From Archives-L:

2010/3/31 Jenny Schooley :
> American Archivist on JSTOR
>
> Back issues of American Archivist are now available on JSTOR, the
> not-for-profit online digital archive. Researchers may access articles as
> full-text PDF files for searching, browsing, downloading, and printing from
> the journal's first year of publication (1938) up to the most recent three
> years. Users at institutions that participate in JSTOR's Arts & Sciences VI
> Collection can access back issues directly by visiting American Archivist’s
> journal page. SAA is pleased to collaborate with JSTOR to preserve and make
> available this important body of scholarship.
>
> For more information, please contact:
>
> Teresa Brinati
> Director of Publishing
>
> Society of American Archivists
> 17 North State Street, Suite 1425
> Chicago, IL 60602-3315 USA
> Toll Free 866.SAA.7858
> Tel 312.606.0722 Fax 312.606.0728
> tbrinati@archivists.org
> www.archivists.org

SAA is therefore clear against OPEN ACCESS. (It is well known that not
all US universities and only a small part of the universities world
wide have access to JSTOR).

Scholarly societies should promote the progress of knowlegde and this means in the 21th century: Open Access.

More and more journals on librarianship are Open Access (although some
with embargoes). Leading archival journals in important countries
(e.g. "Archivar" in Germany) are Open Access. The Canadian Journal
Archivaria is Open Access (except the 8 newest issues):
http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/issue/archive

Pacting with JSTOR is nothing than pacting with the devil under
digital circumstances. It is a shame for the archival discipline that
the leading national professional organization of archivists is
blocking access to "American Archivist" for archivists worldwide (I
estimate that more than 95 % of them are not university-affiliated and
the percentage of archivists who have JSTOR access is lower than 1 %).

Update: American Archivist is currently available online to all for issues from 1970 (volume 33) to the present (except for the six latest issues). http://archivists.metapress.com/home/main.mpx