MIT Libraries News

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• Date: Sunday, March 15th, 2009
• Exhibit: 2PM – 5PM
• Talk: 3PM
• Where: Hayden Memorial Library (building 14S),
• Food: Light refreshments will be served

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.

Sponsored by the MIT Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, MIT Humanities Library and the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies

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
• Model Builder and Python
  Friday, March 13, 2-4 pm

Take a break over the long weekend with something from the Humanities and Lewis Music Library’s collections, including books, DVDs and CDs. Come by at 1 PM to watch the Ballroom Dance Club liven up the bookmobile with a few dances!

• Date: Friday February 13th, 2009
• Time: 11AM – 2PM
• Where: Stata Center (building 32), Information Intersection — Student Street
• Cost: FREE!!!

Rotch Library IAP Film Series:

When: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Friday, January 30, 2009

Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238

Click the image above to view a trailer for the film.

Street Fight (2005)

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)

This film is a part of the Rotch Library DVD collection.

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.

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.

All screenings from 7:30 PM – 10 PM:

Anime, Technology, and Metropolis (Rintaro)
Tuesday, January 27
Brief discussion with Ian Condry.
4-231

3-D Digital Special Effects
Wednesday, January 28
Brief discussion with Violeta Ivanova.
4-237

Pre-1923 Experimental Short Films
Thursday, January 29
Brief discussion with event organizers.
4-231

Food will be provided at all events.  We invite you to tag and search our film collection at:

delicious.com/mitlibdvds

Username: mitlibdvds
Password: films2008

Rotch Library IAP Film Series:

When: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Friday, January 23, 2009

Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238

Click the image above to view a trailer for the film.

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)

This film is a part of the Rotch Library DVD collection.

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.

Rotch Library IAP Film Series continues:

When: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Friday, January 22, 2009

Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238

Aboriginal architecture, living architecture (2005)

This film offers a fascinating in-depth look into the diversity of North American Native architecture. Featuring expert commentary and stunning imagery, this program provides a virtual tour of seven aboriginal communities– Pueblo, Mohawk, Inuit, Crow, Navajo, Coast Salish, and Haida. (93 minutes)
This film is a part of the Rotch Library DVD collection.

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.

The Humanities Library regrets that it will be unable to present the IAP session Finding and Using Historical Newspapers, originally scheduled for January 29th, due to unforeseen circumstances.  We are sorry to disappoint those who may have been looking forward to the event, and we apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

click on above image to download as an 8 1/2 x 11 pdf poster

The Humanities Library will be hosting three events this IAP:

Friday Jan. 16th:
Take a Break at the Bookmobile:
Check out a great selection of books from the Humanities Library, and CDs from the Lewis Music Library.
11am to 2pm
Lobby 10

Tuesday Jan. 27th, Wednesday Jan. 28th, Thursday Jan. 29th:
Special Effects at the Movies
Patsy Baudoin, Christine Hazlett, Jonathan Chapman, Katie Stanchak
We will view three films with historically innovative special effects.  Free food will be available.
7:30pm to 10pm
Tuesday’s and Thursday’s event will be held in 4-231.  Wednesday’s event will be held in 4-237.

Thurday Jan. 29th:
Finding and Using Historical Newspapers
Michelle Baildon
Whether for research or for fun, reading historical newspapers gives us a fascinating view of the past. This hands-on workshop will show you how to find and use newspapers (online and otherwise) going back as far as the 17th century. Focus will be on U.S. papers, though international papers will also be covered.
Thurs 1/29 – 11:30am to 12:30pm
DIRC (14N-132).
No advance sign-up.

Check out all of the MIT Libraries IAP events for the week covering Monday, January 12 through Friday, January 16. A complete listing for all of IAP is also available.

Managing Your References: Overview of EndNote, RefWorks and Zotero

Tips and Tricks for Keeping Up With Information: Materials Science & Engineering

Japanese bookbinding

EndNote Basics

Finding Research Datasets: ICPSR and the Harvard-MIT Data Center

Bioinformatics for Beginners

Managing Research Data 101

Introduction to Company and Industry Research for Engineers and Scientists

Basics of Obtaining a Patent

RefWorks Basics

Introduction to SciFinder on the Web

Humanities and Music Library Bookmobile

Keeping Current: Using RSS Feeds to Stay Ahead in Your Research

Please note that some sessions have limited availability or may require advance sign-up requirements. If you have further questions, please see individual listings for appropriate contact information.

Rotch Library IAP Film Series:

When: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Thursday, January 8, 2009

Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238

Click the image above to view a trailer for the film.

King Corn: a film (2006)
Two college graduates plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil, with the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat– and how we farm. (92 minutes)

This film is a part of the Rotch Library DVD collection.

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.

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.

Hayden Library — Humanities & Science — will stay open 24 hours a day during Finals

from Wednesday, Dec. 10th at 8am to Friday, Dec. 19th at 7pm.

Overnight hours are for the MIT community only.

Check out a great selection of books from the Humanities Library, with a special emphasis on gaming and music, at our next Bookmobile event Wednesday, December 10th.  There will also be a rocking sampling of cd’s from the Lewis Music Library.  Then bop your way up to the Barker Library Media Room for a special Rock Band gaming event!

Details (see previous blog posting for more Rock Band event details):

• Date: Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
• Time: 11AM – 6PM (Bookmobile:  11-2, Rock Band Event: 3-6)
• Where: Bookmobile in Lobby 10, Rock Band event in the Barker Library Media Room (10-500)
  
• Cost: FREE!!!

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On Wednesday, December 10, from 3 – 6pm, the Engineering and Humanities Libraries are holding a gaming event in the Media Room of the Barker Engineering Library (5th floor of building 10).

Celebrate the end of the semester with Rock Band, snacks and fun! No registration required.

A full-sized Peak Guitar that goes with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, PS2 and PS3 will be raffled off. See the Peak website for more information.

Contact Amy Stout with any questions.

Gobble up some delicious new offerings from the Humanities Library and the Lewis Music Library‘s collections, including books, DVDs and CDs.

Details:

• Date: Tuesday November 25th, 2008
• Time: 11AM – 2PM
• Where: Lobby 10
• Cost: FREE!!!

If you need a new recipe or perhaps an old classic, we probably have it in one of the cookbooks currently on display in the Humanities Library Browsery (14S-200).  Come take a look!