MIT Libraries News

image from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A new study coauthored by an MIT faculty member shows that powerful tropical storms are peaking in intensity further away from the equator. The migration of these cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons is significant in part because residents and infrastructure where the storms now make landfall may be unprepared for them and thus in more danger. As well, the authors write, these cyclones “have an important role in maintaining regional water resources, and a poleward migration of storm tracks could threaten potable water supplies in some regions while increasing flooding events in others.”

While the paper makes a link between the storms’ shift and global warming, coauthor Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science in the department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, says that researchers are continuing to examine this. Tropical winds have also expanded towards the poles in recent years. And, Emanuel told the MIT News, “as that belt migrates poleward, which surely it must as the whole ocean warms, the tropical cyclone genesis regions might just move with it. But we have more work to do to nail it down.”

Explore Professor Emanuel’s research in the Open Access Articles collection in DSpace@MIT, where it is openly accessible to the world.

Since the MIT faculty established their Open Access Policy in March 2009 they have made thousands of research papers freely available to the world via DSpace@MIT. To highlight that research, we’re offering a series of blog posts that link news stories about scholars’ work to their open access papers in DSpace.

By MIT Libraries’ student blogger, Pri Tembhekar

Hello everyone!

I had the pleasure of visiting the Archives Reading Room (14N-118) and seeing some of MIT’s rare books. During my “behind-the-scenes” tour of some of the Libraries’ special collections, Stephen Skuce, Program Manager for Rare Books, kindly showed me some of his favorite rare pieces. MIT Libraries acquire rare books primarily through gifts from friends and alumni of MIT. Many of the books are related to the history of science and technology and thus were especially interesting to me as an engineer.

Gregor Reisch’s Margarita Philosophica

We started by looking at Gregor Reisch’s Margarita Philosophica (Basel, 1508 – MIT Vail Collection). As you can see from the photo, part of the appeal of these books is their aesthetic. They are preserved very carefully (more on that next week) in order to retain their character and wear that is significant as to how they were used. The Margarita Philosophica is an early encyclopedia, filled with knowledge considered important at the time. Interestingly, it contains one of the earliest relatively correct drawings of human internal anatomy.

Even more interesting, in my opinion, were the anatomically incorrect depictions of various animals in Conrad Gessner’s Icones Animalium Quadrupedum (Zurich, 1553 – MIT Kelly Collection). While some common animals such as cows were accurate, others such as camels and unicorns were less realistic. It was mesmerizing to see a bit of history so well preserved, and right under my nose nonetheless!

Conrad Gessner’s Icones Animalium Quadrupedum

Particularly relevant to my engineering background were William Gilbert’s De Magnete (London, 1600 – MIT Vail Collection) and Robert Boyle’s New Experiments Physico-mechanical, Touching the Spring of the Air (Oxford, 1662 – MIT Vail Collection). These early works on magnetism and chemistry were at the frontlines of the science of their times. Their contributions remain relevant to me as a student interested in the energy applications of chemical engineering.

Robert Boyle’s New Experiments Physico-mechanical, Touching the Spring of the Air

My favorite piece among those Stephen pulled for my visit was Jane Marcet’s Conversations on Chemistry (London, 1807 – MIT Rogers Collection). It was my favorite in part because of the beautiful story Stephen shared with me about Jane Marcet. Despite the obstacles that women faced in getting an education, Marcet learned a great deal of chemistry. She passed it on in a very approachable book. The book is simply a dialogue of two girls asking their teacher questions about chemistry and her answers. It became an inspiration to girls and boys interested in science, including Michael Faraday.

Finally, if you are wondering how rare books are useful beyond simply being fascinating, the case of Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe (The Eliot Bible) (Cambridge, Mass., 1685 – MIT Kelly Collection) is a great example. This bible was translated into an Algonquin language so that Christianity could be taught to Native Americans living in the Massachusetts region. This language has since disappeared since it was not written by any of its native speakers. However, MIT scholars were able to use The Eliot Bible along with an English version of the bible to revive the language. Thanks again to Stephen Skuce for the tour!

Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe (The Eliot Bible)

The MIT Libraries’ summer hours begin Tuesday, May 27, 2014, following Memorial Day weekend.

Barker, Dewey, Hayden (Humanities & Science), and Rotch
Monday-Friday: 9am-6pm
Saturday-Sunday: 1pm-6pm

Lewis Music
Monday-Friday: 11am-5pm
Saturday-Sunday: closed

For a complete list of library locations and hours, see our hours page.

Have questions? Ask Us!

Jetting off this summer to some fabulous destination? Or just dreaming of places to go? If so, take a few moments to see if we have a guide book for your vacation spot. We have a Travel Collection in Hayden Library that now circulates for 60 days. This collection has expanded over the last year to include many new countries. Browse the collection, located on the second floor of Hayden near our Browsery, or search the Barton catalog by title.

Guidebooks for places like Africa, China, Italy, Morocco, Japan, Paris, San Francisco, and Washington DC (just to name a few) are already on the shelf. If you’re staying local this summer, we have guides to Boston and New England too.

If we are missing a location, you can suggest we purchase it.

Have questions?  Ask Us!

This month the MIT Faculty Open Access Policy hit a new milestone: papers made openly available through the Open Access Articles Collection have been downloaded over 2 million times. Total downloads from the collection of just under 12,000 papers reached 2,012,312 by the end of April, 2014.

This new watershed was reached just one year after celebrating the 1 millionth download — a new peak of one million downloads in one year.

Those are not the only new high water marks: In March, at the fifth anniversary of the faculty’s establishment of the Policy, monthly downloads reached over 100,000 for the first time:

The downloads originate from across the globe, offering access to grateful readers from many walks of life.

More about the MIT Faculty Open Access Policy:

FAQ about the Policy
Deposit a paper under the Policy

Ellen Finnie Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing, Copyright, and Licensing / MIT Libraries

All MIT Libraries will be closed for Memorial Day weekend beginning Saturday, May 24 through Monday, May 26, 2014. The 24/7 study spaces in Barker, Dewey, and Hayden will still be accessible over the holiday weekend.

The Libraries will begin summer hours on Tuesday, May 27.  Please see our hours page for a detailed list of library locations and summer hours.

Have questions? Ask Us!

Ever found market research information via the IBISWorld database?  You now have even more!  The Libraries have just expanded our IBISWorld subscription to include their Specialized Industry Reports on niche and emerging industries.

Specialized Industry Reports cover the following industries:

1. Advisory & financial services
2. Business franchises
3. Consumer goods & services (the most extensive category)
4. Industrial machinery, gas & chemicals
5. Life sciences
6. Online retail
7. Retail market (for selected products)
8. Specialist engineering, infrastructure & contractors
9. Technology

The database has approximately 600 Specialized Industry Reports and the collection is continually growing; this new coverage is in addition to their hundreds of in-depth reports on U.S., Chinese, and global industries.   To see the complete list and access the reports, go to IBISWorld.    Under Industry Market Research, select U.S. Specialized Industry Reports.

Are you going on vacation this summer?  Take your MIT Libraries Tim t-shirt with you!  If you snap a photo and share it with us, we’ll enter you to win an Amazon gift card.  Post your photo or message us through Twitter or Facebook, or email it to marketing-lib@mit.edu. We’ll select two winners from MIT entrants. Submissions must be received by 8/15/14.

And don’t forget to check out our finals week study breaks happening May 15-21.  Stop by and have a snack — and stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for chances to win a Tim t-shirt at the study breaks!

By MIT Libraries’ student blogger, Pri Tembhekar

Hello everyone!

This week’s post is about fun and eclectic features of the Libraries. These are useful for some intellectual relaxation or a quick break from studying in the library. As the Libraries’ blogger, I wanted to explore some aspects of the Libraries that are less well-known. This week, I dove into the galleries and audiobook collection. This post will be followed by one on preservation, the archives, and rare books.

Maihaugen Gallery

With graduation just around the corner, many of us have friends and family visiting. These curious visitors often want to know more about the history and importance of MIT (especially when their darling child is getting a degree). The MIT Museum is a great resource, as are the Library exhibits. The largest library exhibit space is the Maihaugen Gallery. You have likely passed by this gallery on your way to Hayden Library or Walker Memorial. It is located in 14N-130. Established in 2008, the Maihuagen Gallery provides an up-close look at MIT’s rare books, artwork, maps, historical documents and photographs. Currently, the gallery is showcasing the evolution of computing at MIT. Friends and family members of all ages will likely enjoy seeing relics from a by-gone computing age and their connection to MIT.

To celebrate the end of the year, I’m taking a few road trips. Top 40 on the radio can get old fast, so this time I’m planning to bring along some audio books. The Libraries have a collection of audio books for all different tastes. For example, I’m interested in the impact of social media on human interactions so Professor Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together stood out to me. One cautionary note is that the audiobooks are primarily in CD format. Thus if you have a fancy new car that only reads mp3s, this might not be the right option.

Dewey Library 24×7 study space

Finally, I wanted to include a note about the 24-hour study spaces the Libraries provide. You’ll probably be studying this part of the semester and it can sometimes be hard to find a quiet space. During non-library hours these areas are accessible with your MIT ID. They do not provide access to library books, however there are plenty of tables, computers, and printers. Good luck with finals!

Need help getting through finals? Check out our finals week survival kit.

• Finals week study breaks — Take a study break, have a snack, and de-stress. Therapy dogs at Hayden!
• Study spaces — Take advantage of our 24/7 study spaces throughout finals week.  And don’t forget about our group study rooms, if you’re looking for other great places to study.
• Need a distraction?  We’ve got fun stuff — manga, movies, music, and more.

If you have any questions, feel free to Ask Us!

Can lines, shapes, and colors express emotions in movies? In her new book, “The Forms of the Affects,” literature professor Eugenie Brinkema closely looks at these properties in films like “Psycho” and “Open Water” and argues that they do. In her view, emotions or “affect” need not only be observed by watching characters embody a feeling like anxiety or grief. Rather, Brinkema says that formal properties like repetition, duration, and lighting show the emotion themselves.

Take the film “Open Water,” in which a husband and wife are accidentally left behind in shark-infested waters during a scuba diving trip. The movie is frightening and anxiety producing, in part, says Brinkema, because of its visual frame. Most scenes show the sea and the sky with a horizontal line between them. As time goes on in the film, that line is interrupted by shark fins above and bodies disappearing below.

“The commonplace assumption is that spectators pay money to go to horror films because it will make us feel anxious, and then we cathartically leave the theater at the end of the day and feel fine. But what if [the film’s] anxiety has to do with the specific visual form of movement and time?” Brinkema told the MIT News.

Explore Professor Brinkema’s research in the Open Access Articles collection in DSpace@MIT, where it is openly accessible to the world. Brinkema also has a newly published course on MIT OpenCourseWare.

Since the MIT faculty established their Open Access Policy in March 2009 they have made thousands of research papers freely available to the world via DSpace@MIT. To highlight that research, we’re offering a series of blog posts that link news stories about scholars’ work to their open access papers in DSpace.

In the last year, two major chemistry publishers have expanded their open access options.

The Royal Society of Chemistry continues to offer its “Gold for Gold” vouchers, launched in 2013, which allow authors to publish their otherwise “closed” articles as open access articles without charge. The Libraries receive a limited number of vouchers based on the cost of providing RSC journals at MIT, and we distribute them on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have an article in the RSC publication process now and would like to make it open access at no cost, email rscvouchers@mit.edu with your name, the title of your article, and the RSC journal you’re publishing in.

The American Chemical Society recently announced a new series of open access options for authors that include an open access journal, more flexible reuse licenses for articles, and, for the rest of 2014, free deposits of NIH-funded ACS articles to PubMed Central.

There are four main components to the ACS open access program:

•  ACS Central Science, an open access, peer-reviewed journal to launch later this year, will publish 100-200 articles annually across the chemical sciences. There will be no subscription fees to read the articles, nor any author processing charges to publish in the journal unless authors want to distribute articles under a Creative Commons license. CC licenses allow authors to modify their copyright terms so that other people can use, share, or even build upon a work, depending on the license authors choose. Authors can distribute ACS Central Science articles under a Creative Commons Attribution license for a fee of $500 for ACS members and $1000 for non-members in 2014.

• ACS AuthorChoice, in which authors pay a fee to make articles open access, has been available to authors for several years. In 2014 ACS expanded it so that authors can now choose immediate or 12-month embargoed (AuthorChoice+12) open access. Other changes include:
  • For NIH-funded authors: In 2014 ACS is giving authors a free AuthorChoice+12 license and will deposit the ACS version of record to PubMed Central on their behalf. Authors need to acknowledge NIH funding when they publish. Starting in 2015, authors will need to pay for a PMC deposit of the ACS version unless they use Author Rewards (see below).
    
    Note: There is never a charge for authors to deposit their final manuscripts to PMC themselves.
  • Authors can now choose one of three licenses when they pay for AuthorChoice or AuthorChoice+12: the standard ACS AuthorChoice license or one of two Creative Commons licenses. There are additional fees for the CC licenses.

• ACS Author Rewards: The corresponding author of each ACS article published in 2014 will receive two credits of $750 that can be used (individually or combined) to offset charges to make new or previously published articles open access. The Author Rewards must be used by the end of 2017, and the eligible corresponding author can transfer credits to co-authors or other colleagues.

• ACS Editor’s Choice: Each day, ACS makes one newly published, peer-reviewed article openly available to highlight work of public interest. The chosen articles can be read for free, and their authors receive ACS AuthorChoice publishing licenses for no fee.

For more information or to offer feedback on these options:

RSC’s Gold for Gold FAQ

ACS’s Open Access Initiatives FAQ

Erja Kajosalo, Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Librarian

Katharine Dunn, Scholarly Communications Librarian

The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high quality independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making, bringing together research on effective treatments and interventions. Published since 1996, the Cochrane Library contains over 5,000 reviews and 2,000 protocols.

The Cochrane Library contains:

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials
• Cochrane Methodology Register
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects
• Health Technology Assessment Database
• NHS Economic Evaluation Database

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, contains highly regarded systematic reviews on treatment efficacy for specific diseases interventions and provide a summary of the results of research gathered from randomized controlled trials found in the literature.

You can browse the Cochrane Library or you can search by specific disease or intervention and limit to reviews.

Questions? Email Courtney Crummett, the Bioinformatics and Biosciences Librarian.

Detail of watermark found in Vannevar Bush’s handwritten note about integraphs, circa 1920s, Harold L. Hazen Papers, MC 106.

When we hold a sheet of paper to the light, sometimes we can see designs, letters or symbols embedded in it. These images are called watermarks. They can be found in both hand- and machine-made paper crafted in the western tradition.

One type of watermarking device used in machine papermaking is the dandy roll. This is a lightweight hollow cylinder that has a raised design attached to its surface. After the paper sheet has been formed on a conveyor belt, it travels to the dandy roll which lightly presses the design into the wet fibers. The roll displaces and thins the paper fibers in the area where the design appears.

Once the paper sheet is dried, the watermark can’t be changed, and remains in the paper permanently. For this reason, watermarks can provide security and authenticity, and may be used to help distinguish an original document from a copy.

In the current exhibit in the Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery, Thanks for the Memory: 50+ Years of Computing at MIT, there is a handwritten proposal for research funding that was prepared in 1927 by MIT professor Vannevar Bush. If you look closely at the document, you can see the MIT logo in a watermark that was created using this Dandy Roll technology.

This post was written by guest blogger Ayako Letizia, Conservation Assistant, Wunsch Conservation Lab.

Need to share research data you have collected in the social or behavioral sciences?  Have a funding agency that requires you to make your data publicly available?  Share your data through openICPSR!

A service of the ICPSR data archive, openICPSR is a research data sharing service for the social and behavioral sciences which provides:

• Distribution through an established network of over 740 research institutions with powerful search tools and search engine indexing, enabling your data to be discovered and cited
• Reliability of a trusted, sustainable organization with over 50 years’ experience storing research data
• Review by professional data curators
• The ability to accept and disseminate sensitive or restricted-use data

In order to make your data publicly available to others, openICPSR charges a deposit fee (different levels of service are available).  Normally this cost would be written into a grant proposal when planning your data management.  But if you have data right now to share, for a limited time through the end of the calendar year, you can self-deposit your data in openICPSR with no fee!

For more information:

• For assistance in preparing your data for deposit in ICPSR for free this year, contact data-management@mit.edu.
• For more information on all your options for depositing data with ICPSR, including professional data curation, contact deposit@icpsr.umich.edu.
• Working on other issues related to data management or sharing?  Looking for a way to share data from other disciplines?  We can help!  Find out more about the Libraries’ data management services.

Stop by the Jackson Homestead in Historic Newton before the end of July to catch the “Charles J. Connick: Adventurer in Light and Color” exhibition. It features drawings, photos, studies, and stained glass works by Charles J. Connick a prominent stained glass artist from Newton, Massachusetts. Included in the exhibit are several reproductions of drawings held by MIT Libraries as well as a stained glass window (Sir Bors Succours the Maid) from the Libraries’ collections. For more information about the Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation Collection held at MIT, visit our Special Collections page or watch the video at TechTV.

Design inspired by E. Dickinson poem “There is no Frigate Like a Book.”

The exhibition features the cartoon, or full-size study for a work in another medium, shown here.  This design was executed in pencil and gouache and later realized in stained glass in 1939 for the Newtonville Public Library, which is now the Newton Senior Center. The work was inspired by the Emily Dickinson poem, “There is no Frigate Like a Book.” For more information about this image, please visit the Charles J. Connick image collection in Dome.

For more about the work of Charles J. Connick and his studio, visit the Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation website and the Boston Public Library’s Charles J. Connick Gouaches: Massachusetts Flickr collection.

The following details were captured when the cartoon was in the Wunsch Conservation Lab for examination.

This post was researched written with Lorrie McAllister, Digital and Special Collections Strategist.

Connick’s initials “CJC” and date 1939.

This detail reveals underdrawing in pencil.

White drips of paint may suggest that Connick worked some areas upright.

This detail shows the painterly quality of the work.

Information Processing Letters is now available.

The MIT Libraries now subscribe to current, as well as historical issues, of Information Processing Letters.

Information Processing Letters is a forum for disseminating new research on information processing in a timely way.

Please send questions or comments to Amy Stout, EECS Librarian, astout@mit.edu.

By MIT Libraries’ student blogger, Pri Tembhekar

Hello everyone!

I’ve spent quite a few posts now describing resources offered by the Libraries. This week is about a resource that jumps off the page all by itself: money. The Libraries offer a range of paid positions for student workers, including jobs during the summer and IAP. Full information can be found at the student jobs page.

Jobs come in three major flavors. The first and most visible is circulation. These students may have helped you get books you reserved or check out materials. They also work to open and close the library and re-shelve books. Other responsibilities include answering questions, checking the shelves to make sure the materials are correctly placed and accessible, and retrieving materials from the stacks. The second is clerical. Fairly self-explanatory, this position includes ordering materials, stamping books, managing spreadsheets, sorting materials, and special projects like managing digital collections. Finally, students can also do storage and project work. The specifics of this job often depend on what is needed in the Libraries. That might be looking for books, applying barcodes, moving materials into storage, and helping with circulation and clerical duties. To get started you’ll need to identify the job you want, have at least some sense of your schedule, apply online, and  fill out an I-9. One of the major advantages of these jobs, in addition to being paid, is the opportunity to work in a peaceful, beautiful space surrounded by books. To get an insider’s perspective, I interviewed Rebecca Navarro and Kaylee Brent on their experiences.

Rebecca working at the Lewis Music Library.

Name: Rebecca Navarro

Year: 2014

Course: 16

Job and tenure: Circulation at Lewis Music Library, four years

Hours per week: I’m one of the crazy ones so I work between 12 and 20 hours each week. But it’s easy to get more or fewer hours.

Highlights of the job: I like the relaxed environment. I love the staff. They are really knowledgeable. Working at the music library has also given me an opportunity to continue to pursue music. My concentration is music and I’m really interested in it. The composer forums, open mics,  live concerts, and other cool events bring music to me. I get to learn more about music and keep that passion alive.

Reasons for working at the Libraries:  Honestly as a freshman it was because I needed a job for the money. I live in senior house so I actually know the music library exists. Reasons for continuing were that I love the staff that I work for. They are really accommodating. During finals week they allow for more downtime so that I can study but they also give me assignments when I’m bored.

Learnings on the job: I have learned how to use Barton, how to research properly at the library. I have also learned how accessible the staff is, even for obscure questions.

Take-away message: Don’t be afraid to ask for something you need. I see so many people struggling to find something that they could have found in a few minutes with my help, or the help of the staff.

Kaylee in the Dewey Library staff room.

Name: Kaylee Brent

Year: 2016

Course: 12

Job and tenure: Circulation at Dewey Library, two years

Hours per week: About 10 hours a week.

Highlights of the job: I like that it is pretty easy work and that it is fairly flexible. I get to listen to music when I’m in the stacks. When I’m working at desk I can do some homework during downtime. I’ve also found out about some great resources.

Reasons for working at the Libraries:  I needed money. I’ve worked a bunch of different jobs at MIT. This is low stress and reasonable. I have gotten to the point where generally people see me as competent. They are comfortable with giving me more control of the library. I don’t have to ask questions all the time.

Learnings on the job: I have learned how useful course reserves are! I haven’t bought a textbook in a while because I can use them for free in the libraries.

Take-away message: You should act in the first week of term to maximize opportunity for jobs. It varies by library what your responsibilities are.

Starting in summer 2015, construction will begin on a 200,000-square-foot building called “MIT.nano” that will replace Building 12 on the MIT campus. The building, to be completed by 2018, will include cutting edge facilities to support research with nanoscale materials and processes. About one quarter of MIT’s graduate students and 20 percent of its researchers across many fields will make use of the facility, according to Vladimir Bulović, an electrical engineering professor and the faculty lead on the MIT.nano project.

“This building needs to be centrally located, because nanoscale research is now central to so many disciplines,” Bulović told the MIT News. “[It] was designed to encourage collaboration.”

Explore Professor Bulović’s research in the Open Access Articles collection in DSpace@MIT, where it is openly accessible to the world.

Since the MIT faculty established their Open Access Policy in March 2009 they have made thousands of research papers freely available to the world via DSpace@MIT. To highlight that research, we’re offering a series of blog posts that link news stories about scholars’ work to their open access papers in DSpace.

The Libraries are pleased to announce that we now have online access to the Merck Index, which contains over 11,500 monographs – including historic records not available in the print editions.

The Merck Index is an authoritative and reliable source of information on chemicals, drugs and biologicals, it is a quick way to find basic property information, and seminal references.

Try it out, and let Erja Kajosalo know what you think!