MIT Libraries' Betas

The MIT Libraries are experimenting with new technologies to help make access to information easier. The tools below are in "beta" form - they are still being tinkered with, but we'd like you to try them out and tell us what you think!

What works well? What doesn't? Have you written any scripts or tools yourself? Let us know! Email us at betas-lib@mit.edu.

Amazon Kindles in the Hayden Library

Have you caught on to the Kindle craze?  Want to try one before you commit to buying one?  The Humanities Library owns 3 Amazon Kindle e-book readers that are available to borrow for one week.  Each Kindle comes with a few books already installed, and you can also download free book previews from Amazon.  Ask us or stop by the front desk of Hayden Library to add your name to the waiting list to borrow, and we’ll contact you when one is available. Have thoughts or comments about the Kindle?  Contact Theresa Tobin.

- Posted October 8, 2009

Mobile site on the MIT Mobile Web

Many of the services featured on the MIT Libraries' web site are available from a mobile phone on the MIT Mobile Web. To get to the MIT Libraries' mobile site, visit http://m.mit.edu from your mobile device's web browser. The site is currently optimized for iPhones. In the future, we plan to create versions optimized for other mobile phones. From the Libraries' mobile site, you can: View hours & locations for each library Ask questions and request a meeting with the librarian for your subject Read news from the MIT Libraries on our blog Access the entire MIT Libraries web site Read more about the mobile web site.

- Posted September 16, 2009

Follow us on Twitter

Keep up with the latest news and ideas from the MIT Libraries with Twitter. If you're a Twitter user, follow @mitlibraries, and we'll follow you back! If you don't use Twitter, you can still check out our updates on our Twitter page, or subscribe to our stream through an RSS feed.

- Posted April 1, 2009

Browse and tag Humanities DVD collection in Delicious

Want to find a thiller, romance, or drama available at the MIT Libraries? Or you want to find movies about aliens, politics, or vampires? Try our list of Humanities Library DVDs in Delicious! Three students teamed up on a project to tag the Humanities Library's DVD collection in del.icio.us to make searching for films more flexible and fun.

Help us tag our DVD collection! We invite you to participate in further tagging this collection by going to delicious.com/mitlibdvds and sign in with user name: mitlibdvds, password: films2008. The only tag all of these DVDs have in common is "MIT-DVD," so the collection may be retrieved as a whole. The rest is up to you!

Let us know what you think... Give us feedback.

- Posted March 31, 2009

Search for books and journals available in libraries worldwide through MIT Libraries' WorldCat

Looking for an easy way to find books and journals owned not only by MIT, but also by other libraries around the world? Try MIT Libraries' WorldCat, an alternative search tool that integrates much of what you'll find in Barton with the catalogs of other libraries around Boston and worldwide.

Other features include:

• easy browsing capabilities, with images of book covers and many Google book previews
• option to set up a user profile, so you can save your favorite items to sharable lists
• ability to tag, rate, and review items

For a full list of features, read About MIT Libraries' WorldCat.

WorldCat doesn't include everything owned by the MIT Libraries, so if you can't find what you're looking for, make sure to check Barton and Vera, or ask us!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on MIT Libraries WorldCat! Give feedback.

-Posted October 15, 2008

Search for journals in Vera with the Firefox search bar

Did you know that you can add search engines to your Firefox toolbar? You can also add a search engine to your Firefox browser to search Vera, the collection of online journals and databases in the MIT Libraries.

To download the search bar, visit the MIT Vera search plugin page.

Note: This search plugin will only work with the Firefox web browser, and you will need to have MIT web certificates.

Special thanks to John Hawkinson for developing the plugin!

-Posted February 19, 2008

Search the MIT Libraries from your Google homepage

Download a gadget that will allow you to search Barton and Vera directly from your Google homepage, or any other webpage that you've created.

- Posted September 7, 2007

Facebook application

The MIT Libraries Facebook application contains search boxes for the Barton web catalog and for Vera, the collection of online journals and databases, along with links to Your Account and Ask Us for research help.

If you already have a Facebook account, you're only a few clicks away from adding the MIT Libraries application.

Special thanks to Rob Wolfe and Todd Rautenberg for developing this application.

- Posted September 7, 2007

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This page was last updated on Thursday, 08-Oct-2009 09:58:19 EDT