Overview
JSTOR (short for “journal storage”) is a digital database comprising numerous sources valuable for academic purposes. The sources include articles in peer-reviewed journals, e-books, 19th-century pamphlets, and others (JSTOR, 2021e). The database was founded in 1995 to produce digital archives for scholarship (“JSTOR FAQ,” n.d.). Its proclaimed mission is creating “a platform for discovering and connecting research, images, and primary sources” (JSTOR, 2021d.) As of now, JSTOR is a widely used database offering a plethora of information for those interested in a wide array of scholarly topics.
Relevant Details
JSTOR database can be accessed at the URL jstor.org. It mainly offers printed sources scanned with optical character recognition (OCR) for easy digital search and overall operability (Sanfilippo, 2016; Schonfeld, 2003). It offers much of its content for free, and the rest is available through a subscription, generally from an academic institution (JSTOR, 2021a; JSTOR, 2021b.) Google account is sufficient for individual use and allows reading up to 100 articles per month without charge (JSTOR, 2021c.) Overall, JSTOR provides great opportunities for individuals, but an institutional subscription would be best to make the most out of it.
Explanation of Value
Education and research are directly based on the knowledge amassed by the previous generations of scholars. JSTOR provides access to a considerable subset of this knowledge, which explains why it is currently used as a resource in more than 11,000 educational institutions around the world (US Department of the Interior, n.d.). Research suggests that the use of digital databases correlates with better academic outcomes (Soria et al., 2017). As such, JSTOR can be a valuable asset for a student to acquire academic sources on a necessary topic for either specific assignments or general education.
Overall Recommendation
JSTOR is a useful resource for any scholarly pursuits and should definitely be used by college students. Even without an institutional subscription, it still offers easy access to a considerable number of research items for free. Apart from that, it is intuitive, easy to use, and does not require anything more than a Google account for an individual user.
References
JSTOR. (2021a). About JSTOR. JSTOR.
JSTOR. (2021b). How to use JSTOR (for students). JSTOR.
JSTOR. (2021c). JSTOR resources during COVID-19. JSTOR.
JSTOR. (2021d). Mission and history. JSTOR.
JSTOR. (2021e). What’s in JSTOR. JSTOR.
JSTOR FAQs. (n.d.). National Louis University.
Sanfilippo, T. (2016). Production, marketing, and legal challenges: The university press perspective of e-books in libraries. In S. M. Ward, R. S. Freeman, & J. M. Nixon, Academic e-books: Publishers, librarians, and users, pp. 51-62. Purdue UP.
Sconfeld, R. C. (2003). JSTOR: A history. Princeton UP.
Soria, K, M., Fransen, J., & Nackerud, C. (2017). Beyond books: The extended academic benefits of library use for first-year college students. College & Research Libraries, 78(1), 8-22.
US Department of the Interior (n.d.). JSTOR. Interior Library.