Register & Read

• What is Register & Read?

  Register & Read Beta is a new, experimental program to offer free, read-online access to individual scholars and researchers who register for a MyJSTOR account.

• How does Register & Read work?

  When you encounter an item that is part of the Register & Read program, you may register for a free MyJSTOR account to read the item online. Once you’ve registered (or logged in with your account, if you already have one) you may add the item to your MyJSTOR "shelf,” which allows you to view the content as full-text page images. 

  You may have up to three items on your shelf at any time, for as long as you'd like. But an item must stay on the shelf for a minimum of 14 days before it can be removed and replaced with a new item. 

  PDF versions of some articles will also be available for purchase and download. If you purchase articles from your shelf, the shelf slot immediately becomes available for use with another item. Purchased PDF versions of items may be stored and accessed in your MyJSTOR account at any time.

• Are all journals available in Register & Read?

  Register & Read currently includes approximately 1,200  journals from more than 700 publishers, a subset of the content in JSTOR. This includes content from the first volume and issue published for these journals through a recent year (generally 3-5 years ago).  See a list of the titles and publishers currently available through Register & Read.

• Are current journals included in Register & Read?

  No, at this time, only journal content digitized as part of a JSTOR archival collection is included in Register & Read. No recent content from the Current Scholarship Program is included.

• Why is Register & Read called a beta?

  Register & Read is an experiment to extend access to new audiences, and we expect the program content and features to change over time. We are also very interested in feedback about the program and encourage you to contact us at support@jstor.org.

• Do I have to register for a MyJSTOR account to access the free Early Journal Content?

  No, the free Early Journal Content is a separate initiative and there are no changes to the availability or allowed uses of this content.

Early Journal Content

• How can users access the Early Journal Content?

  The free Early Journal Content is available for use by anyone, without registration and regardless of institutional affiliation. Users may chose to browse the free Early Journal Content (journal content published in the U.S. before 1923 and before 1870 elsewhere) or use the Advanced Search to search across all content and limit results to “Only content I can access.”

• How do I find Early Journal Content on JSTOR?

  Searches for “only content I can access” will search the Early Journal Content as well as other content that may be free for promotional or other reasons and any licensed content available to you. A “FREE” badge will show next to the Early Journal Content as well as other content that may be free for promotional or other reasons, in the list of search results and on Table of Contents pages, if the content is not otherwise available to you through a licensed collection. A brief video tutorial about how to access this content is also available.

• Are the Terms and Conditions of Use the same for this content?

  No.  Additional uses are allowed, including the ability to download, share, and reuse the content for any non-commercial purpose. Please see our Terms and Conditions of Use for details.

• How much of the content on JSTOR is part of the Early Journal Content?

  It is approximately 6% of the total content available on JSTOR. 

• Why did you decide to make this content freely available?

  Our mission involves expanding access to scholarly content as broadly as possible, in ways that are sustainable and consistent with the interests of our publishers who own the rights to the content.  We believe that making Early Journal Content freely available is another step in this process of providing access to knowledge to more people; that we are in a position both to continue preserving this content and making it available to the general public; and this is a set of content for which we are able to make this decision.

• Do you have the rights to do this?

  We believe that all of the Early Journal Content is out of copyright.  

• I understand why you use 1923 in the United States, but why 1870 outside the United States?

  Copyright term outside the United States is set at the life of the author plus 70 years.  We believe that 1870 is a reasonable date to assume that all copyright is expired.

• Do you have plans to make other content in the public domain freely available?

  Not at this time.

• Why not make any and all public domain content freely available?

  We do not believe that just because something is in the public domain, it can always be provided for free.  There are costs associated with selection, digitization, access provision, preservation, and a wide variety of services that are necessary for content to reach those who need it.  We have determined that we can sustain free access and meet our preservation obligations for this particular set of content for individuals as part of our overall activities undertaken in pursuit of our mission.