The deep archive of the humanities and social sciences.
At a Glance
| Publisher | ITHAKA (a nonprofit) |
| Coverage | 2,800+ journals and 13M+ articles, plus books, images, and primary sources, with exceptional historical back-files |
| Access | institutional subscription; a free “JSTOR Access” tier for individuals with limited reading |
| Free alternative | the free tier; OpenAlex for discovery |
| Regional | global, English-dominant. |
Our Take
JSTOR’s distinctive value is depth in time — complete journal runs stretching back a century or more, which makes it essential for humanities and social-science scholarship where the foundational literature is old, not new. It’s an archive first, so there’s often a “moving wall” delaying the most recent issues. Use it for historical and foundational literature in the humanities and social sciences; pair it with a current index (Scopus, Project MUSE) for recent work.
Power Tips
- Use JSTOR for the deep historical record — full journal back-runs the current indexes don’t hold — and mind the moving wall on recent issues
- register for the free individual tier to read a limited number of articles when you lack institutional access.
Alternatives & Complements
Project MUSE · Scopus · OpenAlex · HeinOnline.
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