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
Usage data in an AI world: key shifts, challenges, and JSTOR’s response
As generative AI reshapes how people discover and use scholarly content, traditional usage metrics no longer tell the full story. This post explores what “invisible use” means for libraries, how COUNTER and the wider community are responding, and how JSTOR is adapting to ensure library value remains visible in an AI-mediated research environment.
Publisher Collections on JSTOR: a new milestone for scholarly ebooks
Publisher Collections are now live on JSTOR, marking a new milestone for scholarly ebooks. Developed collaboratively with libraries and academic publishers, this new model offers perpetual access to a publisher’s current-year output alongside seamless access to backlist titles on JSTOR.
What’s new in JSTOR Stewardship: January 2026
The JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services community continues to grow, bringing together libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organizations committed to responsible, mission-aligned digital collections. This month’s update highlights new community members, recently shared collections, and conversations shaping the future of scalable digital stewardship.
Embedded AI in Practice: How Libraries and Platforms Shape Research and Instruction Together
A new “Against the Grain” article co-authored by JSTOR’s Beth LaPensee explores how libraries and nonprofit platforms can collaborate to develop responsible, transparent AI tools.
Shaping responsible AI in research: new Against the Grain article co-authored by JSTOR’s Beth LaPensee
An article co-authored by Beth LaPensee, Principal Product Manager at JSTOR, has been published in the December issue of Against the Grain. Written with Anne Grant of Clemson University Libraries, the piece examines how libraries and nonprofit research platforms can work together to design and implement embedded AI tools that support ethical, transparent, and inquiry-driven research and instruction.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville expands its involvement in JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services as a charter participant
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will join JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services as a Tier 3 charter program participant, expanding its partnership with JSTOR and helping shape the future of responsible, scalable digital collections stewardship.
Path to Open: Communications toolkit for authors
Get ready-to-use messaging, social media assets, and outreach guidance to support authors in promoting their Path to Open participation and showcasing the reach of their open access work.
JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services training: Project cataloging
Training for Stewardship participants (Tiers 2-3): catalog records, manage media, use linked fields, and organize work. One of three sessions in a monthly Stewardship training […]
JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services training: Project administration
Training for Stewardship participants (Tiers 2-3): create/edit projects, map publishing targets, manage users, and access preservation. One of three sessions in a monthly Stewardship training series.
Sign up for updates
Never miss a thing. Get updates from JSTOR delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message.
"*" indicates required fields