A new scholarly tool normally only found at colleges and universities is now available for anyone to use at the Bethlehem Area Public Library. It’s a digital library called JSTOR –short for Journal Storage–and it offers access to millions of articles in thousands of scholarly journals. BAPL is one of the few public libraries that offers this resource, giving all their users opportunities to access scholarly content including journal articles, primary sources, and much more.
Matthew Rothfuss, Head Reference Librarian at BAPL, predicts that access to JSTOR will impact both how and why people use the library. “Having JSTOR will attract many non-traditional students and highly motivated teens to do research in the library. In the past we have had students and scholars attempt to use the library to access these articles and we’ve had to send them elsewhere. Now we can tell them they can get that information right here at BAPL!”
Students, professors, researchers, and other curious minds who are looking for accurate articles and sources about a specific subject are among those who will benefit significantly from JSTOR. There are many other benefits, too, including: JSTOR Daily, an online resource that breaks down current events, Research Basics, a free course for learning college-level research skills, and LibGuides, a starting point for anyone interested in specific subject areas..
“By providing JSTOR to our users, we hope to bring access to a database that has traditionally been reserved for institutions of higher education,” Rothfuss says. “This database will allow members of the library and the public to access academic level resources. And it will enable students of all ages to access important and accurate information.”
BAPL hopes that library users will take advantage of this amazing resource that is right at their fingertips. There are thousands of academic journals and sources waiting to be explored! Users can access JSTOR by visiting any library location and simply logging into the free WIFI network or using any public access computer.
Contact info@bapl.org for more information.
An example of JSTOR’s interface