Product Overview of JSTOR
Introduction
JSTOR, pronounced “JAY-stor,” is a comprehensive digital library founded in 1994 by William G. Bowen, the former president of Princeton University. It was conceived to address the challenges faced by libraries in storing and maintaining vast collections of academic journals, books, and primary sources.
Content and Coverage
JSTOR provides access to a vast array of academic content, including:
- Over 12 million journal articles across more than 75 disciplines.
- A collection of books, with over 15,000 current and backlist titles added since the launch of the Books at JSTOR program in November 2012.
- Primary sources, such as plant type specimens, taxonomic structures, and scientific literature, particularly through JSTOR Plant Science, which is part of the Global Plants Initiative (GPI).
Key Features
Full-Text Search and Access
JSTOR offers full-text searches of nearly 2,000 journals, allowing users to find specific articles and content quickly. The database includes archival journals, some of which date back over 200 years, although the most recent issues of many titles are not available due to a moving wall policy, typically excluding the last 4-5 years.
Multidisciplinary Collections
JSTOR features 28 collections of archival journals, including 13 multidisciplinary Arts & Sciences collections, one focused on life sciences, and others united by national or linguistic backgrounds, such as the Ireland and Hebrew Journals collections. Additionally, there are 12 discipline-specific collections for institutions with specialized research needs.
Data for Research
The Data for Research (DfR) service allows users to request datasets containing word and n-gram frequencies, as well as basic metadata, for corpus analysis. This service does not provide full-text access but is invaluable for researchers conducting citation analysis and text mining.
Access and Licensing
JSTOR is primarily licensed to academic institutions, public libraries, research institutions, museums, and schools, with over 7,000 institutions in more than 150 countries having access. There are also programs like the Alumni Access Program and the “Register & Read” service, which offer limited free access to archived articles for registered individuals.
Additional Resources
- JSTOR Daily: An online magazine launched in September 2014, aimed at bringing academic research to a broader audience by providing articles based on JSTOR entries and offering context to current events.
- JSTOR Plant Science: A specialized resource for botany, biology, ecology, environmental, and conservation studies, featuring content contributed through the Global Plants Initiative.
Functionality
Search and Retrieval
Users can perform detailed searches across the vast database, accessing full-text articles, books, and primary sources. The platform also integrates with other tools, such as the Folger Shakespeare Library, to enhance research capabilities.
Metadata and Data Analysis
The DfR service provides tools for importing and analyzing metadata, including functions for extracting article, author, reference, and footnote data. This is particularly useful for researchers conducting large-scale text mining and citation analysis.
User Accessibility
JSTOR offers various access models, including individual subscriptions to specific journal titles, institutional licenses, and limited free access through programs like “Register & Read.” The platform also collaborates with other services, such as Wikipedia, to provide reading privileges to established editors.
In summary, JSTOR is a robust digital library that enhances access to academic content, supports advanced research capabilities, and offers a range of features and services tailored to the needs of scholars, researchers, and students across diverse disciplines.