Purpose: To argue for the consideration from an historical perspective of technology-enabled changes in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Uses examples from the author's history of JSTOR as a case study. Findings: That the case of JSTOR offers evidence that technology-enabled changes in higher education will have historical interest. Research limitations/implications: Although the author presents only examples from JSTOR, historians should begin to give attention to the overall changes taking place in scholarly communications and higher education. Practical implications: Suggests further areas of research for historians, information scientists, and graduate students. Originality/value: This work should be of interest to library and information professionals, business historians, and perhaps economic historians interested in the information industries. (Contains 1 table.)