MIT Libraries News

The Elsevier boycott started by mathematician Timothy Gowers has grown to over 8,900 names, with 81 signatories from MIT, 12 of whom list affiliations with the MIT Mathematics department. Adjunct MIT Professor of Mathematics Henry Cohn, one of the boycott signatories, is co-author of a new article “Mathematicians Take A Stand” that explains the reasoning behind the boycott.

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

Inside this issue:

• Read about MIT Libraries support for Open Access on campus, and beyond

• Find out why the Libraries are working with famous MIT professor Noam Chomsky

• Learn how students are unraveling the mystery behind a medieval music manuscript

• Meet the Libraries new Associate Director for Technology

• Learn about therapy dogs visiting the Libraries

• Discover new exhibits and upcoming workshops

All this and more in the latest issue of the BiblioTech newsletter. Pick up a copy at any library location or download a PDF. Subscribe by contacting dev-lib@mit.edu.

When: Thu, April 26, 2:00-3:00 pm

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.

When: Tue, April 24, 2:00-3:00 pm

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.

When:  Wed April 25, 4:00-5:00 pm

Where: 14N-132

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 workshop. Please pre-register for this session.

For more information please contact Peter Cohn.

When: Fri April 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: 14N-132

This advanced SciFinder session includes many useful tips & tricks for chemists, including:

• Advanced structure and reaction searching
• All of the newest tools and content added to SciFinder
• SciPlanner, the new synthetic planning tool for chemists
• Bioactivity and target indicator data
• Reaction experimental procedures
• Real time pricing and availability information from suppliers like Aldrich and Alfa Aesar
• And much more!

Please register for this session. For more information, please contact  Erja Kajosalo.

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.

A workshop in the DIRC, photo by L.Barry Hetherington

All sessions take place in the Digital Instruction Resource Center (DIRC), 14N-132, with the exception of the MIT Libraries Bookmobile and the Institute Archives sessions. The Bookmobile will take place in Lobby 10, and the Archives sessions will take place in 14N-118.

Pre-registration is required for some, but not all sessions. See below for details.

Patent Searching Fundamentals – Register
Tues April 3, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact:  Howard Silver, hsilver@mit.edu

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.

MIT Libraries Bookmobile
Wed April 11, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, Lobby 10
Contact: Theresa Tobin, tat@mit.edu

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).

RefWorks Basics
Thurs April 12, 12 – 1pm, 14N-132
Contact:  Anita Perkins, perkins@mit.edu

RefWorks is a web-based resource to help you organize references, create a bibliography, and easily cite references as you write your paper.  It allows you to create individual or group accounts.

Dear Diaries — Before There Were Blogs
Fri April 20, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, 14N-118 (Archives reading room)
Contact: Dana Goblaskas, dgoblask@mit.edu

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.

Managing Your References:  Overview of EndNote, RefWorks, and Zotero – Register
Tues April 24, 12:00 – 1:15 pm, 14N-132
Contact:  Anita Perkins, perkins@mit.edu

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 (EndNote, RefWorks & Zotero) 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?

Please register for this session.

Taking Care: Family Textiles
Tue April 24, 2:00-3:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact: Ann Marie Willer, willer@mit.edu

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.

EndNote Basics – Register
Wed April 25, 4:00 – 5:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact: Peter Cohn, pcohn@mit.edu

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 workshop.

Please register for this session.

Arts and Culture Multimedia in the MIT Libraries – Register
Thu April 26, 12:30 – 1:30 pm, 14N-132
Contact: Mark Szarko, szarko@mit.edu

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.

Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs
Thu April 26, 2:00-3:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact: Ann Marie Willer, willer@mit.edu

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.

Advanced SciFinder – Register
Fri April 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, 14N-132
Contact:  Erja Kajosalo, kajosalo@mit.edu

This advanced SciFinder session includes many useful tips & tricks for chemists, including:

• Advanced structure and reaction searching
• All of the newest tools and content added to SciFinder
• SciPlanner, the new synthetic planning tool for chemists
• Bioactivity and target indicator data
• Reaction experimental procedures
• Real time pricing and availability information from suppliers like Aldrich and Alfa Aesar
• And much more!

Please register for this session.

Is It What It Is? Tools for Understanding Your Digital Files – Register
Fri April 27, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, 14N-118 (Archives reading room)
Contact: Kari R. Smith, smithkr@mit.edu

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.

When: Fri April 27, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

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.

When: Thu April 26, 12:30 – 1:30 pm

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.

When: Tues April 24, 12:00 – 1:15 pm

Where: 14N-132

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 (EndNote, RefWorks & Zotero) 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?

Please register for this session. For more information, please contact Anita Perkins.

When: Fri April 20, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

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.

When: Thurs April 12, 12 – 1pm

Where: 14N-132

RefWorks is a web-based resource to help you organize references, create a bibliography, and easily cite references as you write your paper.  It allows you to create individual or group accounts.

For more information, please contact Anita Perkins.

When: Wed April 11, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

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.

When: Tues April 3, 12:00 – 1:00 pm

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.

The MIT Libraries spring vacation hours begin on Saturday, March 24 and end Saturday, March 31.  The following is a list of libraries and hours of operation during spring vacation:

Barker, Dewey, Hayden (Humanities & Science), Rotch:

• Monday-Friday: 9am-6pm
• Saturday-Sunday: 1pm-6pm

Lewis Music

• Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm
• Saturday-Sunday: closed

Please note: Lewis Music will close early on Friday, March 23 at 5pm, and remain closed until Monday, March 26.

All libraries will resume regular hours on Sunday, April 1.  For a list of individual library locations and hours, see our library hours page.

Have questions?  Ask Us!

Three years after the MIT faculty established their Open Access Policy, more than 5,000 papers have been made available through the Policy.

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

Three years after the MIT Faculty Open Access Policy was established, monthly downloads from the collection of articles made available under the Policy continue to grow, reaching a new high of 30,000 in February 2012.

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

Do you need books that aren’t available at the MIT Libraries? Try Borrow Direct, a new way for you to request materials from non-MIT libraries.  Books from Borrow Direct are shipped directly to an MIT Library for you to pick up.

Borrow Direct is a rapid, patron-initiated borrowing service that allows eligible MIT community members to request books and accompanying materials from select Borrow Direct libraries using MIT’s WorldCat.  The following institutions are members of Borrow Direct: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University.

Look for the Borrow Direct request button in MIT’s WorldCat.  If you have questions, see MIT’s WorldCat FAQ.

Three years ago this month, the MIT Faculty established an Open Access Policy, through which their scholarly articles are made openly available on the web. The faculty’s goal was to “disseminat[e] the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible.”

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