JSTOR : a history / Roger C. Schonfeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schonfeld, Roger C., 1977-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

JSTOR (Organization).

JSTOR (Computer file).

Periodicals--Databases.

Periodicals.

JSTOR (Organization)--History.

History.

Databases.

Physical Description:

xxxiv, 412 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2003.

Summary:

Ten years ago, most scholars and students relied on bulky card catalogs, printed bibliographic indices, and hardcopy books and journals. Today, much content is available electronically or online. This book examines the history of one of the first, and most successful, digital resources for scholarly communication, JSTOR. Beginning as a grant-funded project of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at the University of Michigan, JSTOR has grown to become a major archive of the backfiles of academic journals, and its own nonprofit organization. Roger Schonfeld begins this history by looking at JSTOR's original mission of saving storage space and thereby storage costs, a mission that expanded immediately to improving access to the literature. What role did the University play? Could JSTOR have been built without the active involvement of a foundation? Why was it seen as necessary to "spin off" the project? This case study proceeds as an organizational history of the birth and maturation of this nonprofit, which had to emerge from the original university partnership to carve out its own identity. How did the grant project evolve into a successful marketplace enterprise? How was JSTOR able to serve its twofold mission of archiving its journals while also providing access to them? What has accounted for its growth? Finally, Schonfeld considers implications of the economic and organizational aspects of archiving as well as the system-wide savings that JSTOR ensures by broadly distributing costs.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Idea at Denison, the Project at Mellon December 1993-January 1994 1

Chapter 2 In Search of a Partner, but Beginning Alone February-May 1994 17

Chapter 3 Securing an Institutional Partner: The University of Michigan April-August 1994 46

Chapter 4 The Pilot Project September 1994-April 1995 69

Chapter 5 Evolving Organizational Decisions

and Independence February-December 1995 95

Chapter 6 Defining a Mission in Partnership with Publishers September 1995-August 1996 119

Chapter 7 Operational Changes at Michigan September 1995-August 1996 149

Chapter 8 Developing a Business Plan January-December 1996 166

Chapter 9 A More Thoroughly Professionalized Operation September 1996-December 1997 198

Chapter 10 Public Availability and Library Participation September 1996-December 1997 230

Chapter 11 Developing Two New Collections May 1997-December 1999 264

Chapter 12 Increasing Availability and Participation January 1998-December 1999 281

Chapter 13 Completing Arts & Sciences I and Strategizing for the Future July 1998-December 1999 301

Chapter 14 Challenges and Opportunities of Growth January 2000-December 2001 318

Conclusion: A Self-Sustaining Organization 355.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [393]-404) and index.

ISBN:

0691115311

OCLC:

50718677