Fordham Libraries Join JSTOR Open Community Collections
By Hannah Herrlich, Emerging Technologies Librarian & Gabriella DiMeglio, Archives & Special Collections Librarian
The Fordham University Libraries is thrilled to announce that three of our digital collections have been added to the web-accessible JSTOR Community Collections. Anyone and everyone with an internet connection will be able to view these collections, regardless of their affiliation with Fordham University. The collections currently available are: Fordham University Football Collection; Maps of New Netherland, New Amsterdam, and New England; Political and Religious Pamphlets of the Italian Unification, 1815-1871. Inclusion in JSTOR will expand the impact of Fordham’s digital resources well beyond our immediate community, as well as increase our standing as a research library!
Hold on a Minute…What Does “Accessible” Mean?
In short, accessible or “open access” content is the transfer of research and other types of information without the confinement of paywalls or publisher subscription fees. Usually this means that anyone with access to the World Wide Web is able to view and use said accessible content. JSTOR, a database that offers hundreds of academic journals in full-text, is now part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization that also includes Artstor, and Portico. ITHAKA has opened a lot of their paywalled content for free to aid libraries and researchers during the pandemic.
The Three Collections
Take a peek at the three Fordham collections currently available on the JSTOR Community Collections.
Fordham University Football Collection
This collection of 97 items features programs, sports guides, and correspondence relating to Fordham football from 1928 to 1980, including the great days of Vince Lombardi and the “Seven Blocks of Granite.”
Maps of New Netherland, New Amsterdam, and New England
The 22 maps in this collection are from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and cover New York and New England with an emphasis on maps of New Netherlands and New Amsterdam. The original maps hang in the Reference Room of the Walsh Library.
Political and religious pamphlets of the Italian unification, 1815-1871– 915 items
An astounding 900 short printed pamphlets are featured in this collection. These pamphlets, published in Italy (mostly from 1815 to 1880), deal with political, religious, and social issues of the time. Markings on several of them suggest that the collection was assembled by Cardinal Carlo Luigi Morichini (1805-1879).
But Wait, There’s More
Recently, JSTOR has expanded the number of monthly reads available for free from six to 100 for all users. This means that you can explore even more in the JSTOR database, in addition to these three digital collections and the rest of the accessible JSTOR Community Collections.
To read articles online for free, all you need to do is:
- Create a JSTOR account and log in
- Search for your materials
- Click “read online”
- “Turn the page” by clicking the arrows to the right of the content preview
For more tips, information, and instructions on how to use the free online reading program, see How to register & get free access to content.
This is just the beginning of opening up our resources as Fordham Libraries will continue to add more from our digital collections to the JSTOR Community Collections. If you are interested in browsing more open access material, checkout our research guide; and, if you would like to understand more about the operations and functionality of open access, there’s a research guide for that too! And as always, do not hesitate to contact your university librarians. We are here to help!
