In 1997, JSTOR released 10 journals as part of what would become the original Arts & Sciences I Collection. Since that time, JSTOR has added content in 26 disciplines and now offers six distinct journal collections to the scholarly community, including the recently released Language & Literature Collection. At the end of 2002, the complete back runs of more than 300 journals will be available, enabling students, researchers, and teachers to access centuries of academic research.

As JSTOR serves an ever-larger community of libraries, publishers, and users, we are challenged to answer the question, "What's next for JSTOR?" In the next few years, we plan to develop collections in Art History, Education, Law, and Music. More than 100 journals for these collections have been identified, and the work of signing and digitizing journals has begun. While we shape these collections, we need also to think about how JSTOR can continue to grow in the longer term. Knowing and understanding the needs of our participants are essential elements of this process.

As a first step, we turned to librarians at JSTOR's participating institutions to learn where they would like us to add content. The response was strong and encouraging. Within one week of posting a collection development survey on the JSTOR website, we received over 850 responses from librarians in 48 countries.

One librarian, voicing the views of many, advised, "What you are doing, you are doing very well. Go for it! More! More!" Specifically, librarians signaled which new disciplines they would like to see included in the JSTOR archive. The results were surprisingly consistent across both U.S. and international institutions. Over half of all respondents would like to see the JSTOR archive provide access to psychology journals. Librarians also indicated a strong interest in seeing journals in the fields of public policy and religion. Many respondents also encouraged JSTOR to explore journals in the interdisciplinary fields of gender studies, cultural studies, and environmental and conservation studies. As we consider what areas to pursue, it is invaluable to learn what fields librarians rank as most important.

The survey indicated that librarians would also like to see JSTOR supplement its existing disciplines. Librarians especially see an opportunity for JSTOR to enhance the depth of the first two disciplines it offered—history and economics. Noting the heavy use of JSTOR by history faculty and students, one librarian expressed that it would be valuable "to see more variety in the history journals... Greater breadth of history subjects would be extremely helpful." Many respondents also asked about JSTOR's plans to include more journals published outside of the U.S. and suggested that we archive more foreign language content.

A number of librarians submitted lists of specific journal titles for JSTOR to consider and pointed us toward resources that may aid in our selection process. Overall, the survey results helped us to determine that, in time, we can create another general collection that will include disciplines new to JSTOR, as well as build on existing subject areas. Taking into consideration the results of the survey, we will investigate the literature in these disciplines and seek out the advice of key scholars in those fields. We will also research the specific titles recommended by those surveyed, along with the suggested titles we receive regularly from librarians, users, editors, and publishers. In the past, JSTOR selected journals based on the length of a journal's back run and its historical value to a particular discipline. While these criteria will continue to be important, the survey has helped us also to consider the appropriateness of journals for different types of institutions, their interdisciplinary value, and their international appeal. After deciding upon a preliminary list of journals to pursue, we will approach publishers to gauge their interest in working with JSTOR.

The survey results were an important component in determining "what's next" for JSTOR's content development. Hearing from so many librarians about how they would like to see us grow helps us to understand how we can better serve the scholarly community. We encourage all participants to contact Ariana Souzis, Assistant for Publisher Relations, at as@jstor.org with your thoughts on new disciplines and journals for future content development.

Last updated on September 8, 2006