From the Director

Fall 2017

Chris Bourg

Photo: Wayne Vanderkuil

I am excited to share with you the critical steps we have taken toward realizing the vision of the Future of Libraries report. It’s fitting that we share this news at the same time that we recognize our generous donors of the past year. You truly are our partners in pursuing these ambitious plans.

This summer we launched the Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT Research, one of the 10 recommendations of the report. Provost Martin Schmidt has charged this group with exploring ways that MIT’s open access policies and practices might be updated or revised to further the Institute’s mission to share the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible.

Within the Libraries, we are launching a strategic planning process that will give us a blueprint for achieving the goals of the Future of Libraries report. I’m thrilled to announce that Tracy Gabridge will be leading this effort as our newly appointed deputy director. As you’ll read in this issue of Bibliotech, we’re beginning to reimagine the Libraries’ physical spaces. We have launched several experiments to see how we can expand our role as both a dynamic place for creating and community building and a comfortable space for reflection and recharging.

We’re also getting down to the business of setting our research agenda. With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MIT Libraries will be hosting a summit on the Grand Challenges in Information Sciences and Scholarly Communication. With invited experts from across disciplines and sectors, we will identify critical problems that are solvable within 10 years and which have bold implications across the scholarly community. I hope you will stay tuned as we share more from this exciting initiative that will establish our leadership in this area of research and development.

Thank you again for your support during this transformative time for the Libraries. I look forward to sharing more of our progress with you.

All the best,

Chris Bourg signature

Chris Bourg, PhD
Director of Libraries