Robbins Library Notes

Good morning, readers, and welcome back after the long holiday weekend!

I debated a bit on whether or not to write this post, “It’s Not All on JSTOR,” mostly because I don’t want to come across as being scolding or hectoring.  I hope that I won’t be such.  So, let’s give this a whirl…

I’ve been thinking a good deal about the topic of only using JSTOR for a few weeks now — mostly because I keep observing how frequently people go automatically to JSTOR for every research need, regardless of the question being asked.  I also keep hearing a great deal of frustration when something cannot be located via JSTOR.

This led me to wonder if there was a way for me to help.  Was there something that I could write that would encourage my readers to augment their use of JSTOR by tapping into the vast number of resources available to them at Harvard?  Furthermore, I want to help ease the frustration and irritation at not being able to quickly locate research materials by offering some tips, tips that include how to search as well as where to search.

Thus, it’s with these aims in mind that I am writing this two-part post.

From the start, I want to state that JSTOR is a great database for philosophical research — but only for certain kinds of questions.

As I have written elsewhere, JSTOR is a great database to use when you are looking for older, “classic” articles among the 34 titles that the database currently houses.  However, if you’re looking for more recent work, JSTOR will be of no assistance to you, as it is an archival database.  Its purpose and function is to archive older materials that are otherwise not available electronically or in hard copy.  It is not meant to house recent articles.

Also, JSTOR can only hold those articles for which the respective publishers have given permission to be housed in the database.  We are a long way away from having a good electronic repository of older philosophical journal materials, given that so many still fall under the purview of copyright.

Thus, if the only research tool that you are using is JSTOR, you may be setting yourself up for research headaches and difficulties.  Who needs that?

So, how can you break out of the “It’s All on JSTOR” mindset?  Stay tuned: tomorrow’s post will provide you answers!

[To be continued...]