Join us in the Rotch Library conference room Thursday and Friday from noon-2 as we kick off the 3rd annual Rotch Library IAP Film Series. See our complete film schedule on the IAP calendar.
This week:
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Brooklyn Matters
Thursday, January 7th, noon-2pm
Rotch Library, conference room
Brooklyn Matters is an insightful documentary that reveals the fuller truth about the Atlantic Yards proposal and highlights how a few powerful men are circumventing community participation and planning principles to try to push their own interests forward.
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Crips & Bloods: Made in America
Friday, January 8th, noon -2 pm
Rotch Library, conference room
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this documentary film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles, and offers insight as to how this ongoing tragedy may possibly be resolved.
ICPSR is sponsoring three competitions to highlight the best student research papers (undergraduate and master’s) using quantitative data. The objective is to encourage students to explore the social sciences by means of critical analysis of a topic supported by quantitative analysis of a dataset(s) held within the ICPSR archive and presented in written form.
Two competitions covers any dataset(s) held within the ICPSR archive and are eligible to undergraduate and master’s students, respectively. The third competition solicits undergraduate papers addressing issues relevant to minorities in the United States, including immigrants, that utilize data from the Resource Center for Minority Data.
Up to three cash prizes will be awarded for each competition. The winner will receive a monetary award of $1,000 (second place receives $750 and third place $500).
This exhibition provides a photo chronicle of contemporary life in Kosovo. Kosovo’s political condition and its effect on the Kosovar people is complex, ambiguous, and fluid. At best, this effect can be grasped only through examples and snapshots that provide momentary understanding. The exhibition is an attempt is to provide a lens into contemporary Kosovo through the individuals the artist met and the stories they were willing to share with her. The collection of many small stories culminated in two larger ones, the lives of Medina, an 11-year old girl growing up in a suburb of Prishtina, and Sabahet, a student at Prishtina University. This volume chronicles their daily life, with the remnants and ripples of past conflict still visible and affecting them today.
Power Supply: Energy Resources in the MIT Libraries is a new exhibit in the Maihaugen Gallery that showcases “energy resources” in the Libraries that have supported and resulted from research and education throughout the Institute’s history. Included are books and articles from historical collections, examples of rich working collections, theses by MIT students, and video (below) highlighting MIT’s current efforts in energy research.
The MIT Community is invited to an opening reception on Friday, October 23, 1-3pm in the Maihaugen Gallery (14N-130). Check out the exhibit and enjoy refreshments with friends!
Looking to gain skills in working with statistical analysis software packages? The following classes will be taught by the Harvard-MIT Data Center (HMDC) Statistical Consultant and start next week! Note: there will be time at the end of each session for individual assistance, so feel free to bring your research questions.
1. Introduction to Stata
Get an introduction to Stata, the statistical analysis software package commonly used at MIT. With hands-on exercises, learn how to import and manage datasets. Novices welcome!
When: Friday, October 23rd, 2-5pm
2. Data Management in Stata Learn techniques for data management using Stata. Perform hands-on exercises and learn how to create cross-sectional, time-series, and panel datasets from several data files. Topics include importing data into Stata, labeling data and variables, converting data from string to numeric format, appending and merging datasets, and collapsing and reshaping a dataset. Prerequisite: a general familiarity with Stata (such as taking the Intro. workshop).
When: Friday, November 6th, 3-5pm
3. Introduction to Regression Using Stata This hands-on class will provide a comprehensive introduction to estimating the linear regression model using ordinary least squares in Stata. Topics for the class include multiple regression, dummy variables, interaction effects, hypothesis tests, and model diagnostics. Prerequisites include a general familiarity with Stata (such as taking the Intro. workshop), the linear regression model, and the ordinary least squares estimation.
When: Friday, November 13th, 3-5pm
4. Introduction to R
Get an introduction to R, the open-source system for statistical computation and graphics available on Athena. With hands-on exercises, learn how to import and manage datasets, create R objects, and generate figures. Novices welcome!
When: Friday, December 11th, 1-4pm
Where: All workshops held in the Sloan Trading Room in the basement of E52: E52-010.
Space is limited. To register, contact: Katherine McNeill, mcneillh@mit.edu.
Tomes & Domes: Islamic Architecture Collections at Rotch Library opens on Thursday, October 15 in Rotch Library of Architecture & Planning (7-238). The exhibit highlights items from the library’s extensive collection of materials related to architecture and planning in the Islamic world. It features items used in The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) and includes photographs taken by MIT students supported by the AKPIA Travel Grant. It was funded in part by Robert M. Randolph, Chaplain to the Institute, Office of Religious Life and the Council for the Arts at MIT. The exhibit will run through November 25.
Learn about ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research), the world’s largest archive of research data for the social sciences. Next week (Oct 5-9, 2009), ICPSR will be broadcasting live free webinars to help you understand and utilize its many data resources. Topics covered include:
Data on minority populations
Graphing quantitative data & Web 2.0 tools for visualization
Protecting respondent confidentiality
American Community Survey
American National Election Survey
Harmonized data sets
Documentation of research data
Quantitative literacy/Using data in teaching
Online analysis of data
And more!
Visit http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/or/ormeet/program/index.jsp to review the abstracts and slides and to register to attend the webinars. Note: while these are presented in the context of the meeting of ICPSR Official Representatives, the webinars are free and open to the public; all members of the MIT community are encouraged to register and attend.
One of our primary goals was to make the site more visually appealing, as well as more user-friendly.
Some new features:
a slideshow on the home page (powered by Slideshow Pro)
a list of exhibits with sample images
quick links to our Research Guides
a page describing the building and history of Rotch Library
incorporation of the previously separate RVC pages into this site
Technical notes:
The site is powered by WordPress. This makes it very easy for staff to update; allows us to use professional templates; and makes it easy to incorporate new plugins and features. Rotch joins Dewey Library, the Scholarly Communication web site, and our News Blog as the 4th of our sites to be powered by WordPress.
The news page is automatically updated by the RSS feed from our central libraries’ news blog.
Endnote is a “personal bibliographic software” package which allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references. Learn how to find and use information more effectively in our hands-on workshops.
A study conducted by Kevin Lynch and Gygory Kepes in Boston, MA from 1954-1959 was the foundation for Lynch’s theories on city planning. The MIT Libraries have digitized many of the study’s 2,000 photos and 1,200 pages of text, making the materials available online.
The Perceptual Form of the Citystudy addressed the legibility and imageability of the American city in terms of the individual’s perception of the urban landscape. The study focused on the cities of Boston, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, California, and Jersey City, New Jersey.
Records include field notes, interview transcripts, collected data, correspondence regarding the progress of the project, and hand drawn maps. See: http://libraries.mit.edu/lynch for additional information and to view a slideshow of photos from the collection.
No, Cookie Monster, not “Cookie Mobile”…Bookmobile, with our usual assortment of great books and CDs from the Humanities Library and the Lewis Music Library. But, since we are being sponsored by the letter “S,” there may be something there for you. Read on:
“S” is for “SERENDIPITY” and “SCIENCE LIBRARY”
We will have a selection of books from the Science Library’s new “Serendipity” Collection.
“S” is for “SPRING BREAK” and “SPECIAL LOAN” for CDs and DVDs
The Lewis Music Library is offering a special, longer loan period for CDs and DVDs over spring break 2009. Music compact discs and DVDs borrowed Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27 will be due Monday, March 30 (by closing, 10pm). That’s more than a week, instead of the usual 3 days! Limit of 5, no renewals.
“S” is for “SURVEY” and “SNACK!”
Fill out a survey, get a snack (who knows…maybe a cookie).
So come check us out in Lobby 10this Friday, March 20th, between 11AM and 2PM.
Quilt collector Heather Korostoff Murray introduces us to African-American improvisational quilts: the unique qualities of these extraordinary textiles, their possible African connections, and the stories behind their creators. The exhibit will feature twenty-five quilts from her collection, illustrating the key characteristics of the genre. Her slides come from quilt scholar and curator Eli Leon’s extensive collection. Leon has generously provided the slides to edify Murray’s audience about this special province of African-American quilt making. Murray’s talk will focus on the lives and work of eight significant African-American improvisational quilt makers, including striking examples from Leon’s collection.
Murray’s interests include the quilt makers themselves – their stories, inspirations and astonishing talents. Her talk incorporates the technical side of the quilts, as well as anecdotes of their inspiration.
Heather Korostoff Murray, Bio
Heather Korostoff Murray, a native Philadelphian and long-time admirer of traditional Bucks County quilts, stumbled upon her first African-American improvisational quilt while exploring online. This experience launched a passion for the genre that has quickly led to a considerable collection, and a desire to learn more about these spectacular textiles and their makers. She finds these distinctive quilts to have an almost palpable depth and melodic eloquence.
MIT GIS Services will be offering a series of workshops to introduce the MIT community to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). All sessions will be held in the MIT GIS Lab, Rotch Library, 7-238. These workshops are restricted to the MIT community and will require an active kerberos account. No registration required – seats are available on a first come basis. MIT GIS Services are cooperatively supported by the MIT Libraries, OEIT, and IS&T.
Introduction to GIS using ESRI ArcGIS Desktop and QGIS (FOSS)
Friday, February 20, 2-4 pm
Site Selection – Making Spatial Decisions Using a GIS
Friday, February 27, 2-4 pm
Using Elevation Data and Hydrographic Tools in a GIS
Friday, March 6, 2-4 pm
Follows the bare-knuckles race for Mayor of Newark, N.J. between 32 year-old Cory Booker and four-term incumbent Sharpe James, the undisputed champion of New Jersey politics. Fought in Newark’s neighborhoods and housing projects, the battle pits the young challenger against an old style political machine that uses any means necessary, including harassment and police intimidation, to crush its opponents. (82 minutes)
Follows photographer Edward Burtynsky, internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry, as he travels through China photographing the effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. (90 minutes)
The MIT Libraries were recently given 37 hand-colored lithographs from John James Audubon’sViviparous Quadrupeds of North America. The rare lithographs were generously donated by Mr. Ron Juster and family, in honor of Josh Juster, M. Eng. 2004. Several of the prints from the collection can be viewed in the Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery where they are on display as part of the Celebration of Gifts exhibit.
The prints embody one of the 19th century’s most artistically successful attempts to catalog, illustrate, and promote understanding of the natural world. Following the monumental success of his publication Birds of America, naturalist and artist John James Audubon (1785-1851) attempted to produce accurate illustrations of every quadruped native to North America. In an effort to limit such a massive undertaking, he decided to include only viviparous animals (those that give birth to live young). The result was 150 paintings that are widely celebrated for both their scientific accuracy and their artistic beauty.
The Celebration of Gifts exhibit runs through February 19th in the Maihaugen Gallery, adjacent to the Institute Archives (14N-118). Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Helvetica (2007)
A documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture, which looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. (80 minutes)
An Uncertain Moment
One of our primary goals was to make the site more visually appealing, as well as more user-friendly.
WHERE: 14N-132 (
A study conducted by Kevin Lynch and Gygory Kepes in Boston, MA from 1954-1959 was the foundation for Lynch’s theories on city planning. The MIT Libraries have digitized many of the study’s 2,000 photos and 1,200 pages of text, making the materials available online.
