MIT Libraries News

Learn how to find and use information more effectively in these hands-on workshops. No advanced registration required. Light refreshments will be served at each session.

All workshops will take place in the Digital Instruction Resource Center (DIRC), 14N-132.

GeneGo Training
Wednesday, July 8, 9am – 12pm
Learn how to use this gene expression tool licensed by MIT Libraries. Bring data!
Contact: Courtney Crummett

Bioinformatics for Beginners
Thursday, July 9, 1pm – 2pm
Learn about the organization of key NCBI databases, understand the database record structure, and work with the BLAST search tool.
Contact: Howard Silver

EndNote Basics
Friday, July 10, 12pm – 1pm
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.
Contact: Peter Cohn

OAG as a Travel Planner Tool
Monday, July 13, 12pm – 1pm
OAG Travel Planner Pro is the premier customizable online tool for business and professional travelers who need to make and manage complex travel plans.
Contact: Barbara Williams

RefWorks Basics
Friday, July 17, 12pm – 1pm
RefWorks is a web-based resource designed to help you organize references and create a bibliography. RefWorks allows you to search, retrieve relevant citations, easily cite references as you write your paper, and build your bibliography. It allows users to create individual or group accounts.
Contact: Anita Perkins

Accessing the Aero/Astro Collection
Monday, July 6 and Monday, July 20, 12pm – 1pm
Find out where Aero/Astro materials are now located. This session will highlight the various Aero/Astro collections and how to access them.
This session is limited to 25 participants. To register, contact Barbara Williams.

Sequence Alignment
Wednesday, July 22, 10am – 12pm
Explore sequence alignment algorithms and their practical applications. Session will include a hands-on algorithm exercise and practical usage information (Clustal, BLAST, BLAT, Maq).
Contact: Charlie Whittaker

DSpace@MIT for Research Collections
Friday, July 24 and Monday, July 27, 12pm – 1pm
DSpace@MIT archives and makes globally discoverable the research output of MIT faculty, researchers, and students. The session will highlight MIT Libraries’ initiatives for easy upload of complete technical report and working papers series’ and will demonstrate how individuals and research groups can establish and begin populating new collections of research materials.
Contact: Craig Thomas

BLAST
Wednesday, July 29, 11am – 12pm
Learn how to use NCBI resources and optimize your BLAST protein searches to get the most out of your results. Attendance at Bioinformatics for Beginners and familiarity with BLAST are recommended.
Contact: Amy Stout

Data Management 101
Friday, July 31, 12pm – 1pm
For researchers struggling to manage their data, basic strategies will be provided for best practices for retention and archiving, effective directory structures and naming conventions, good file formats for long-term access, data security and backup options, metadata, tagging, and citation and other relevant issues.
Contact: Anne Graham

Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.

As of Friday, June 26, the Aeronautics and Astronautics Library (Aero/Astro) will officially close its doors and its collections will be relocated to other areas within the MIT Libraries. The majority of the collections will move to the Barker Engineering Library. Barker will house all current, unbound Aero/Astro journals, as well as books, theses, CDs and DVDs. All materials are expected to be fully accessible to users by July 2nd.

Older bound journals have been moved to the Library Storage Annex. Electronic (PDF) files of articles from these journals can be requested through Barton. Whole volumes may also be requested through Barton and delivered to a library location of choice.

During the move, assistance is available for retrieving books formerly located in the Aero/Astro Library—call 617.253.5661, or inquire at the Barker Engineering Library Service Desk. Aero/Astro databases and other electronic resources will continue to be accessible 24/7, see http://libguides.mit.edu/aero for links to these resources. For additional information about Aero/Astro collections, contact Barbara Williams, the Aero/Astro librarian, via email or by phone at 617.253.5666.

What is the legacy of the Apollo program, and what can we learn from it to help us confront the scientific and engineering challenges of our own time?  This short film kicked off the “Giant Leaps” Symposium commemorating the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. The symposium was organized by the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department, and held at MIT on June 11, 2009.  Find out more about Giant Leaps.

Check out this great video and more on MIT TechTV.

Exterior repairs to the dome to fix leaks will begin in earnest starting Monday, June 8, from 7am – 3:30pm. Work is expected to last from June through November.

Work from June through September entails replacing the stonework on the stepped part of the dome and chipping/grinding away residual concrete and filled-in spaces. From September to November, there will be repairs on the curved part of the dome.

A super-structure will be built over the dome to protect it from the weather and to allow construction regardless of the forecast. There will also be scaffolding on the 5th floor exterior spaces, with infrequent access needed from within Barker spaces. A construction trailer and crane will also be installed in the space between buildings 13, 12, 10, and 4. The crane will be in heavy use throughout the summer lifting new stone up and removing debris, so access to the doors in that alleyway will be unavailable.

For further history and updates regarding the project, see our ESL renovations blog, visit the Facilities update page, or email us.

Barker Library will be closed on Commencement Day, Friday, June 5th, due to previously scheduled events.

If you need access to Barker’s collections during this time, you may request delivery of materials to another MIT Library through the Libraries’ online catalog, Barton. To order delivery of materials that cannot be requested through Barton, or are already on hold at Barker, please call 617.253.5661 for assistance.

Reference services will be available in the Hayden Library (14S-100) or through our online service AskUs!. Barker Library staff will also be available by email or telephone throughout the day. Please refer to our online directory for contact information.

Barker will re-open for normal business hours on Saturday, June 6th.

The Reading Room of the Barker Library will be closed for our renovation project from Tuesday, May 26 through Friday, June 5. The Reading Room will re-open on Saturday, June 6.

All of Barker Library will be closed for Commencement Day, Friday, June 5 due to previously scheduled events.

Beginning on June 8, the Reading Room will close yet again and remain closed until mid-August as our renovation project continues. We look forward to introducing you to the newly improved space in the fall!

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us.

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

from Thursday May 14th at 8am to Friday, May 22nd at 7pm.

Overnight hours are for the MIT community only.

Need a break from your studies?

Enjoy free drinks & snacks at our two Food for Thought events this week:

• Barker Library (10-500) lobby, Tuesday May 12th, 2:30-4pm

• Hayden Library (14S-100) lobby, Thursday May 14th, 2:30-4pm

Come and hear attorney Sonia Guterman of Lawson & Wetzen discuss the distinctive aspects of patents that make them valuable, the role of patents in capital development, along with issues surrounding filing biotech patents. She will be assisted by Drew Lowery, who received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from MIT and is a member of Global Prior Art’s Life Science Team. Drew will discuss and demonstrate alternative ways to search biotech patent art and their suitability. At the end of the talk attendees will have the opportunity to do hands on searching.

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

WHEN: Thursday, April 16, 12 – 1:30pm

Contact Darcy Duke for more information.

Check out the full listing of IAPril 2009 Libraries events!

Learn how to find and use information more effectively in our hands-on workshops. No advanced registration required.

**NOTE that different events will be happening throughout the month of April and early May.**

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

WHEN: Friday, April 10, 12 – 1pm

Class attendees will learn about the organization of key NCBI databases, understand the database record structure, and work with the BLAST search tool. The session is a hands-on practicum and an excellent starting point for people who are new to, or curious about bioinformatics research tools.

Contact Howard Silver for more information.

Check out the full listing of IAPril 2009 Libraries events!

We are pleased to announce that the MIT Libraries now subscribe to all of the content available from the Optical Society of America through their OpticsInfoBase package.

The new package includes:

Partnered Journals:

All OSA Conference Papers (dates of coverage will vary by conference)

The URL above works on campus. As always, you can access this content off-campus through Vera or by using the Infobase shortcut.

* – Content from the old subscription

Learn how to find and use information more effectively in these hands-on workshops. No advanced registration required. Light refreshments will be served at each session.

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

Endnote Basics
Friday, April 3rd, 12 – 1pm

EndNote is a “personal bibliographic software” package which allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references.
Contact: Peter Cohn

Researching Companies for the Job Hunt
Thursday, April 9, 3-4:30pm

The MIT Libraries subscribe to a number of databases that you can use to research companies and industries. Using these databases, you can:
-Target companies by industry and geography
-Conduct comprehensive company and industry research
We will discuss why this type of research is critical to the job and internship search process, and how to use these databases effectively.

Contact: Anita Perkins

Bioinformatics for Beginners
Friday, April 10th, 12 – 1pm

Class attendees will learn about the organization of key NCBI databases, understand the database record structure, and work with the BLAST search tool. The session is a hands-on practicum and an excellent starting point for people who are new to, or curious about bioinformatics research tools.
Contact: Howard Silver

Biotechnology Patent Fundamentals and Searching
Thursday, April 16, 12-1:30pm

Come and hear attorney Sonia Guterman of Lawson & Wetzen discuss the distinctive aspects of patents that make them valuable, the role of patents in capital development, along with issues surrounding filing biotech patents. She will be assisted by Drew Lowery, who received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from MIT and is a member of Global Prior Art’s Life Science Team. Drew will discuss and demonstrate alternative ways to search biotech patent art and their suitability. At the end of the talk attendees will have the opportunity to do hands on searching.

Contact: J. Darcy Duke

Managing Research Data 101
Thursday, April 23, 12-1pm

For researchers struggling to manage their data, basic strategies will be provided for
• best practices for retention and archiving
• effective directory structures and naming conventions
• good file formats for long-term access
• data security and backup options
• metadata, tagging, and citation
• other relevant issues

Contact: MacKenzie Smith

Introduction to Market Research Databases at MIT
Friday, May 1, 12-1pm

Market research abounds on the web, but usually with a hefty price tag. This session will familiarize participants with market research accessible through MIT. We will cover types of resources available, how to navigate them, and some basic tips for using these resources.

Contact: Maggie Bartley

Check out the full listing of IAPril 2009 Libraries events!

Starting Friday, March 20th, through Monday, March 30th, the Barker Reading Room will be closed. The Reading Room will reopen on Tuesday, March 31st.

We’re happy to announce that the walls are getting a fresh coat of paint and the study carrels are being refinished! These are the first steps in our plans for further renovations to be done over the summer of 2009.

Also, thanks to our Processing and Access Services teams, all Barker bound print journals have made it safe and sound to the Library Storage Annex where they won’t be exposed to leaks.  The 8th floor of Barker is now closed until the Dome repairs are complete.

As a result of these two events, all unbound and current issues of journals have been moved to shelving on the 5th floor of Barker, just after the reference collection.

For centuries humans have been fascinated by the concept of flight. From simple attempts to fashion human wings to the serious science of space exploration, our fascination with flight has been constant and compelling, and has literally known no earthly bounds. This allure is the focus of a new exhibit in the MIT Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery.

The Fascination of Flight showcases both the dream and the reality of flight through historical materials, archival records, and current collections owned by the MIT Libraries.

The exhibit also highlights the pioneering work of the Institute’s faculty, students and heroic graduates and acknowledges their contributions to the science of powered flight.

The MIT community is invited to an opening celebration for the exhibit on Wednesday, April 1 from 1-3 pm.

New installment of the BioInformatics Tutorials Series (BITS) brought to you by MIT Engineering and Science Libraries and Harvard’s Countway Library of Medicine!

BIT 3.1: Entrez Gene (5:35)
BIT 3.2: OMIM and OMIA (6:34)
BIT 3.3: HomoloGene (6:28)

Be sure to check out our complete listing of MIT Libraries video tutorials.

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

Check out all of the MIT Libraries IAP events for the week covering Monday, January 26 through Friday, January 30. A complete listing for all of IAP is also available.

Practically Genomic

Introduction to Google Maps API

Using Elevation Data and Hydrographic Tools in a GIS

QUOSA Information Manager Demo: Retrieve and Organize Article PDFs

Going Beyond Google Scholar: Using the Web of Science and other citation searching resources to discover articles

Compost with Worms…in Your Apartment!!

Mapping and Using US Census Data

Fiddle-dee-dee during IAP

Managing Research Data 101

EndNote Basics

IAP @ Humanities Library Film Series: Special Effects at the Movies

Finding & Using Historical Newspapers

Model Builder

Biotechnology Patent Fundamentals and Searching

Make your Paper File Cabinets Searchable: How to Manage Paper and Electronic Documents Effectively

RefWorks Basics

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.

Check out all of the MIT Libraries IAP events for the week covering Monday, January 19 through Friday, January 23. A complete listing for all of IAP is also available.

Patent Searching Fundamentals

Introduction to GIS Using ESRI ArcGIS Desktop

Bioinformatics for Beginners

Using NCBI’s BLAST

Organic? All-natural? Grass-fed? What Does It All MEAN??

Tips and Tricks for Keeping Up With Information: Mechanical Engineering

Open Source and Free Mapping Tools

Managing Your References: Overview of EndNote, RefWorks and Zotero

BIOBASE ExPlain Training

RefWorks Basics

Patent Searching Fundamentals

Going Beyond Google Scholar: Using the Web of Science and Other Citation Searching Resources to Discover Articles

Introduction to GIS Using Free Software Tools and Data

Career Research: Targeting and Researching Employers

Site Selection – Making Spatial Decisions Using a GIS

EndNote Basics

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.

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.

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.

WHEN:
Tuesday, January 20, 12 – 1:30pm
Thursday, January 22, 3 – 4:30pm

WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132

Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.

Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.