Today, word got out that the new JSTOR interface will show items from all its collections, not just the ones your library subscribes to, when you do a search there. Items that we don’t have access to will have a “purchase article” option off the side. Other databases from do this, too, and it’s a real let down that JSTOR’s new interface will offer the same confusion to our users.
For thoughts about why JSTOR did this (and the limited options we have as a work-around), see Meredith Farkas’ blog post.
The Electronic Resources in Libraries (ERIL) has been having a good discussion on this development.
An additional confusing issue is that some current content will be hosted by JSTOR. Some publishers have decided not to support their own platform and use JSTOR’s instead, so we won’t have a choice of platforms. I know the University of Chicago and U of California presses are going that route, and we have a couple of titles with each. For the user however, I think this will be confusing, as some titles will be available to them up to the present, while others will have the usual moving wall. While the JSTOR platform is superior in my opinion to that of those publishers, having it all together and visible will be confusing.
In terms of subscription, JSTOR has also introduced new choices since they are hosting current content. We are able now to subscribe to the current content in the same collections we could in the past, for example, for those titles they have the rights to, or we can subscribe to individual current content as well. The differing models also give us differing perpetual rights.
Inside Higher Ed covered the story today (“Egg on Its Interface”), noting that JSTOR will make some changes (read the announcement from JSTOR) that by Sep. 6 the default search option will be changed to only show items from collections the library subscribes to. The ability to get SFX links in other articles will take JSTOR longer to set up.