Discover what’s new from the The Humanities Library and The Lewis Music Library’s collections, including books, DVDs and CDs.
Details:
For its October Object of the Month, the Institute Archives & Special Collections exhibits a small report issued by Arthur D. Little, Inc. in 1921, “On the Making of Silk Purses from Sows’ Ears.” The report describes the process used by the company’s chemists to make two “silk” purses from pork byproducts to disprove the old adage that “you can’t make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.” The report is part of the Arthur D. Little, Inc. Archives Collection (MC 579), which was given to MIT by the Arthur D. Little, Inc. Alumni Association in 2002. The collection is available for research in the Institute Archives, 14N-118.
During the month of October one of the two silk purses is on display in the Maihaugen Gallery (next to the Institute Archives) along with other objects from the collection or on loan from MIT and ADL alumni.
MIT Libraries subscribe to Knovel and this fall, we’re participating in a contest for all science and engineering students (over 60 participating universities).
The contest starts on Monday 9/29/08!
Check out these tutorials if you have not used Knovel before.
How to play:
All entries with 3 correct answers will be entered into a drawing for Nintendo Wiis, iPod Nanos, and iTunes Gift Cards.
If you have any quetsions, please feel free to contact Erja Kajosalo.
The following classes will be taught by the Harvard-MIT Data Center (HMDC) Statistical Consultant in fall 2008.
1. Introduction to Stata
Get an introduction to Stata, the statistical analysis software package commonly used at MIT. With hands-on exercises, learn how to import and manage datasets. Novices welcome!
When: two repeat sessions, attend either of the following:
2. Introduction to Regression Using Stata
This hands-on class will provide a comprehensive introduction to estimating the linear regression model using ordinary least squares in Stata. Prerequisites: General familiarity with Stata (such as taking the above Intro. workshop) and the linear regression model.
When: Friday, October 31st, 12-2pm
3. Introduction to R
Get an introduction to R, the open-source system for statistical computation and graphics available on Athena. With hands-on exercises, learn how to import and manage datasets, create R objects, and generate figures. Novices welcome!
When: Friday, October 10th, 12-2pm
Note: All Workshops Held In: E53-220
Space is limited. To register, contact: Katherine McNeill, mcneillh@mit.edu.
See also: Consulting: Interested in one-on-one help with statistical analysis and software? The Harvard-MIT Data Center (HMDC) Statistical Consultant can help you via email or an in-person consultation. Contact her via our email form.
Please join us at The MIT Humanities Library as MIT’s Christopher Capozzola introduces his new book.
“Uncle Sam Wants You” tells the gripping story of the American homefront in World War I, revealing how the tensions of mass mobilization led to a significant increase in power in Washington, and made wartime America the scene of some of the nation’s most serious political violence.
“Uncle Sam Wants You” is published by Oxford University Press.
Christopher Capozzola is an Associate Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This event is sponsored by authors@mit, a lecture series cosponsored by MIT Libraries and The MIT Press Bookstore.
Where: The MIT Humanities Library Reading Room (14S-200)
When: Wednesday September 24th, 5:30pm
The event is free and wheelchair accessible.
For more information, call call 253-5249, or email authors@mit.edu. See the MIT Press Bookstore’s “Events” page for a list of upcoming events.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Time: 10:00am–3:00pm
Location: Bush Room, 10-105
Stop by and browse titles in subjects including Biology, Computer Science, Economics, Earth Science, Engineering, History, Philosophy, Miscellaneous Science, Political Science & Social Science.
Open to the MIT Community only; Dealers and their representatives by appointment only.
Questions? Contact the Gifts Office at gifts-lib@mit.edu or x3-5693.
All proceeds benefit the Libraries’ Preservation Fund.
Katharine Dexter (McCormick), a pioneer of the women’s suffrage and birth control movements, was also one of MIT’s most important benefactors. A dedicated alumna, one of her most significant gifts was a residence for women, McCormick Hall, which opened in 1963.
For an English composition class at MIT, she wrote of her determination to be fully prepared for entering MIT – preparation that included a degree from another institution and study in France and Germany. Her composition is included in the Object of the Month exhibit by the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
The papers of Katharine Dexter McCormick, which include student papers, class notebooks, and family correspondence, are available for research in the Institute Archives and Special Collections, 14N-118, Monday - Thursday, 10 am - 4 pm.
Photograph courtesy of the MIT Museum
Please join us at a Town Meeting about the Dewey Library renovation this Wednesday, August 27th at noon in E53-216. We will provide an overview of the project and hope to receive feedback from members of the MIT community on the plans.
You bring the comments and we’ll bring the pizza!
Welcome to the MIT Libraries!
Orientation: Fall 2008
Undergraduate Students || Graduate Students || All Students
Attend these events to become familiar with what the Libraries have to offer – our staff, collections, services, and resources.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:
Academic Expo
Freshmen Explorations: Ice Cream Social
Hitchhiker’s Guide Library Tours
GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Graduate Student Orientation: Grad School 102
8th Annual New Graduate Student Reception
ALL STUDENTS:
Health & Wellness Fair
In July 1965 MIT Professor of Electrical Measurements Harold “Doc” Edgerton produced a batch of multiflash baseball photos and sent them to long-time colleague Vannevar Bush for comment. The Archives’ August Object of the Month exhibit includes Bush’s response, in which he records his thoughts about the physics of baseball, and a page from Edgerton’s notebook showing two of the baseball pictures (Bush’s letter and Edgerton’s notebook from the Harold E. Edgerton Papers - MC 25).
The papers of Bush (MC 78) as well as those of Edgerton are available for use in the Institute Archives and Special Collections, 14N-118.
Photograph © Harold E. Edgerton 1992 Trust
WHERE: 14N-132, DIRC
WHEN: Friday, August 8, 12noon - 1pm
You may be a skilled investigator on the topic of science or engineering, but what do you know about business research? This session will introduce you to library-supported databases that cover company and industry information. We will use hands-on exercises to demonstrate strategies for researching two key components of a business plan: competitors and industry trends.
Contact Stephanie Hartman with any questions.
WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center - DIRC)
WHEN: Friday, August 1, 12:30 - 1:30pm
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.
Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.
See http://libraries.mit.edu/patents for more information. Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.
WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center - DIRC)
WHEN: Friday, July 25, noon - 1pm
Geared for graduate students, this workshop addresses what copyright means to you as an author, how you can assess a publisher’s copyright policies, and how you can use web-based tools that assess journal quality. Open access publishing models and the use of the MIT amendment to alter standard publisher agreements will also be discussed.
Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.
Contact Ellen Duranceau for more information.
WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center - DIRC)
WHEN: Friday, July 18, noon - 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.
Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.
Contact the Science Library for more information.
WHERE: 14N-132 (Digital Instruction Resource Center - DIRC)
WHEN: Friday, July 11, noon - 1pm
EndNote is a “personal bibliographic software” package which allows you to create and manage a database of bibliographic references. 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. This session will be a hands-on practicum. Attendees will create a personal database of cited literature by importing references from resources such as Barton, Web of Science, PubMed and other sources of published literature. You will learn how to search and manipulate databases, and to generate a manuscript and bibliography.
Feel free to bring your lunch! Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Sponsored by the MIT Libraries.
Contact the Science Library for more information.
The Institute Archives and Special Collections is exhibiting for its Object of the Month excerpts from a diary kept by MIT Professor of Mining Engineering Robert Richards in the summer of 1873. Professor Richards, Professor John Ordway, and a group of nine undergraduates spent their vacation visiting mining camps in northern New England and the Adirondacks–an excursion that was a requirement for mining students at MIT at that time. Professor Richards’s diary includes notes about courses he was teaching, student assignments at mine sites, and sketches of machinery.
Two years after this 1873 diary, Robert Richards married Ellen Swallow, the first female graduate of MIT (S.B. 1873), and the diary includes a few entries about this personal side of his life. Among the papers of Robert Hallowell Richards (MC 116) are other diaries, course materials, and photographs, which are available for research in the Archives, 14N-118, Monday - Thursday, 10 am - 4 pm.
On June 14, 1916, approximately 1,500 alumni/ae along with special guests, including Alexander Graham Bell and Orville Wright, gathered at Symphony Hall in Boston to celebrate the new MIT campus in Cambridge and to raise funds. The speeches presented that night were broadcast via telephone to 34 alumni gatherings all over the country. The June Object of the Month exhibit on the web site of the Institute Archives and Special Collections includes photographs, the banquet program and menu, and links to other events surrounding MIT’s move from Boston to Cambridge. Visit the Archives in 14N-118 to learn more about this momentous milestone in the history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Drawing on cover of program by Isaac B. Hazelton, MIT class of 1894.
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Take a break from all your studying and come grab yourself a snack, compliments of the Hayden (Humanities and Science) Library. Sorry, no pizza or burgers, but plenty of cookies and beverages will available. Here are the details:
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Exhibit in Rotch Library – Urban Studies/Random Views
Urban Studies/Random Views, on view from May 5th to July 18th, is a collection of recent oil paintings by Carol Schweigert of Dewey Library.
The paintings were initially inspired by the dynamic views of the ongoing construction surrounding the Library. The focus expanded to include other views in Cambridge and Charlestown, reflecting the coexistence of the natural and the architectural.
These are traditional plein air paintings with an underlying graphic composition of more modern sensibilities.
A reception is planned for 4:00PM - 6:30PM, Friday, May 9, 2008 in Rotch Library, 7-238.
This month the Institute Archives and Special Collections focuses on some of MIT’s early energy research. Robert J. Van de Graaff came to MIT in 1931, where he worked on the development of the high-voltage generator that bears his name. May’s Object of the Month describes the apparatus and includes photographs from the 1933 “Progress Report on the M.I.T. High-Voltage Generator at Round Hill.” The exhibit includes a link to a demonstration of the Van de Graaff generator by Professor Walter Lewin.
The Archives holds several collections that contain materials about the Van de Graaff generator: the Papers of Robert J. Van de Graaff (MC 45), the Records of the High Voltage Energy Corporation (MC 153), and the Records of the MIT President (AC 4). All are available for research, with 24 hours’ notice, in 14N-118, Monday to Thursday, 10 am to 4 pm.
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