The JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services community keeps growing—and so does the range of collections, perspectives, and practices participants are bringing to the work.

This month, meet new charter participants, explore collection highlights, and see what the Stewardship community is learning and sharing.

New to the Stewardship community

Meet the newest institutions to join JSTOR Stewardship’s Tier 3 charter program, with access to JSTOR Seeklight, digitization funding, and a collaborative cohort shaping the future of stewardship. Explore the full participant list to see the broader community taking part.

SUNY Morrisville – Morrisville, NY

Black-and-white photograph of two students operating farm equipment in a cultivated field at Morrisville in 1926, with Hamilton Hall visible behind them.
Students at work on the Morrisville campus in 1926, with Hamilton Hall in the background. The image reflects Morrisville’s agricultural roots and long tradition of applied, hands-on education.

Known for its applied approach to education, SUNY Morrisville is bringing that same spirit to its digital collections. The university will use JSTOR Seeklight to support AI-assisted processing as it expands access to campus and local history materials, evaluates the Lee Brown Coye collection for funded digitization, and assesses holdings not yet ready for online access.

Read the full SUNY Morrisville announcement 

Boston Architectural College – Boston, MA

“We are excited to join the JSTOR Stewardship charter program through the Boston Library Consortium, as it will offer robust support for our digital image and archival collections throughout their lifecycles,” said Kathryn McClintock, Associate Director of the Library at Boston Architectural College. “We are interested to explore an AI-assisted workflow through JSTOR Seeklight, and hope to use it to expand access to our online architecture and design materials.”

Read the full BAC announcement 

Coastal Carolina University – Conway, SC

Historical United States document certifying an American seaman’s citizenship, with handwritten entries, signatures, and illustrations of an eagle and sailing ship.
Storer, Joseph. Raphael Tuck & Sons Samuel Pope, Seamen’s Protection Certificate, 1820. Coastal Carolina University, Horry County Archives Center.

CCU is building a more sustainable foundation for institutional and regional history materials, photographs, oral histories, and other distinctive collections. Early JSTOR Seeklight pilots will focus on text-rich materials, while Portico-powered preservation will support long-term access.

Read the full CCU announcement

University of Tennessee at Martin – Martin, TN

Black-and-white aerial photograph of a large brick building with tall arched windows. “MARTIN” is painted in large letters across its flat roof, surrounded by lawns, trees, and walkways.
Aerial Photograph of the Physical Education Building (Old Gym). Alliene and Jimmie S. Corbitt Special Collections and Archives, circa 1930s. The History of UTM in Photographs, University of Tennessee at Martin.

“Moving to JSTOR Stewardship provides an exciting opportunity to bring our distinctive materials into a single, robust environment,” said Dr. Erik Nordberg, dean of the Paul Meek Library at UT Martin. “The platform’s integrated AI-assisted descriptive tools are critical for mid-sized institutions like ours.”

Read the full UT Martin announcement 

Collection spotlight

Stewardship participants are making one-of-a-kind materials available to researchers on their campuses and around the world, discoverable alongside scholarly literature on JSTOR. Browse thousands of open access collections.

Seeklight-processed, human-reviewed: Tintype Portraits Collection (SUNY Stony Brook)

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a seated young man wearing a bowler hat, bow tie, and dark buttoned jacket. He rests one hand on a small table beside him; the aged photograph has visible scratches and worn edges.
Tintype of a Man. ca. 1860s-1880s. Tintype, H x W: 5.5 x 9 cm. Tintype Portraits Collection. SUNY, Stony Brook University.

Meet the sitters in Stony Brook University’s Tintype Portraits Collection. Primarily composed of unidentified African Americans photographed from the 1860s through the 1880s, these iron-plate portraits preserve details of clothing, pose, photographic convention, and material culture even as the identities of many subjects remain unknown.

Browse the Tintype Portraits Collection on JSTOR

University of Wyoming: Historic Clothing Collection

Close-up of pale satin fabric embroidered with a small purple-and-green floral sprig tied with a peach-colored ribbon. Pink lace trim runs along the right edge.
Blue Embroidered Panties from the 1930s, courtesy University of Wyoming via JSTOR

Look beneath the surface of changing fashion in the University of Wyoming’s Historic Clothing Collection. Undergarments dating from the Civil War era through the 1960s—including bloomers, corsets, stockings, brassieres, and girdles—trace advances in textile technology alongside changing expectations around women’s bodies, mobility, work, and public life. The collection turns the often-hidden foundations of dress into vivid evidence of broader social change.

Explore the Historic Clothing Collection

Read “A Brief History of Women’s Underwear”

Boston Architectural College: Rose Kennedy Greenway Collection

Elevated view of a tree-filled city park bordered by streets with cars and pedestrians, surrounded by dense downtown buildings and skyscrapers.
Wharf District Parks: Aerial view of the section running longways from East India Row to High Street. via JSTOR

Explore a visual record of Boston’s effort to repair an urban landscape reshaped by mid-century highway construction. Images from Boston Architectural College document the mile-long Rose Kennedy Greenway and invite reflection on how—and whether—public space can reconnect neighborhoods after transformative planning decisions.

Explore the Rose Kennedy Greenway Collection

Read “How the Big Dig Changed Boston’s Landscape”

Contributions and conversations

Through research, presentations, podcasts, conference conversations, and more, participants and partners are contributing new perspectives to the broader field. Visit our events page to watch past programs, register for upcoming events, and find opportunities to connect in person.

Real research impact: What we’re learning about distinctive collections shared on JSTOR

Distinctive collections shared on JSTOR are becoming part of the workflows scholars and students already use. New research shows these materials reaching new audiences, supporting research and teaching, and appearing in published scholarship. Drawing on platform usage and a survey of JSTOR users, the findings offer an early view of how distinctive collections are being used and valued—and a foundation for helping institutions better understand and communicate their impact.

Read the blog post

Against the Grain: A conversation with Russell Michalak on AI and library culture

In a new Charleston Hub podcast conversation, Goldey-Beacom College Library Director Russell Michalak shares how his team is approaching AI through faculty collaboration, student learning, and hands-on experimentation—including a visual-expression assignment using JSTOR Seeklight. The conversation offers a grounded look at what thoughtful AI adoption can look like at a small institution.

Listen to the conversation

Want to learn more about becoming a part of JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services? Get in touch with our team!

Written by:

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Alex Houston

Alex Houston is a Senior Marketing Manager at ITHAKA with over 15 years of experience supporting the academic community. With a background in the scholarly publishing ecosystem, graduate coursework in philosophy, and freelance archival experience, she leads communication strategy for initiatives like JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services and is proud to help advance ITHAKA’s mission to expand access to knowledge and education.

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