UPDATE: Elsevier apparently bought out bepress in 2017, but since I wrote the post, has integrated bepress into the home page that now comes up. I have contacted Elsevier to ask if any of bepress’s scholarly works can still be accessed.

SECOND UPDATE: Elsevier responded and there is no longer any access from home to the Digital Commons collection. However, it can be accessed from a library that subscribes, e.g. a large public library and many colleges and universities.

It seems like it’s been a while since I shared new GeneaGems so I’ve decided that once a month I will present a new GeneaGem. However, rather than sticking to genealogical resources, these GeneaGems will focus on social history.

That means that, rather than finding new vital record websites, this year’s GeneaGems will provide resources to tell more about the stories of our ancestors’ lives and will share lesser known websites that are more along the line of historical and cultural heritage.

January’s GeneaGem is Digital Commons at bepress. After having been asked more than once about ways to access college and university collections, particularly theses and dissertations, I came across Digital Commons by bepress.

The home page definitely doesn’t invite in genealogy researchers and is much more geared to university business. However, scroll down the home page and a short list of institutions appears. This website is free to use by accessing these collections.

Click on any of the institution names and the link will open their own home page. Choosing BYU brings up this list:

Towards the bottom of the list is Theses and Dissertations.

The client list for the Digital Commons network isn’t lengthy, but more and more colleges and universities are digitizing and placing online items such as theses and dissertations, photographs, historical collections and much more.

If you, as a family historian, are moving past the stage of “name collecting” and are looking to delve more deeply into exactly what life was like for our ancestors, scholarly publications are an excellent resource.

Digital Commons is one option, but if your institution of higher learning isn’t here, don’t give up. Just jump directly to the school’s website and look for library information. Many digital collections are housed there.