Broadly conceived, JSTOR's mission is to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in information technologies. Our initial efforts, which have been focused on developing and maintaining a database comprised of the back issues of scholarly journals, have been successful thus far because of the special collaborative relationship that has been established among publishers, libraries and users. The value of these efforts has two primary components: creation and maintenance of a trusted archival repository; and enhanced and more convenient access to older journal materials. Providing these two benefits while simultaneously striving to reduce long-term costs for the scholarly community, have been guiding objectives for us in building the organization.

In this issue, we offer a series of articles that demonstrate our commitment to enhancing the convenience of access to our resource. In addition to these activities, which are focused primarily on improving access for present constituents, we are also working to extend access to new users and institutions that have not traditionally had access to journals like those included in the JSTOR database. We are beginning to respond to the interest expressed by institutions such as public libraries and government agencies, and are developing approaches for access to JSTOR that fit the needs of these communities.

As we broaden the community of institutions and individuals benefiting from JSTOR, we spread the costs of our services over an increasing number of participants. This diversification strengthens us and increases our ability to fulfill our archival promises. In this way, the twin goals of archiving and access become intertwined and mutually supporting. Our emphasis on this symbiotic relationship has been, and we think will continue to be, both immensely important and increasingly beneficial to our constituents.

Kevin M. Guthrie

Last updated on September 8, 2006