MIT Libraries News

Looking for prospective employers?

Preparing for a job interview?

MIT Libraries can help!

First, we’ll learn how to target potential employers– established companies, start-up firms — by field of interest and by location. Then, we’ll use MIT Libraries’ resources to research potential employers and uncover information that can aid our career decisions and our interview preparations. This will be a hands-on workshop. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop if possible, as seating space exceeds the number of available PCs.

WHEN: Friday, January 23, 12:30 – 1:30pm

WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132

Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 30 participants.

Contact Alex Caracuzzo with any questions.

Rotch Library IAP Film Series:

When: Thursday and Fridays during IAP; Thursday, January 8, 2009 – Friday, January 30, 2009

Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238

Did you know that the Rotch Library of Architecture and Planning maintains an impressive DVD collection, with new titles added regularly?

Join us as we explore the scope of the collection, from from how we eat and farm (King Corn) to African mud architecture (Future of Mud) to the way type affects our lives (Helvetica). We’ll be showing a different film or two each day. Bring your lunch, we’ll provide the entertainment!

More information about each showing will be posted on this blog, and on the Rotch Library website.

Contact: Heather McCann, 7-238, x3-7098, <hmccann_at_mit.edu>

Sponsor: MIT Libraries hosted by Heather McCann, Allison Benedetti, Omar Khalidi, Jonah Jenkins

Enrollment: Seating is limited; first come, first served, limited to 20 participants.

Are you wondering what an RSS feed is and how it can help your research?

Want to learn more about using GIS, EndNote or RefWorks?

Need to find chemical information, social science data, or patents?

Want to learn Japanese book-binding, improve your photography, or how to compost with worms?

Look no further! Take a peek at all of the MIT Libraries IAP Activities offered in 2009.

Effective November 3rd, all Dewey Library materials with a 30-day loan item status will be given a due date of March 2, 2009.

In preparation for the upcoming renovation, 14,000 linear feet of books need to be removed from the second floor by December. We will move as many of these materials as possible to the first floor and basement. The rest will be temporarily in storage and will continue to be available by requesting an item in Barton.

In order to help us manage the collection during this period of reduced capacity, we are implementing the Dewey Renovation Extended Loan Period.

The due date on all materials already on loan prior to November 3rd will be changed automatically to reflect the new due date. Courtesy notices explaining this action will be sent to all affected patrons. The recall policy will continue to apply during this period.

You could win a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate…just for checking out books at Dewey Library! Now through November 30th, you can register to win every time you use the self-checkout machine at Dewey.

Just fill out the bottom of your self-check receipt and drop it in the box. Three winners will be drawn at the end of November and notified by email.

Good luck!

Arthur Dehon Little (1863-1935) attended MIT as an undergraduate student in chemistry from 1881 to 1884 and was a co-founder and editor of the student newspaper, The Tech. The firm he founded in 1909, Arthur D. Little, Inc., grew into one of the world’s foremost independent consulting and research organizations with an unmatched reputation for excellence in devising novel solutions to challenging problems and leading the way in management systems development. Over its lifetime, the company worked with MIT on numerous research projects and employed a number of MIT graduates and researchers. Arthur D. Little, Inc.’s longstanding relationship with MIT made the Institute Archives a fitting home for ADL, Inc.’s archives.

The Arthur D. Little, Inc. Collection was purchased at auction by the ADL, Inc. Alumni Association and given to MIT in 2002. It was recently made available to the public in the MIT Institute Archives & Special Collections. Selected items from the ADL Collection, as well as several items on loan from ADL alumni, will be on display through October 31 in the MIT Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery. An online exhibit “Scatter Acorns That Oaks May Grow” is also available. The exhibit takes its name from the ADL, Inc. motto, Glandes Sparge Ut Quercus Crescant.

The following classes will be taught by the Harvard-MIT Data Center (HMDC) Statistical Consultant in fall 2008.

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: two repeat sessions, attend either of the following:

• Tuesday, October 7th, 12-2pm or
• Wednesday, October 22nd, 12-2pm

2. 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. Prerequisites: General familiarity with Stata (such as taking the above Intro. workshop) and the linear regression model.

When: Friday, October 31st, 12-2pm

3. 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, October 10th, 12-2pm

Note: All Workshops Held In: E53-220

Space is limited. To register, contact: Katherine McNeill, mcneillh@mit.edu.

See also: Consulting: Interested in one-on-one help with statistical analysis and software? The Harvard-MIT Data Center (HMDC) Statistical Consultant can help you via email or an in-person consultation. Contact her via our email form.

Need real-time coverage of news, commentary, research, analysis, and data on global macroeconomic information?  Then try RGE Monitor, a new database from the MIT Libraries, that lets you track this information in an easy, centralized source.  Note: users may be asked to set up an account in order to access our subscription.

Access the database at http://libraries.mit.edu/get/rge.

Please join us for the final Town Meeting about the Dewey Library renovation on Tuesday, September 9th at 5:30 p.m. in E53-216. We will provide an overview of the project and hope to receive feedback from members of the MIT community on the plans. You bring the comments and we’ll bring the pizza!

More information about the project is available on our renovation website at:

http://info-libraries.mit.edu/redew/ .

Tenure-track, visiting and emeriti faculty can now take advantage of a new service.

Find a book you want in Barton, click on “Request item,” log into “Your Account” and select “office delivery” from the drop-down menu.

The book you requested will arrive at your office mailroom in 2-3 business days via campus mail.

For more information, please see our FAQ.

Vera Multi-Search – Vera had a makeover!
The new Vera Multi-Search will still help you find electronic journals, databases, and e-books, and now it will also help you search for articles within journals, conference proceedings, etc.  See the FAQ page for more information.

New LibGuides
We’ve adopted a new system of creating guides to help you find information related to your research.

PDF delivery from the Library Storage Annex
Looking for a journal article, conference proceeding, technical report or book chapter that’s in the Library Storage Annex?  Use the “Request PDF” button in the Barton catalog record to get PDF delivery to your desktop.  This service is free to members of the MIT community with an Illiad account.

Manage Your Research Data More Effectively
The Libraries have a new resource to help you in managing research data that you produce. Check out the guide to Data Management and Publishing.

Printing, Copying and Scanning Improvements
Hayden, Barker, Dewey and Rotch Libraries are moving to TechCASH with new copiers and scanners. You’ll now be able to use TechCASH (MIT ID) to pay at copiers, print for free (MIT community only) through Athena printers, and make color scans that you can email or save to your USB drive. See the Printing FAQ and the TechCASH FAQ for more information.

And coming soon…
Look for an expanded Libraries presence in Stellar including a link to the MIT Libraries Quick Start!

Please join us at a Town Meeting about the Dewey Library renovation this Wednesday, August 27^th at noon in E53-216. We will provide an overview of the project and hope to receive feedback from members of the MIT community on the plans.

You bring the comments and we’ll bring the pizza!

Thanks to funding from CRSP, Dewey Library will receive a much-needed renovation beginning at the end of December. In response to community feedback, we are updating Dewey to make it a more functional and attractive place for students, faculty and staff to study and conduct research in management and social sciences. The library will remain open throughout the renovation.

To learn more about the renovation and the various ways in which you can communicate with us about the project, please visit the ReDew: Renovating Dewey Library website. ReDew will be updated regularly as the project progresses so that everyone can know what’s happening.

WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center – DIRC)

WHEN: Friday, August 1, 12:30 – 1:30pm

While you won’t come out of this session qualified to be a patent attorney, you will be able to successfully find patent references from all over the world and know how to obtain patent text and diagrams. The session will be a hands-on practicum that will help de-mystify the patent literature and expose attendees to key resources for finding patents through free resources available on the web.

Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.

Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.

See http://libraries.mit.edu/patents for more information. Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.

Full schedule of JulyAP 2008 information workshops

Due to the ongoing demolition of the plaza in front of E53, an alternate entrance into the building and Dewey Library is in effect.

To enter the building:

• Take the temporary ramp from Wadsworth Street (to the right of the plaza) down to the garage level.
• Follow the signs which point you to the left towards the basement door to enter E53.
• From there, take either the elevator or the stairs to the 1st floor lobby of E53, where you can enter Dewey Library.

This detour will be in effect until sometime in the fall.

WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center – DIRC)

WHEN: Friday, July 25, noon – 1pm

Geared for graduate students, this workshop addresses what copyright means to you as an author, how you can assess a publisher’s copyright policies, and how you can use web-based tools that assess journal quality. Open access publishing models and the use of the MIT amendment to alter standard publisher agreements will also be discussed.

Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.

Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.

Contact copyright-lib@mit.edu for more information.

Full schedule of JulyAP 2008 information workshops

For the safety of the MIT community, the Dewey Library will be closed on Saturday, July 19th. The temporary entrance to E53 will be closed due to demolition work on the Sloan Plaza.

Dewey will be open as usual on Sunday the 20th from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.. We apologize for any inconvenience.

WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center – DIRC)

WHEN: Friday, July 11, noon – 1pm

EndNote is a “personal bibliographic software” package which allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references. Your database can be used to automatically generate in-text citations and bibliographies in your manuscripts. It can also help you organize and manage your PDF files. This session will be a hands-on practicum. Attendees will create a personal database of cited literature by importing references from resources such as Barton, Web of Science, PubMed and other sources of published literature. You will learn how to search and manipulate databases, and to generate a manuscript and bibliography.

Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.

Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.

Contact the Science Library for more information.

Full schedule of JulyAP 2008 information workshops

Were you unable to attend a Libraries’ sponsored IAP session this January? Wish you could have attended the March workshops on Building an EndNote Library, or the recent class on Google Maps?

The Libraries are pleased to unveil recordings of our popular workshops. The sessions were recorded in cooperation with Academic Media Production Services (AMPS) and are viewable both on and off campus with your MIT Certificates.

To see a list of recordings, go to the MIT Libraries Video Tutorials page and scroll down to Videos of Recent Workshops.

Contact Angie Locknar with any questions.

Bureau van Dijk’s Zephyr database is now available at MIT: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/zephyr. Zephyr provides:

• summaries and financial details about worldwide corporate mergers & acquisitions
• transactions such as IPOs, buyouts, and joint ventures
• private equity and venture capital financing details

How does Zephyr compare with SDC Platinum?

• Zephyr is web-based and requires no software download
• Zephyr also provides access to more recent deals (no 30-day embargo) and adds more deals each year
• SDC Platinum data goes back to 1980s (Zephyr goes back to 2000 (1998 for European deals))
• The databases can have different coverage so you may want to utilize both

Try out Zephyr and tell us what you think! Send your questions and comments to Alex Caracuzzo (alex3@mit.edu).