JSTOR launches new pathway from digitisation to discovery
Libraries and archives will receive new support to digitise and increase the visibility of distinctive collections through a new initiative from JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services, backed by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The initiative aims to help institutions move beyond digitisation projects and towards long-term discovery, access and impact for unique and special collections materials.
Launched in 2025, JSTOR Stewardship is a digital collections platform designed to help institutions preserve, manage and share distinctive materials. More than 350 institutions now participate in the programme, including more than 50 charter members that are helping shape the development of new tools and workflows.
Together, participating institutions have made more than three million items openly available through JSTOR.
Under the new initiative, new and existing JSTOR Stewardship charter participants will be eligible to receive direct support for digitisation activities before using the wider Stewardship infrastructure to process and publish collections.
Institutions will be able to use JSTOR Seeklight to process materials at scale and publish them openly on JSTOR, where they become discoverable through a research and teaching platform used by scholars and students worldwide.
JSTOR said the initiative is intended to create “a more public future for distinctive collections” by providing a clearer pathway from digitisation through to long-term access, discovery and use.
Institutions interested in joining the JSTOR Stewardship charter community can find further information through the programme’s website and accompanying blog announcement.