Below are highlights of the product updates and fixes released for Digital Commons in 2022 and 2023. Please feel free to contact Consulting Services with any questions.

Digital Commons Data

December 2023 

Institution affiliation metadata improvements: We are continuing to improve the metadata captured in each dataset and propagated to repositories like DataCite and OAI-PMH, aligning DC Data to the other repositories that are collaborating with the NIH as part of the Generalist Repository Ecosystem Initiative.

As part of this project, we have enriched the dataset metadata in DCD with institution IDs from ROR (Research Organisation Registry) and we have started exposing institutional affiliation metadata to DataCite and OAI-PMH.

May 2023

ID+ Integration: Digital Commons Data has been offering SSO unified access to DCD and other Elsevier products via Elsevier’s identity platform (ID+) since the start. This release introduces a new direct integration between DC Data and ID+ which gives customers more flexibility in determining who has access to the platform (all users within one domains, restricted ‘allow list’ of users, users from multiple domains).

Digital Commons Exhibits

July 2023

Scrolling Exhibits general release: DCX now offers scrolling exhibits to build engaging narratives with dynamic images and text on a single, scrolling page. Read the announcement: Announcing Scrolling Exhibits: Now Available with Upgraded DCX Licenses! 

Digital Commons Institutional Repository

November 2023

Accessibility improvements to fully support WCAG 2.1 A or AA criteria: The last several months, we've been working on accessibility remediations for DC public-facing pages. This month's focus is the Info Structure and Relationships criterion.

October 2023

Added new share buttons: Replaced now-defunct AddThis widget. 

DCIR Platform is OpenAIRE 4.0 Compliant: Customers will need to set up and populate the metadata fields that are mandatory to be exposed through OpenAIRE 4.0. Once this is done they will need to register for OpenAIRE4.0 for the metadata to be harvested. We are looking for customers interested in testing this feature, please let your Consultant know if you are interested. 

Accessibility improvements for WCAG 2.1: Contrast (Minimum) in cookies banner, including background and link color, and close button hover color.

August-September 2023

Accessibility improvements for WCAG 2.1: Labels or Instructions criterion.

June-July 2023

Fix author names in search: Improvement to limit results to those matching both first and last name.

Upgrade to Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2: Upgraded to the newest version of TLS communication encryption protocol.

Other security enhancements: Additional improvements for common vulnerabilities.

Digital Commons Journals

December 2023

Beta Release of Modern Journals UI to beta testers: These non-public landing pages use APIs to dynamically populate new content and include editing tools to support customization. The beta release sets the stage for a general release with increased functionality later in 2024.

July 2023

Find Reviewers using Scopus: We are offering improved reviewer finding for Digital Commons journals that use Editorial Manager (Premier and Professional+EM tiers). Editorial Manager sites are now integrated with Find Reviewers using Scopus, which provides a powerful tool that helps editors expand their reviewer bases and save time with peer review workflows.