2025/12/02/a...

Meme image of Bernie Sanders with text reading "I am once again asking you to support Knowledge Commons on Giving Tuesday"

🧵(5/5) Stay turned all week for more updates from us! We’ll be broadcasting a lot from our channels. 📢

🧵(4/5) By supporting Knowledge Commons, you’re ensuring thousands of scholars around the world can publicly view and publish research. If you want just a taste of what’s available to everyone free of charge, dive into KCWorks, our fully open access repository: works.hcommons.org

🧵(3/5) However, we can’t keep doing this work without the support of our user community. Please consider donating towards us this week for #GivingTuesday. Learn more here: about.hcommons.org/contribute/

Over the last 13 years, I’ve had the privilege of taking a series of highly idealistic thoughts – What if we had an arXiv for the humanities? What if scholarly societies hosted spaces for member-to-member communication? What if universities collectively owned and operated digital infrastructure for knowledge creation and dissemination? – and working with an amazing group of collaborators to make them reality. Knowledge Commons has required the input and participation of scholars, societies, institutions, and funders to achieve our collective goals thus far, and we’re delighted to be where we are today, with more than 60,000 registered members, with a next-generation repository making available research in more than 90 languages, with over 2,000 WordPress websites hosting journals, portfolios, conferences, and more – and all of that open to any knowledge creator anywhere in the world, free of charge. The environment for doing this work is getting harder, however. In order to ensure that we can continue to provide the services on which so many scholars depend, however, we need your help, at whatever level you can provide it. If you can afford to make a contribution, you can do so through our CrowdPower page; if you can’t, you can help us out by encouraging your organization or institution to become a supporting, sustaining, or participating member. Sustaining and participating members have a direct voice in governing the Commons, and thus can work collaboratively to ensure their own digital futures. We hope you’ll join us and help make the dream of values-enacted, nonprofit research infrastructures a reality for everyone.

🧵(2/5) Our tiny team of 4 full-time employees and one half-time employee are constantly working to maintain our existing infrastructure while also continuing to expand our offerings. All week on our social platforms, you’ll get to hear from our team members about why they love working on KC!

Knowledge Commons logo

🧵(1/5) #GivingTuesday is tomorrow, and we wanted to kick off this week’s campaign with a short introduction. 🔍

We're a nonprofit, academy-led project where our users have access to free tools in order to develop a profile, join discussion groups, build websites, and use our repository, KCWorks.

Me with a Humanities Commons platypus toy

Sorting my London office possessions and found the old Humanities Commons, now @kcommons.bsky.social, platypus!

Pale yellow flyer with brown lettering that reads "THE ROAD TO BRACKEEN: DEFENDING ICWA 2013-2023"

A decade of advocacy for Native children and families. Learn about the legal journey behind defending the Indian Child Welfare Act in our final #ResearchSpotlight for November: works.hcommons.org/records/42ka...

Pale yellow flyer with brown lettering that reads "Indigeneity and Early American Literature"

Tracing the presence and power of Indigenous voices in early American literature. Read this #ResearchSpotlight to rediscover the roots of American storytelling: works.hcommons.org/records/5t4q...

Pale yellow flyer with brown lettering that reads "Indigenous (Re)mapping of LA: On Diné Mediamaker Pamela J. Peters"

See how filmmaker Pamela J. Peters redefines Los Angeles through Indigenous storytelling and media in today's #ResearchSpotlight: works.hcommons.org/records/apqg...

Quote graphic that reads "Knowledge Commons cultivates open spaces for diverse communites to connect, create, share, and experiment. Together we work to transform global knowledge systems."

#GivingTuesday is right around the corner, and this year we're asking that you consider supporting open infrastructure. 🙏 If you want to get started early with your donation to support Knowledge Commons, you can learn more here: about.hcommons.org/contribute/

Pale yellow flyer with brown lettering that reads "'You cannot assimilate Indian ghosts' : a magical realist reading of Louise Erdrich's The Night Watchman"

How does magical realism reveal the unassimilated spirit of Native identity? Step inside Louise Erdrich’s world through this insightful analysis and find out more in today's #ResearchSpotlight: works.hcommons.org/records/3s4b...

Unpacking the balance between sovereignty and global human rights in Native contexts. Explore how today's #ResearchSpotlight studies legal and ethical discussions shaping the Native American experience: works.hcommons.org/records/mcvk...

KCWorks on WP Plugin Launches on Knowledge Commons The KCWorks on WP plugin is now available on Knowledge Commons! This block-based plugin makes it easy to embed citations from the KCWorks repository directly on your WordPress pages, whether you are using the KCSites platform or a self-hosted WordPress installation. KCWorks is an enterprise-grade repository for academic research, collaboration tools, and publishing support for scholars and institutions.

📣 EXCITEMENT ALERT 🎉 The KCWorks on WP plugin is now available! This block-based plugin makes it easy to embed citations from the KCWorks repository directly on your WordPress pages, whether you are creating a website on KC or a self-hosted WP installation.

🔗: about.hcommons.org/2025/11/17/k...