UC Partnership with JSTOR Creates Print Archive

The University of California Libraries have signed an agreement with JSTOR to create an archive of print copies of online JSTOR journals in order to ensure secure backup and availability of a print copy.

JSTOR screenshot

JSTOR is a database of full-text digital copies of back issues of hundred of journals in a wide range of disciplines, principally in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. UCI’s online subscription is heavily used by students and faculty, and research has shown that UC faculty in all disciplines prefer to use these titles in electronic format, finding them reliable and satisfactory for their research and teaching needs.

The UC-JSTOR print archive will contain a continuous run of 353 journal titles represented in the JSTOR website as of October 31st, 2003, from volume one, issue one of each title through the latest issue that has been digitized (most JSTOR titles have a digitization lag time of one to five years). . The UCI Libraries have consulted with faculty and kept them apprised of the purpose and rationale for this project, which recognizes the increasing primacy of electronic versions of journals, the need to ensure secure backup, and the value of freeing valuable shelf space for library materials that are not available electronically.

Along with other UC campuses, UCI will contribute selected print journals for which we own a full run (or extensive coverage). At the outset we will provide approximately 50 journals and may be asked to contribute more in the future. A list of the titles UCI will contribute is located at www.lib.uci.edu/libraries/projects/jstor/jstor_primary_2.pdf.

Online access to JSTOR journals is consistent and complete, but if there is a reason a UCI campus user needs access to a print version, we will supply a scanned copy to the user’s desktop via interlibrary loan. If this still does not suffice, as a last resort, we will retrieve the journal from the print archive, which will reside at one of the UC Libraries’ regional library facilities (SRLF or NRLF).

For questions or further information, please contact your subject librarian (https://www.lib.uci.edu/libraries/contact/sublib.html) or Lorelei Tanji, Assistant University Librarian for Collections (ltanji@uci.edu or x45216).