Are you writing your thesis this year? This one-hour interactive tutorial led by a recent PhD graduate will illustrate some simple shortcuts you can take in Microsoft Word to make thesis formatting a breeze (automatically generating/updating table of contents, applying consistent formatting throughout the document, etc.), saving you many precious hours.
There are 20 PCs available on a first-come, first-serve basis or you can bring your own laptop.
Join us for a hands-on demo of BrainNavigator, a new product sponsored by the MIT Libraries.
Navigating brain structures is complex—especially in small subjects like rats and mice. It’s easy to get lost as you view structures, make injections and analyze research. BrainNavigator is a collaboration between Elsevier and the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and it helps you locate the positions of structures within the brain, making visualization and understanding the brain easier.
Learn to use BrainNavigator to:
• Browse and compare diagrams
• View high-resolution images at the cellular level
• Compare rat and mouse brains using a unified nomenclature
• Compare BrainNavigator information with your own content
A couple hours in the Library can save you a couple of weeks in the lab. Don’t waste your time reinventing the gelatin sponge-choriallantoic membrane assay. Improve your efficiency by learning strategies for finding published research protocols and methods. This session is a hands-on practicum and an excellent introduction to resources that support bioscience bench research.
Come and hear Jack Turner, Associate Director of the MIT Technology Licensing Office and patent attorney Sam Pasternak, recently of Choate, Hall and Stewart and now at the TLO, discuss the ins and outs of obtaining patents.
This popular session covers a bit of patent history and a lot about current practices, processes, and issues surrounding obtaining a patent; the focus is on the process used at MIT for ideas/inventions developed by the MIT community. A portion of the session is devoted to questions and answers. If you think you will ever invent something, you need to be here.
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
WHEN: Tuesday, January 12, 11am – 12pm or Tuesday, January 26, 10 – 11am (duplicate session)
Using citation management software to create and maintain a collection of references is becoming more common and important in today’s academic world. These software packages allow users to search databases, retrieve relevant citations, and build a bibliography to be added to a paper or thesis or stored for future reference. But which software package should you use, and how do you get started?
This session will focus on EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero, the three major options for bibliographic software at MIT. We will include a discussion comparing and contrasting the three softwares, and we will introduce some of the basic concepts and functionality of each program.
WHEN: Monday, January 11, 5 – 6pm & Thursday, January 28, 12 – 1pm
Learn how to use the BIOBASE Knowledge Library (BKL) and Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD) bioinformatics tools licensed by MIT Libraries. Interested in systems biology, biomarkers, drug target discovery, and high-throughput data analysis? Learn to use HGMD, a comprehensive database on human germ-line mutations associated with disease, to determine whether a newly identified gene lesion is novel, search for an overview of known mutations within a given gene, or search for a particular type of gene mutation within a specific chromosomal location.
Information on energy is everywhere! How do you find the scientific and technical information you need and keep on the cutting edge of what is published? Attend this hands-on session to find out.
If you are a researcher in chemistry, or chemistry related subjects like chemical engineering, materials science, environmental science, biological sciences, etc., then you should know about SciFinder, the most comprehensive chemical information database.
This hands-on workshop will teach you the basics of SciFinder on the web!
In The Dawn of Green, Ritvo reveals how today’s environmental movement can be traced to Thirlmere, a bucolic reservoir in the English Lake District, and the 19th century battle around it that pitted industrial progress against conservation.
Ritvo is also the author of The Platypus and the Mermaid, and Other Figments of Classifying Imagination and The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age.
During her talk she will show materials used in her research and sign copies of her book. This event is sponsored by the MIT Libraries’ Institute Archives & Special Collections, and the MIT History Faculty. It is free and open to the public.
“Riding the space shuttle is like strapping yourself to a gigantic beast….you go from 0 to 17,500 miles per hour in eight and a half minutes,” MIT alumnus, Astronaut Mike Massimino said in a talk at MIT last month.
After nearly 3 years of training, in May 2009 Massimino rocketed 5.3 million miles into space on a mission to repair NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The veteran astronaut spoke about the extensive preparation for the journey, as well as the risks and thrills that were a part of the historic final trip to Hubble.
He also returned an item to MIT that he took into space with him—a book loaned from the MIT Libraries’ collections. The book, a limited edition facsimile of Galileo’s landmark publication Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger), was chosen to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical research, the first recorded planetary observations using a telescope. It is on display through December 2009 in the Science Library (14S-134).
If you regularly use the SciFinder client, you have probably noticed challenges in logging in. We have been dedicating fewer and fewer seats (of 11 total) for the client. All of the seats will be unavailable as of Monday, November 2.
You will have to access SciFinder via the Libraries proxy server, which requires the use of the MIT Touchstone authentication system. Note that this is only available for MIT faculty, students, post-docs, other researchers and staff with certificates installed on their machines.
If you have any questions, please contact the Chemistry Librarian, Erja Kajosalo.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009
4-5pm
Killian Hall, Building 14
Veteran Astronaut and MIT Alumnus Dr. Mike Massimino (SM TPP 1988, Engineer ME 1990, PhD 1992) will come to MIT on Wednesday Oct. 28 to talk about his recent work servicing NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and to return a book to the MIT Libraries.
In May 2009 Massimino and six other astronauts boarded the space shuttle Atlantis for a journey that took them 5.3 million miles for a final servicing of the telescope. Massimino and other STS-125 crewmembers conducted five spacewalks to upgrade the Hubble, enabling it to send back spectacular images of the universe well into the next decade. While on the mission the crew captured photographs and video, and Massimino became the first astronaut to ‘Tweet’ from space—sending back updates on the mission through his Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/astro_mike), which has surpassed 1 million followers.
Accompanying Massimino on the mission was a rare book loaned from the MIT Libraries’ collections. The book, a limited edition facsimile of Galileo’s landmark publication Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger), was chosen to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s astronomical research, the first recorded planetary observations using a telescope.
In his talk, Massimino will discuss his work and show images and video from the mission. He will also present the well-traveled book back to the MIT Community and the Libraries.
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!
EndNote is a “personal bibliographic software” package that allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references.
Attendees will create a personal database of cited literature by importing references from resources such as Barton, Web of Science, PubMed, & other sources of published literature. 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.
Friday, 10/16: 12-1pm
Tuesday, 10/20: 5-6pm
RefWorks Basics
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.
Thursday, 10/15: 5-6pm
Wednesday, 10/21: 12-1pm
Managing Your References: Overview of EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero
Using citation management software to create and maintain a collection of references is becoming more common and important in today’s academic world. These software packages allow users to search databases, retrieve relevant citations, and build a bibliography to be added to a paper or thesis or stored for future reference. But which software package should you use, and how do you get started?
This session will focus on EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero, the three major options for citation software at MIT. We will include a discussion comparing and contrasting the three softwares, and we will introduce some of the basic concepts and functionality of each program.
MIT Libraries has obtained a license for the Human Gene Mutations Database (HGMD). HGMD represents a comprehensive collection of data available on germ-line mutations in nuclear genes underlying or associated with human inherited disease.
Search for newly identified gene lesions to determine whether or not they are novel; search by gene to get an overview of the known mutational spectrum for that gene; and search for a type of mutation in a specific location.
HGMD is integrated with other bioscience resources such as OMIM, Entrez Gene and the Human Gene Nomenclature Committee. The free version of HGMD only contains 3 year old data while the licensed version contains current data and a better search interface, so take advantage of this great resource!
To access HGMD, search for “HGMD” in MIT Libraries’ Vera. Click on “BIOBASE Knowledge Library-ExPlain and HGMD” and then “HGMD.”
The last day of service in the Lindgren Library (54-200) will be Friday, July 31, 2009. Lindgren’s collection of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences’ books, journals, and CDs will begin to move to Hayden Library (14S-100) Monday, August 3. The relocated materials are expected to be in place and accessible by the end of the week. If any Lindgren materials are needed during the move, please contact Joe Hankins (3.9325, jhankins@mit.edu) or Chris Sherratt (3-5648, gscherra@mit.edu). The Hayden Service Desk staff (3.5671) can also be of assistance.
Final arrangements for the future locations of maps and theses formerly housed in Lindgren will be completed during the upcoming weeks. Contact information for Joe Hankins and Chris Sherratt will remain the same.
Are you writing your thesis this year? This one-hour interactive tutorial led by a recent PhD graduate will illustrate some simple shortcuts you can take in Microsoft Word to make thesis formatting a breeze (automatically generating/updating table of contents, applying consistent formatting throughout the document, etc.), saving you many precious hours.
Information on energy is everywhere! How do you find the scientific and technical information you need and keep on the cutting edge of what is published? Attend this hands-on session to find out.
The 
Harriet Ritvo, MIT’s Arthur J. Conner Professor of History, will discuss her latest book 
