Our commitment as a nonprofit
As a trusted, nonprofit organization, JSTOR has made a commitment across our products and services to provide equitable, sustainable models to maximize access to knowledge.
Being an independent nonprofit uniquely allows us to operate between libraries and publishers and users, balancing their needs and interests—with the ultimate goal of providing equitable access to knowledge today and in the future.
Our priorities and approach
01
Provide affordable access for everyone
- We actively choose to keep fees low to reach more people, whether it’s our comprehensive model for journals and primary sources, or our diverse ebook models. We lead with our mission, one decision at a time
- Through the JSTOR Access Initiative, we provide free or very low-cost access to more than 1,500 institutions around the world
- With the JSTOR Access in Prison initiative, we provide JSTOR access to learners in jails and prisons
- Our free reading program makes scholarly journals accessible to everyone anywhere in the world, regardless of their ability to pay
02
Support sustainable open access content
Our partnerships with libraries and publishers help us grow open access through content and community initiatives that make more content discoverable and freely accessible worldwide, including:
- Reveal Digital, a collaboration with libraries to fund, source, digitize, and publish open access primary source collections from under-represented voices
- Path to Open, which offers a sustainable open access solution for libraries, supports the nonprofit university press community, and invests in authors, by making books in the program open access three years after publication
- JSTOR Daily, which makes scholarship more accessible through engaging articles and free teaching resources that enrich learning in the humanities, arts, and social sciences—each linking to open and freely available content on JSTOR
03
Lead the preservation of scholarship
- We have secured the needed rights to ensure content on JSTOR is accessible to libraries for the long-term, providing a trusted alternative to hard copies on shelves
- Our digital content can be readily converted to newer formats as they are developed in the future
- Digital files for the entire archive are preserved using the approach and infrastructure developed by Portico
- Our archives can be transferred to a third-party steward in the extremely unlikely event that JSTOR should ever cease operations
Advance scholarship and teaching practices
- Our faculty resource library provides comprehensive support for teaching and learning
- JSTOR Workspace simplifies research organization and citation
- JSTOR’s AI-enabled features empower students to do their work more efficiently and effectively
The latest from JSTOR
Newly opened Path to Open titles surpass 2025 usage in just five weeks
Five weeks after becoming openly available, the first 100 Path to Open titles have already surpassed their total 2025 usage—when access was limited to participating institutions. With usage up more than 580%, readership has expanded from six to 113 countries, underscoring the immediate global impact of open access for scholarly books.
Improving accessibility on JSTOR: what libraries and users can expect
With upcoming ADA Title II requirements taking effect in April 2026, institutions are closely evaluating how well their digital resources support access for everyone. At JSTOR, accessibility is an ongoing commitment, supported by new on-demand remediation tools to help ensure users can access the content they need, when they need it.
Assumption University selects JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services to manage, preserve, and share digital collections
Assumption University has selected JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services to preserve, manage, and share digital collections, strengthening long-term stewardship, discovery, and access for teaching and research.
The University of Wyoming moves to JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services to manage, preserve, and share digital collections
The University of Wyoming joins JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services as a Tier 2 participant, migrating key collections from DSpace to JSTOR for integrated management, Portico preservation, and expanded discovery.
“AI drafts, people decide”: How Goldey-Beacom College scales archival access and enriches student learning with JSTOR Seeklight
Goldey-Beacom College used JSTOR Seeklight to scale archival metadata creation with AI and human oversight—unlocking hidden collections while building student AI literacy.
The Disciples of Christ Historical Society will move to JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services and join charter community
The Disciples of Christ Historical Society will adopt JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services as a unified home for its digital collections and join the Tier 3 charter community.
The purpose of stewarding distinctive collections: discovery and impact
Preserving distinctive collections is essential—but preservation alone doesn’t guarantee impact. In today’s digital research environment, discovery determines whether primary sources are found, used, and meaningfully integrated into scholarship and teaching. This post explores why platform choice now plays a central role in turning stewardship into impact.
JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services training: Advanced features
Webinar time is based in EST. Training for Stewardship participants (Tiers 2-3): use Collection Builder, organize related content, and use lists. One of three sessions in a monthly Stewardship training series.
North Shore Community College joins JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services charter community
North Shore Community College has joined the JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services charter community as a Tier 3 participant, becoming the first community college to help shape JSTOR Seeklight and future stewardship practices.
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