About Us

Mission

The mission of the Institute of Jazz Studies is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the heritage of jazz, an American art form that has been embraced by the world.

Vision

The Institute of Jazz Studies will be a leader in fostering the recognition of jazz as a seminal American contribution to world culture by sharing its unique holdings and expertise through emergent technologies and innovative programming.

Goals

  • Collect, preserve, and make accessible the materials in the IJS archives to the growing field of jazz scholarship and research, to the jazz community, the media, and any interested parties.
  • Pursue an active acquisitions policy stressing awareness of new materials, current developments, and the availability of important private collections and holdings.
  • Facilitate access to the materials in the collections through the use of bibliographic and archival description platforms.
  • Maintain and develop the IJS online journal, The Journal of Jazz Studies.
  • Develop partnerships between IJS and the academic programs and faculty research activities at Rutgers University.
  • Develop and pursue grant proposals and fundraising activities to enable the IJS to meet its goals.
  • Engage the broader jazz community in outreach and programming to advance the goals and realize the IJS vision as a leader in jazz history, research, and cultural heritage management.

Support IJS

Interested in supporting the institute's vision for preserving jazz heritage? 

You can make a tax-deductible financial contribution to IJS via the Rutgers University Foundation.

If you are interested in donating your collection or records, memorabilia, or personal papers, please call us at 973-353-5595. If we are not able to accept your materials, we can point you in the direction of other suitable archives and research libraries that would be a better fit. Please do not send materials to the Institute without securing prior arrangements with IJS and Rutgers University Libraries representatives. Thank you for thinking of IJS!

Sheldon Harris and Marshall Stearns at the Institute, late 1950s

Sheldon Harris (left), the Institute's first curator, with founder Marshall Stearns at the Institute, late 1950s