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Digital Stewardship

Explore JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services

Over 340 institutions worldwide are using JSTOR Stewardship to manage, preserve, and share collections. Whether you’re evaluating a new platform or planning a migration, this page offers stories, the workflows behind them, and practical resources to support your decision.

Two colleagues collaborating at a computer in a bright office, smiling while reviewing content on a screen.

01

Understand the shift

Archives and special collections are evolving. These resources outline the challenges shaping digital stewardship today.

Rows of tall metal shelves filled with large brown archival folders organized in a storage room.

Bridging Capacity and Care: A Field Report on Archives and Special Collections

Close-up of an antique ivory diptych sundial and compass designed like a small folding book, featuring engraved Renaissance-style illustrations of figures and scenes, a central magnetic compass with directional markings, and a string gnomon casting a shadow across the hour scale.

What is a collections processing tool?

Black-and-white astronomical photograph showing a bright star with diffraction spikes on the left and a dense star field; two white arrows on the right point to a small, faint dot identified as Pluto.

The purpose of stewarding distinctive collections: Discovery and impact

Research from 280+ practitioners on the pressures and tradeoffs shaping archival work today.

Download the report

Introducing a new category of tools that enable scalable, discovery-driven collections processing.

See what it can do

Why discovery-first platforms and cross-institutional scale are essential for ensuring digital collections are found and used.

Read the blog post

02

Learn from your peers

See how institutions are approaching migration, workflows, and long-term stewardship in practice.

Hofstra University: Funding sustainable stewardship

Hofstra secured grant funding to digitize, describe, preserve, and share collections through JSTOR Stewardship.

See how Hofstra built lasting access

Goldey-Beacom College: Scaling description with AI

A library described archival images 170x faster through AI-supported workflows that build student skills.

Find out how AI enriches learning

Rollins College and University of Puget Sound: Simplifying fragmented systems

Two institutions transitioned from legacy platforms while improving workflows and access.

Explore modern stewardship

Vanderbilt University and UDC: Moving from DIY infrastructure

These institutions simplified workflows and improved access by moving to a hosted model.

See how they scaled stewardship

Drew University: Improving discovery and access

Drew combined digital stewardship and classroom learning to expand access and student engagement.

Read the case study

The Evergreen State College: Migrating to a preservation-first stewardship model

Evergreen moved from a high-maintenance system to integrated preservation through a supported migration.

Learn how JSTOR helped

03

Explore community-built tools

JSTOR partners with the library community to build tools that support modern stewardship needs—from integrated, accessible workflows to scalable processing.

Colorful interlocking cube blocks arranged on a light blue pegboard and in small stacks nearby, demonstrating counting or math concepts with modular “centicube” pieces.

A digital collections platform that’s accessible by design: How JSTOR Stewardship removes workflow barriers today

A JSTOR-branded digital viewer interface displays a scanned pink theater program with biographical notes and a black-and-white photo of two women. Below the main viewing pane are thumbnails of additional documents. The top toolbar includes options to zoom, rotate, and view metadata.

Next-generation integration: Rethinking digital collection stewardship from start to finish

JSTOR Stewardship was built to align with current accessibility standards from the ground up.

Explore how JSTOR handles accessibility

An integrated approach can align tools and workflows across the full lifecycle of digital collections.

Discover JSTOR’s integrated approach
A graphic collage on a red background shows a mix of archival materials and a digital interface. Items include a fan-shaped object made of feathers on a stand, handwritten manuscript pages, a vintage group photograph, and a printed poster about wartime allowances. Overlaid on the right is a rounded card labeled “Project Summary” with fields for scope and content note, extent of the collection, and languages. At the bottom left, a “Download Summary” button with a downward arrow icon is shown with a cursor hovering over it, suggesting interaction.

How collaboration with Eastern Michigan shaped AI for archival workflows

Handwritten letter on blue paper dated “Rome 9th Jan.y 1850” from sculptor John Gibson. He acknowledges a prior letter and quotes prices for his statues of Aurora (£450) and Cupid disguised as a shepherd (£300). The page shows brown stains and folds and is signed “John Gibson.” At the bottom is a pen sketch of a standing male figure with dotted measurement lines and notes about height and a dark line in the marble.

Beyond description: Transcript generation in JSTOR Seeklight

Collaboration with archivists shaped AI workflows grounded in real-world archival practice.

See how we worked together

Transcript generation supports accessibility, discovery, and new ways of working with collections.

Discover why transcripts matter

04

See it in action

Hear directly from practitioners and library leaders as they share how they’re approaching digital stewardship in their institutions.

Descriptive depth at scale: Exploring new technologies for archives

New technologies support descriptive work while aligning with archival values and practices.

Watch the webinar
Colorful, symmetrical microscopic image of a zebrafish retina, featuring a glowing circular center with radiating pink, purple, and gold patterns resembling a kaleidoscope.

Moving beyond DIY: Scalable digital stewardship solutions

Institutions are moving from locally managed systems to more scalable, supported approaches.

View the recording
“Earthrise” photograph showing the blue-and-white Earth emerging above the gray, cratered surface of the Moon against the blackness of space.

Reclaim flexibility: Modern solutions for digital collection stewardship

How institutions moved from legacy systems to gain flexibility, insight, and sustainable access.

Check out the webinar
Hand-drawn illustration of Te Kooti’s flag from 1870, showing a red field with a Union Jack in the upper left and four star-like emblems on the right, with handwritten caption beneath.

05

Take the next step

Every institution works within its own systems, collections, and constraints. Our team collaborates with you to understand your current workflows and explore what comes next. Complete the form below to discuss your collections and next steps with our team.

View image credits from this page
Close-up of an antique ivory diptych sundial and compass designed like a small folding book, featuring engraved Renaissance-style illustrations of figures and scenes, a central magnetic compass with directional markings, and a string gnomon casting a shadow across the hour scale.

Paul Reinman. Ivory Tablet Compass Sundial in the Form of a Book. 1599. Science Museum Group. https://jstor.org/stable/community.38357990.

Black-and-white astronomical photograph showing a bright star with diffraction spikes on the left and a dense star field; two white arrows on the right point to a small, faint dot identified as Pluto.

C.O. Lampland. Glass Positive of Pluto Discovery. 1930. Science Museum Group. https://jstor.org/stable/community.26287522.

Colorful interlocking cube blocks arranged on a light blue pegboard and in small stacks nearby, demonstrating counting or math concepts with modular “centicube” pieces.

E. S. Perry. Centicubes with Board. 1972–1975. Science Museum Group Collection. https://jstor.org/stable/community.26434232.

Handwritten letter on blue paper dated “Rome 9th Jan.y 1850” from sculptor John Gibson. He acknowledges a prior letter and quotes prices for his statues of Aurora (£450) and Cupid disguised as a shepherd (£300). The page shows brown stains and folds and is signed “John Gibson.” At the bottom is a pen sketch of a standing male figure with dotted measurement lines and notes about height and a dark line in the marble.

John Gibson. Letter from John Gibson to John Udny, Containing Information for Henry Farnum. 1850. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://jstor.org/stable/community.18604581.

Colorful, symmetrical microscopic image of a zebrafish retina, featuring a glowing circular center with radiating pink, purple, and gold patterns resembling a kaleidoscope.

Kara Cerveny and Steve Wilson. Sunrise in the Eye: Zebrafish Retina. n.d. Wellcome Collection. https://jstor.org/stable/community.24715874.

“Earthrise” photograph showing the blue-and-white Earth emerging above the gray, cratered surface of the Moon against the blackness of space.

William A. Anders. Mission: Apollo-Saturn 8: Earthrise. 1968. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. https://jstor.org/stable/community.12071431.

Hand-drawn illustration of Te Kooti’s flag from 1870, showing a red field with a Union Jack in the upper left and four star-like emblems on the right, with handwritten caption beneath.

William Francis Gordon. Maori Rebel Flag: Flag of Te Kooti. n.d. Museum of New Zealand – Te Papa Tongarewa. https://jstor.org/stable/community.27024858.