|
|
The "moving wall" represents the time period between the last issue available in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal. Publishers determine the moving wall length in their license agreements with JSTOR. Moving walls may range from zero to ten years, and those with walls from zero to seven years participate in our revenue sharing program. In calculating the moving wall, the current, incomplete year is not counted.
The chart below lists the current breakdown of moving walls for all participating journals. This includes journals currently available as well as those being digitized for future release into the archive.
| Years of the Moving Wall | Number of Journals with that Moving Wall | Overall % of Journals by Moving Wall |
|---|---|---|
|
0
|
7
|
0.88%
|
|
1
|
16
|
2.02%
|
|
2
|
42
|
5.29%
|
|
3
|
260
|
32.75%
|
|
4
|
25
|
3.15%
|
|
5
|
331
|
41.69%
|
|
6
|
0
|
0.00%
|
|
7
|
24
|
3.02%
|
|
10
|
11
|
1.39%
|
|
Fixed*
|
42
|
5.29%
|
|
Complete/Absorbed
|
36
|
4.53%
|
|
Total:
|
794
|
100.00%
|
|
*A limited number of journals have "fixed walls." For these journals,
JSTOR is not adding additional issues to the archive. Fixed walls are no
longer an option for publishers working with JSTOR. All publishers are now
required to select a moving wall of between zero to ten years.
|
Through the moving wall, JSTOR seeks to avoid jeopardizing publishers' subscriptions and revenue opportunities from current and recent material, while also enabling libraries and researchers to rely on JSTOR as a trusted accessible archive, providing both preservation and access for journals after a reasonable period of time. This balancing of interests among publishers, libraries, and scholars is at the center of our approach to pursuing JSTOR's Mission and Goals.
While nearly all journals in JSTOR have moving walls, for various reasons, there are a small number of exceptions. The most common exceptions—"coverage presently ends" and "fixed walls"—are explained below. Other cases include journals having been discontinued or absorbed by other titles and, in rare instances, publishers having elected a "zero" moving wall so that their current issues are available in JSTOR shortly after publication.
Many publishers are making their current issues available online. This sometimes results in a temporary coverage gap between the issues available in the JSTOR archive and the current issues made available by the publisher. Our publishing partners see the importance of providing a complete run of their journals in electronic format, and as a result JSTOR releases content beyond the originally agreed upon moving wall in response to a publisher's request. In these cases, JSTOR will begin adding issues again in the future, once the moving wall period (three years, five years, etc.) has been re-established.
Publishers are making their current issues available online. While most publishers continue the moving wall, ensuring their journals are preserved and accessible through the JSTOR archive, a few publishers have asked us to "fix" the moving wall (i.e., to cease adding new volumes to the archive) at the point when their own online issues begin. These publishers include:
We recognize that many libraries and researchers would prefer that publishers maintain moving walls, and have shared these desires with our participating publishers. We are making efforts to mitigate the impact of fixed walls. Our "Links to Recent Content" feature will allow users to browse and search the author, title, and abstract information for articles where the full-text is unavailable in JSTOR, and to link to the full-text articles at the publishers' websites or the websites of their authorized electronic resource providers. This is a feature we also provide for content ahead of our moving walls. For a list of titles that offer this, see Links to Recent Content. Additionally, in an effort to provide some assurance to libraries relying on JSTOR as an archive of these journals, we have negotiated a special provision in our license agreements with the "fixed wall" publishers. Should a publisher elect to no longer make the journal issues available electronically to the library community, the issues will be added to the JSTOR archive and made available to our participants.
Last updated on January 2, 2007
©2000-2007 JSTOR