This petition follows MIT’s recent participation in the Obama Administration’s Request for Information (RFI) on public access to the results of federally funded research. In the response, MIT affirmed that public access is “of substantial significance” to MIT, because public access aligns with MIT’s mission to “generate, disseminate, and preserve knowledge,” and because:

“The ability of research universities to continue to contribute to the welfare of the nation and the interests of the states and local communities in which we reside is fundamentally connected to the open availability of the research results produced by MIT and by the country’s large and small research universities.”

This new petition will help the Obama Administration identify the priorities to act on in the next few months. If it yields 25,000 signatures in 30 days, it will be reviewed by White House staff, and considered for action.

To review or sign the petition:
Visit the We The People site

For more information:
Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing / MIT Libraries / x38483

The American Economic Association has named Amy Finkelstein winner of the 2012 John Bates Clark Medal, a prestigious annual award given to an economist under 40. Professor Finkelstein researches health insurance markets and has, among other work, analyzed the effects of Medicare and Medicaid on healthcare spending. In its announcement the AEA notes that Finkelstein’s research is “centered on some of the most important and policy-relevant issues facing developed economies today,” and calls her “one of the most accomplished applied micro-economists of her generation.”

Explore Professor Finkelstein’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.

Through the MIT Libraries’ contracts, for example, Springer and Wiley give MIT authors the right “to use, with appropriate credit, figures, tables and brief excerpts … in the Authorized User’s own scientific, scholarly and educational works.”

Elsevier also allows authors similar rights. Authors can “incorporate a maximum of two (2) figures (including charts, tables, graphs and other images) from a journal article or book chapter or five (5) figures per journal volume … in academic works, research papers and scholarly publications and presentations … for non-commercial purposes.”

Elsevier, like Springer and Wiley, stipulates that the user must make appropriate credit, but also makes the point that “if a separate copyright holder is identified in such figure or the figure is a complex illustration,” for example an anatomical drawing, cartoon, map, or photograph, then permission should be sought from the publisher or copyright holder.

In general, permission should be sought if the figure, table, or illustration indicates a copyright holder other than the publisher.

If a publisher wants evidence of the permission to reuse figures, tables, or illustrations from journals published by Elsevier, Springer, or Wiley, authors can indicate permission was granted through a license signed by MIT with the publisher for access to the journals at MIT. MIT authors may point journal editors to the MIT web page describing this permission.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing, MIT Libraries / x38483

Barker Reading Room, photo by L. Barry Hetherington

After Commencement on June 8, 2012 the Barker Library Reading Room will close for the summer to allow for renovations to the Reading Room and Dome. The Reading Room is expected to reopen in September 2012 for the fall term, although renovations will continue through December with occasional minor disruptions.

As part of the project, a new entrance will be added to the Reading Room to make it accessible as a 24-hour study space. An around-the-clock Reading Room under the iconic Dome will significantly expand students’ options for late night study on campus. Currently the Libraries offer secure 24/7 study areas in both Hayden and Dewey libraries, the addition of the Barker Reading Room will more than triple the amount of space currently available for 24/7 study. The Libraries expect to inaugurate 24-hour service in Barker beginning in January 2013.

While the Reading Room is closed, library users can find alternative spaces for studying in Barker Library on floors six through eight, as well as in other library locations. Stay informed of renovation closures and progress by checking the Barker Library website or following @mitlibraries on Twitter.

Earlier this month MIT and Harvard announced a partnership to launch edX, a nonprofit that will offer free online courses from both institutions. The open source platform built for MITx, announced last December, will serve as the foundation for edX. It was developed under the leadership of CSAIL director Anant Agarwal, who is the first president of edX. Agarwal is co-teaching (along with Gerald Sussman, Christopher Terman, and Piotr Mitros) the first class offered by MITx, Circuits and Electronics, which runs through early June. About 120,000 students registered for the course.

Explore Professor Agarwal’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.

World Bank e-Library: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/elib – updated search engine and new open access repository

Provides electronic access to over 7,000 books, reports, journals, and working papers published by the bank, many going back as far as the 1970s.

Note: the e-Library has new terms of use, including Creative Commons licenses that allow for broader usage.   This change was made in conjunction with the recent launch of the Open Knowledge Repository —the World Bank’s new site for providing open access to many of its research outputs and knowledge products.  In addition, a new Open Access Policy will go into effect on July 1st.

World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/wdi – new interface

These two databases are now combined in a new interface with more functions for selecting and displaying data, performing customized queries, downloading data, and creating charts and maps.  Provides statistical time-series data on development and the global economy for countries worldwide. Includes a wide range of basic statistics, including social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators. 1960 to present.

Also in the new World dataBank Suite: – new interface

• Africa Development Indicators: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/adi

Time series data for over 50 countries. Includes social, economic, financial, infrastructure, governance, partnership, and environmental indicators. 1960 to present.

World Bank Open Data Web Site: http://data.worldbank.org/

In a recent initiative, the Bank has created a new infrastructure for improving public access to its data.  Their Open Data site provides many new tools for accessing and visualizing their data, including:

• Downloads
• Data visualizations and a mapping platform
• Accessing World Bank Open Data in Stata
• Microdata Catalog (data available upon application)
• And much more

Library Catalog: Lastly, keep in mind that you can search for materials by the World Bank in the Libraries’ Barton Catalog by specifying it as the publisher in the Advanced Search.

photo by Christopher Maynor

Have finals got you stressed? Take a break, have a snack, pet a dog and de-stress!

The furry friends from Dog B.O.N.E.S. a non-profit therapy dog organization, return to campus to visit with students at Hayden Library on Thursday, May 17, and Barker Library on Tuesday, May 22.

Additional (fur-free) study breaks will be offered in Rotch and Dewey libraries.

Cookies and beverages will be served outside the entrance to each library.

Cookies With Canines

Hayden Library - Thurs. May 17, 2-3:30 pm

Barker Library – Tues. May 22, 2-3:30 pm

Additional Study Breaks

Rotch Library – Mon. May 21, 2-3:30 pm

Dewey Library – Tues. May 22, 2-4:00 pm

Tito Sierra (photo by L.Barry Hetherington)

Tito Sierra, MIT Libraries’ Associate Director for Technology, has been appointed to the Digital Library Federation (DLF) Advisory Committee for the Council on Library and Information Services (CLIR). During his two-year term, Sierra will work with five other committee members to advise the DLF director on program activities, initiatives, and strategy.

CLIR’s Digital Library Federation is a network of libraries and related agencies pioneering innovative uses of information technologies and community expertise to extend collections and services. DLF has promoted work on:

• Digital library structures, standards, preservation, and use
• Archives for electronic journals
• Aggregation services for digital collections
• Digital library services that expand access to resources for research, teaching, and learning

See the full announcement from the DLF.

CSAIL professor celebrated as outstanding woman in computer science

In April, CSAIL professor Nancy Lynch was named the Athena Lecturer, an annual award from the Association for Computing Machinery that celebrates women who have made fundamental contributions to computer science. Lynch will give a talk at an ACM conference and receive a $10,000 prize from Google. “We’d certainly like to attract more attention to the success of women researchers,” said Lynch in a Boston Globe interview, “so we can get more women inspired to get into the field.”

Explore Professor Lynch’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.

Glass at MIT exhibition, Maihaugen Gallery, photo by: L. Barry Hetherington

Gallery Talk with Roberto Rosa

Roberto Rosa, Serpentino Stained Glass

When: Friday, May 11, 2pm

Where: Institute Archives (14N-118)

In conjunction with the Glass at MIT: Beauty and Utility exhibition, Roberto Rosa from Serpentino Stained Glass will discuss stained glass art and artists, and his work in the restoration and conservation of historic stained glass.

Rosa has restored windows in some of America’s most prominent buildings including the Massachusetts State House and Trinity Church in Boston. Most recently, he was the chief conservator for thirteen opalescent glass windows at Salve Regina University in Newport RI, designed by John La Farge.

After Rosa’s talk there will be time for questions and viewing the exhibit in the Maihaugen Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.

According to the news release, eLife’s “first aim is to publish an open-access journal for the most important discoveries that is also a platform for experimentation and showcasing innovation in research communication.” The eLife journal, focused on life and biomedical science, is intended to offer “a top-tier open-access journal covering basic biological research through to applied, translational and clinical studies.”

eLife‘s goal is to “accelerate scientific advancement by promoting modes of communication whereby new results are made available quickly, openly, and in a way that helps others to build upon them.” Toward that end, eLife plans to “make decisions quickly; deliver a fair, transparent, and supportive author experience; and create maximum potential exposure for published works.”

eLife will launch toward the end of 2012.

For more information on eLife and other open access journals:

• New York Times article about eLife
• Open Access FAQ
• Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing / MIT Libraries

Need to expand your skills in statistical methods and quantitative analysis? Attend the ICPSR Summer Program! Each year, ICPSR provides a comprehensive, integrated program of studies in research design, statistics, data analysis, and social science methodology. Registration is now open for the 2012 session.

For a listing of course offerings and application information, see the ICPSR Summer Program web site

Note that while most courses are held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the following two will be held in Amherst, MA:

• Analyzing Developmental Trajectories
• Hierarchical Linear Models I

For further information, contact Katherine McNeill, Social Science Data Services Librarian, at mcneillh@mit.edu.

New climate circulation model shows Southern Ocean’s importance

As reported in the MIT News, Oceanography professor John Marshall and colleague Kevin Speer offer an updated ocean circulation model that emphasizes the Southern Ocean’s influence on the earth’s climate and climate change. Previous research has focused on the North Atlantic, but Marshall and Speer’s recent paper, a review of past observations and research, pinpoints the water circling Antarctica as a key player in the global circulation system.

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

One such issue is Elsevier’s response to the MIT Faculty Policy. As Holton reports, Elsevier’s author contract now indicates authors ‘must obtain an express waiver’ from the MIT policy, but that’s not all:

“last year they put in place a new Posting Policy, i.e., a policy governing how their authors can publish their pieces on the Web. The new Posting Policy states that in general authors are allowed to post their articles on their Websites, but then adds a caveat saying that this does not extend to repositories with ‘systematic posting mandates.’…The wording is very unclear; no one is quite sure what a “systematic posting mandate” is. …But it is clear that Elsevier is trying to do what it can to undermine [faculty open access] policies, and to confuse faculty about what they are and are not allowed to do.”

Holton points out that outrage at Elsevier’s policies has sparked a boycott, with many MIT participants. “There is a growing sense that some response is needed,” Holton says, “and the new Working Group is planning to consider what, if any, response should be made.”

Overall, Holton “hope[s] the Working Group will offer an efficient means of arriving at principled positions to take to Elsevier and other publishers.”

Members of the Open Access Working Group:

Scott Aaronson (EECS)
Hal Abelson (EECS)
Janet Conrad (ex officio, as Chair of the FCLS) (Physics)
Sasha Costanza-Chock (Writing and Humanistic Studies)
Kai von Fintel (Linguistics)
Eric von Hippel (Sloan)
Richard Holton (Chair) (Philosophy)
John Lienhard (Mechanical Engineering)
Anne Whiston Spirn (Urban Studies & Planning)
George Stephanopoulos (Chemical Engineering)

Ellen Duranceau, Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing, MIT Libraries, and staff to the Working Group.

Date: Friday, May 4, 2012
Place: Lewis Music Library, Bldg. 14E-109
Time: 3–4 pm

The concert is free and open to the public.

The article, which has been accepted for publication in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, argues that Elsevier “has aggressively pushed bundling arrangements that result in libraries paying for journals they do not want and that obscure actual costs,” has “fought transparency of pricing,” and has “imposed restrictions on dissemination by authors.” For example, Cohn and co-author Douglas Arnold of University of Minnesota point out that “if your institution mandates posting the accepted author manuscript in its repository, then Elsevier stipulates that you may not–although they permit such posting when there is no mandate!”

The authors report that push-back on Elsevier’s practices has had a real impact. Following the boycott, Elsevier publicly withdrew its support for the Research Works Act (RWA), which would have prohibited the government from establishing open access mandates for research it funds. Elsevier’s withdrawal of support came just hours before its sponsors declared the bill dead. “This victory,” Arnold and Cohn note, “confirmed the boycott’s success in delivering a message where we were never able to get through before.”

In addition to reversing position on the Research Works Act, Elsevier issued a “Letter to the Mathematics Community,” announcing a “target price” for core mathematics titles, and promising to address concerns about “large discounted agreements,” as well as opening access to the archives of 14 core mathematics journals from 1995 up to four years prior to the present day. Arnold and Cohn call for “expansion to the full set of mathematical journals and the period before 1995,” as well as a “binding commitment” to the changes Elsevier has made. They also want Elsevier to “allow authors to post accepted manuscripts to any [noncommercial subject] repository, as well as to university repositories, regardless of whether there is a posting mandate,” and to include this in their publishing agreement with authors.

More broadly, the authors reflect that “it is too early to predict” what mix of publishing models will “emerge as the most successful” but that “any publisher that wants to be part of this mix must convince the community that they oversee peer review with integrity, that they aid dissemination rather than hinder it, and that they work to make high-quality mathematical literature widely available at a reasonable price.”

For more information:

• Statement of Purpose for the Elsevier boycott (signed by 34 mathematicians)
• Why Scientists are Boycotting a Publisher: Gareth Cook’s editorial in the Boston Globe
• Interview with Elsevier about the boycott, RWA, and more
• Elsevier Fact Sheet
  
• Elsevier statement in reversing support for the RWA including that they will still “continue to oppose government mandates in this area.”

or contact:
Ellen Duranceau, Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing, MIT Libraries

Where: 14N-132

Digital photos are fragile and require special care to keep them accessible. But preserving any kind of digital information is a new concept that most people have little experience with. Technologies change over time and become obsolete, making it difficult to access older digital photos. Learn about the nature of the problem and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you keep your digital photos safe. This event is part of the American Library Association’s Preservation Week.

For more information, please contact: Ann Marie Willer.

Where: 14N-132

Do you want to save an old family quilt, a wedding dress, or T-shirts and flags from your fraternity or student club?  A conservator will present this webinar on how to care for the various types of textiles found in family collections including clothing, flags, furniture coverings, and framed textiles. The session will cover how to safely store and display textiles and how to determine when the services of a professional conservator are needed.  This event is part of the American Library Association’s Preservation Week.

For more information, please contact Ann Marie Willer.

Opera in Video is now available to the MIT community. This streaming database contains 500 hours of opera performances, captured on video through staged productions, interviews, and documentaries. Selections represent some of the world’s best performers, conductors, and opera houses.

Stream video to your mobile device! All video is now supported for iPhone operating on 3G network or better and Android. Click on the mobile phone icon next to each video in the database to stream directly to your mobile device.

Where: 14N-118 (Archives reading room)

In this session you will be exposed to a variety of software tools that are being used in the Institute Archives for understanding digital files that are being added to the Archival collections.  These software tools aid with the process of long-term access of digital material by allowing us to know what the digital files are when we receive them, detect any changes over time, and how to make them available in the future.

We will briefly discuss how these tools fit into work flows for digital content being developed for use in the Institute Archives and Special Collections department of the MIT Libraries.

Categories of tools that will be reviewed include:  file format characterization, fixity, packaging, metadata extraction, conversion / normalization, disk imaging, and metadata embedding.

Come learn how you can know that over time your digital files are what they are!

Please register for this session. For more information, please contact Kari R. Smith.

Where: 14N-132

Want to find out how to obtain over one million tracks of streaming audio ranging from classical to jazz, popular, and contemporary world music? How about over 150,000 online music scores? Streaming video of poets reading from their work? Images so sharp you can see the shadow beneath the Mona Lisa’s smile? Or panoramic views of architectural sites from around the world?

Come to this session to learn how to bring these and other cultural treasures right to your desktop through the MIT Libraries.

Please register for this session. For more information, please contact Mark Szarko.

Where: 14N-118 (Archives reading room)

Have you ever wanted to take a peek inside a day in the life of an MIT student or faculty member? Come explore some diaries from the Institute Archives & Special Collections and read accounts of…

• founder William Barton Rogers’s wedding trip
• a world cruise
• trekking across Texas in a covered wagon
• a future MIT president’s teenage adventures as a ship’s radio operator
• the founding of the United Nations
• working with radar during World War Two
• traveling in India, Australia, Germany, Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Azores
• and more!

Diaries date from 1849 to 1973. You never know what adventures you’ll uncover!

This session will last 90 minutes, with a 10-minute introduction at the beginning and then time to peruse the diaries at your leisure. Drop by anytime and stay as long as you want.

For more information, please contact Dana Goblaskas.

Where: Lobby 10

Celebrate National Bookmobile Day with the MIT Libraries! Check out new fiction and non-fiction, DVDs, and music (Bring your MIT ID if you want to borrow something).

For more information, please contact Theresa Tobin.

Where: 14N-132

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.

Please register for this session. For more information, please contact Howard Silver with any questions.

By the end of 2011, 60% of MIT faculty had papers deposited in the Open Access Articles Collection, making their work openly available to the world.

March 18 marked the third anniversary of the faculty’s precedent-setting policy, the first university-wide faculty policy of its kind in the United States.

For more information:

MIT Faculty Open Access Policy
MIT News Story from the time of the vote on the Policy
Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing / MIT Libraries

This news is reported as we mark the third anniversary (on March 18) of the faculty’s precedent-setting policy, the first university-wide faculty policy of its kind in the United States.

For more information:

MIT Faculty Open Access Policy
MIT News Story from the time of the vote on the Policy
Worldwide downloads of papers under the Policy
Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing / MIT Libraries

This goal is being met: downloads from the Open Access Articles Collection, which houses papers under the Policy, have been initiated from nearly every country in the world:

Only one-third of use originated in the United States, and while the top 20 countries account for 85% of the use (including China, India, the UK, Germany, and the Republic of Korea), downloads are widespread. Russia and Brazil each account for about 1% of the use. In a typical month such as December 2011, downloads were requested from all around the world, including (to name just a few) Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Botswana, Cote D’Ivoire, Croatia, Honduras, Malaysia, Malta, Nepal, Qatar, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.

This news is reported as we mark the third anniversary (on March 18) of the faculty’s precedent-setting policy, the first university-wide faculty policy of its kind in the United States.

For more information:

MIT Faculty Open Access Policy
MIT News Story from the time of the vote on the Policy
Ellen Duranceau / Program Manager, Scholarly Publishing & Licensing / MIT Libraries

Location: MIT Stata Center, Building 32, Rm. 155

Registration: Limited seating, please register in advance

What is fair use, and how can libraries use their fair use rights to better accomplish their missions? A new document, the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, provides powerful new insight into the ways that librarians can apply fair use principles to resolve recurring copyright challenges.

On Friday, March 23, 2012 the MIT Libraries will host an informative panel discussion with the co-facilitators of the Code, who are speaking to librarians around the country to introduce the Code and discuss how its principles can help solve local challenges and improve policies dealing with copyright and fair use.

Speakers include co-facilitators of the Code, Patricia Aufderheide of the Center for Social Media at American

Co-facilitators of the Code: Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi

University and Peter Jaszi of American University Law School, and local experts Kyle Courtney of Harvard University’s Law School and Jay Wilcoxson from the MIT Office of the General Counsel.

Local librarians are invited to join us for a discussion about the Code of Best Practices and how it can be useful in our community. To attend this free event, register online. Seating is limited so please register early.

The Code, along with supporting materials, is available for free online and hard copies will be also be available at the event.

About the Speakers:

Patricia Aufderheide is University Professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. and founder-director of the Center for Social Media there. She heads the Fair Use and Free Speech research project at the Center, in conjunction with Prof. Peter Jaszi in American University’s Washington College of Law.

Peter Jaszi teaches domestic and international copyright law, directs the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, and writes about copyright history and theory. He is a Trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., and a member of the editorial board of its journal.

Kyle Courtney is an intellectual property attorney presently working at Harvard Law School as the Head of External Resource Sharing and Faculty Research. His work at Harvard includes the formation of the first Library Copyright Working Group the creation of a “Copyright and Fair Use Tool” for use of the Harvard Library community.

Jay Wilcoxson is Counsel in MIT’s Office of the General Counsel since his arrival in August, 2007. His responsibilities include managing the Institute’s legal process and litigation and providing advice in connection with a wide variety of Institute affairs including a focus on intellectual property issues.

Topics covered are:

•     March 6th: Making Google Scholar work with MIT resources

•     March 13th: Setting up PubMed to access MIT resources

•     March 20th: Patents

•     April 3rd: Borrow Direct- Bringing the Ivy League libraries to you

•     April 10th: Online music resources

•     April 17th: Apps for Academics

Feel free to drop in anytime from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. These presentations are very short and informal–feel free to bring your lunch, or stop by on your way to or from the produce market. Five minutes could save you one hour!