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Digital Stewardship

Help build the future of digital collections stewardship

Join a growing community of institutions partnering with JSTOR—a mission-driven nonprofit—to advance responsible, AI-assisted digital stewardship. Charter participants gain early access to JSTOR Seeklight, and help guide how technology enhances discovery, access, and care.

Become a charter participant*

*Open to institutions with Tier 3 licenses active by or before 12/31/2026

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A values-aligned partnership

  • Help develop technology that serves and strengthens the library community
  • Advance our shared purpose to expand access to knowledge and education
  • Refine JSTOR Seeklight, our AI-powered collection processing tool, to ensure it reflects our community values including care, accuracy, and context
Read more about JSTOR Seeklight
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Two colleagues collaborating at a computer in a modern office, reviewing information on a screen together.

Help lead the future of stewardship

  • Join a global community advancing the responsible use of AI in libraries and archives
  • Collaborate with peers and JSTOR experts through working groups and shared initiatives
  • Shape new capabilities by guiding the development of features and providing feedback
Help shape the future of stewardship*

*Open to institutions with Tier 3 licenses active by or before 12/31/2026

Visibility and support

  • Gain recognition through case studies, spotlights, and field-wide presentations
  • Share your work and insights as part of panels, presentations, and community discussions
  • Receive personalized onboarding, training, and dedicated support from JSTOR experts
See how peers are leading the way
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Created through close collaboration with our charter participants, including:

Reflections from the community shaping JSTOR Seeklight

With JSTOR Seeklight, we’ve processed more than a thousand photographs in under 45 minutes. The scale is really life altering in terms of workload, but also impact—we can make materials discoverable faster, better and in places where people are already working.

Rachel Walton, Head of Library Digital Strategies and Scholarly Communication

Rollins College

Read the case study

JSTOR Seeklight is a notable example of innovative and forward-thinking development within archival description… Merging archival principles, technological innovation, and a commitment to sustainable stewardship, JSTOR Seeklight exemplifies the [C.F.W. Coker] award’s criteria.

2025 Coker Award Committee

The Society of American Archivists

Read reflections on receiving the Coker Award

We used JSTOR Seeklight to draft descriptions in minutes. With our ‘AI drafts, people decide’ workflow, staff verified and published in just hours. That shift—from authoring every word to reviewing and governing at scale—is the difference between backlog and discovery.

Russell Michalak, Director of Library and Archives

Goldey-Beacom College

JSTOR Seeklight lets us imagine better descriptions—faster, and with more depth—than we could achieve otherwise.

JSTOR Seeklight charter participant


Read early reflections from our charter community

Explore how JSTOR Seeklight is evolving with our community

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What’s new in JSTOR Stewardship: August 2026

August 25, 2026

See what’s new across the JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services community, including new participants, distinctive collections, AI-assisted description, accessibility work, and lessons from institutions expanding access to their digital materials.

Screenshot of an alt text review interface for a sepia-toned Josephine Baker poster, with the interface indicating that a person has been flagged in the image.

Making images more accessible: Introducing alt text in JSTOR Stewardship

August 19, 2026

New alt text tools in JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services help institutions make image collections more accessible while keeping expert review and judgment at the center.

Black-and-white photograph of a person in a flowing dress, hat, and cat-eye sunglasses moving toward the camera on a city street. They hold a thin baton or wand, with buildings, a parking sign, and scaffolding in the background.

What’s new in JSTOR Stewardship: July 2026

July 21, 2026

This month’s JSTOR Stewardship update welcomes new participating institutions, highlights newly available collections on JSTOR, and shares recent work from the digital stewardship community. Featured stories include AI-assisted collections processing, expanded access to distinctive materials, and community-led efforts to make digital collections more discoverable.

Black-and-white engraving of the British Museum’s Additional Library in 1844, showing a long vaulted hall lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Library staff and readers stand among book carts, ladders, chairs, and elevated gallery shelves beneath a series of repeating arches.

Catalyzing a more public future for distinctive collections: A new initiative within JSTOR Stewardship

July 13, 2026

New support from the Mellon Foundation will help expand JSTOR Stewardship, giving more libraries and archives the tools to digitize, process, preserve, and share distinctive collections through JSTOR so original sources can reach broader audiences.

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What’s new in JSTOR Stewardship: June 2026

June 16, 2026

The JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services community continues to grow, welcoming new institutions, highlighting innovative uses of AI-assisted collections processing, and showcasing unique open access collections now available on JSTOR.

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What’s new in JSTOR Stewardship: May 2026

May 19, 2026

This month’s update shares how institutions are advancing digital stewardship through shared infrastructure, AI-supported workflows, and newly available collections on JSTOR. Featured materials highlight efforts to improve access, description, and long-term care.

Ready to join the charter program?

Connect with our team to learn how your institution can help shape the future of JSTOR Stewardship.

Collaborate with us

Interested in the charter program?

Share a few details and our team will connect with you to explore how your institution can help shape the future of digital stewardship.