The U of C Press and three other University-affiliated publishers announced a deal on January 8 with JSTOR, an online database for academic journals, to make their collections e-book friendly, according to University Press director Garrett Kiely. The books will appear on the same platform as JSTOR’s journal archive next year.

The publishers—Princeton University Press, the University of Minnesota Press, and the University of North Carolina Press—signed a letter of intent which allows JSTOR to publish e-book versions of their publications.

“The benefits are that we will have our journal and book content on one platform and it will be completely cross-searchable,” Kiely said.

The addition of these materials to JSTOR allows students increased ease of access to University Press publications. Like JSTOR articles, students will be able to access the Press’s e-books at any time and location with a cNet ID.

“Ultimately, the role of the University Press is to disseminate scholarship to as wide an audience as possible. This agreement with JSTOR helps us fulfill that mission,” said Kiely. “We feel that the inclusion of e-books is a natural development for this market.”

The proposed change could also enhance the quality of publication access as well as its ease. “Digital delivery of scholarly content removes many of the differences between material in journals and books,” said Kiely.

The agreement will become one of nearly two dozen contracts for the publication of e-books held by the Press.

The Press’s journals appeared on JSTOR in January as part of the Current Scholarship program, allowing access to 78 of its journal publications, including the American Historical Review, the American Journal of Sociology, and the Quarterly Review of Biology.

“We have been a partner with JSTOR since their beginning and we feel that [the agreement] is a great next step,” said Kiely.