Jonathan Krones, a materials science major, wanted to create a model to help locate large-scale electronics processing facilities across the country for his thesis, but he needed the Rotch Library to make that happen.

Using the library’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory, Krones was able to split the country into 12 equal population districts, giving him a more realistic model.

“I was able to go in with a vague idea of what I wanted, and they told me, ‘This is the tool you need; this is the place to go.’ That was invaluable and will stay with me forever,” Krones says. “The library helped tremendously in increasing the relevance of the project and bringing it into a physical space.”

21st century libraries

The MIT Libraries have always provided MIT students and faculty with the resources they need to further their research, complete theses, and stay current in a variety of fields. But today, those resources are more than books and journals. They include the GIS Lab, databases, datasets, software, electronic journals, maps, microforms, sound recordings, still and moving images, musical scores, reports and working papers, and many other materials that support education and research at MIT.

The MIT Libraries’ current collection includes:

• more than 2.7 million printed volumes;
• 478 online databases; and
• over 33,000 electronic and print journal titles.

How the MIT Libraries are used has also changed. Certainly, the five major subject libraries and four specialized libraries on campus continue to provide students with quiet places to study, including 24-hour study rooms. But they also provide instant access to online resources, any time of day, and from any location, giving students accurate and timely information at the click of a mouse.

“No matter where you are, if you are on the network, you can be in the library,” says Director of Libraries Ann Wolpert.

Students use the Libraries’ online interfaces and digital collections with greater frequency than ever. Online research offers opportunities for new and rapid discoveries through a seamless Web of resources. The Libraries are testing innovative Web tools and search technologies to enhance the search and discovery process, as they expand their collections with even richer digital content for teaching and research.

Growing and changing needs

The Libraries are also playing a greater role in teaching students today. Many students arrive at MIT not knowing how to use an academic research library. The Libraries’ instruction programs teach the essential skills needed to conduct research, and use and evaluate information, at the level necessary for an MIT education.

Further, to prepare Institute students for the leadership roles they will play in the world — as engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and in business and finance — the MIT Libraries teach them the skills they need to evaluate and analyze information from a variety of sources. These skills provide a competitive advantage that will serve them beyond their years at MIT.

“Employers are looking for students who can come into an organization with a variety of skills — not only analytical skills, but language skills, the ability to write and speak well — and the ability to do research that’s effective and useful. It’s a whole portfolio of skills at MIT that is embedded in the educational experience. The Libraries are very much a part of that,” says Wolpert.

The MIT Libraries plan to continue to meet the educational and research needs of MIT students by:

• creating a Center for Digital Permanence that will address the critical, global problem of digital information loss, and ensure that MIT’s invaluable research is preserved and curated for today’s students and future generations. Research will focus on how to maintain computer-based information in complex formats for hundreds of years. It will serve as a model for other research universities, and be a resource for the world;
• creating and sustaining programs that support MIT students in an increasingly multimedia, multidisciplinary, global learning environment. Combining the best tools and technology, the Libraries will help students navigate the ever-growing information resources at their disposal and teach valuable life-long learning skills important to their work at MIT and beyond; and
• designing next-generation library spaces with media-rich work environments where students can conduct research, explore, and discover new approaches to learning; demonstrating and expressing their research using novel tools and traditional methodology, as well as bibliographic management tools.