Brandeis University is joining the Tier 3 charter program of JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services as the 50th institution in the community.

As a charter institution, Brandeis will gain access to JSTOR Seeklight, the AI-assisted collections processing tool within the integrated JSTOR Stewardship platform, which also includes digital asset management, long-term preservation via Portico, and discovery and access via the JSTOR research platform. 

Through JSTOR Seeklight, the Brandeis team will be able to expand their capacity to generate draft metadata, transcripts, and collection summaries that remain under expert library and archives review. Brandeis will also take part in working groups and peer conversations with fellow charter institutions from around the world, contributing real-world use cases and feedback to help shape responsible, AI-assisted stewardship practices.

Brandeis is also one of six Boston Library Consortium (BLC) members participating in JSTOR Stewardship through the BLC’s Digital Stewardship Services Community of Interest.

“From the outset, we’ve been impressed by what JSTOR Seeklight can do with complex materials—especially its ability to work with handwriting and dates in ways that would be difficult to scale manually,” said Matthew Sheehy, University Librarian at Brandeis University. “Our move into the Tier 3 charter program is about finding a sustainable way to bring that capability into our digital collections strategy, pairing AI-generated description with the expertise of our staff so that more of our unique materials can be discovered and used.”

“Matthew and the Brandeis team have been clear-eyed and thoughtful about how AI should support, not supplant, expert stewardship,” said Jess Clemons, Director of Business Development, JSTOR Stewardship. “Their decision to join the Tier 3 charter program strengthens a community of institutions that are shaping practical, mission-aligned ways to bring AI into digital collections work.”

Brandeis University was founded in 1948 by the American Jewish community at a time when Jews and other marginalized groups faced discrimination in higher education. Today, Brandeis is a leading research university for anyone, regardless of background, who wants to use their knowledge, skills and experience to improve the world. Nearly 6,000 Brandeis students and 550 faculty members collaborate across disciplines, interests and perspectives on scholarship that has a positive impact throughout society.

JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services is a seamless, cloud-hosted platform that unites digital asset management, long-term preservation, and expanded discovery pathways—including sharing on JSTOR—with the AI-assisted collections processing tools of JSTOR Seeklight.