IAP Independent Activities Period
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IAP 2012 Activities by Sponsor

Libraries

Alternate Reality Game (ARG) Creation Workshop
Scott Nicholson (Visiting Professor, CMS / GAMBIT), Remlee Green (MIT Libraries)
Mon Jan 30, 09am-01:00pm, 4-145
Tue Jan 31, Wed Feb 1, 10-11:00am, 4-145
Thu Feb 2, 10-11:00am, 4-265
Fri Feb 3, 10am-01:00pm, E14-633

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 25-Jan-2012
Limited to 30 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

An Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is an activity where players enter a fictional world, discovering more and more of a hidden story, characters, and challenges as they move through the game. During this workshop, groups of students will develop an ARG for the MIT Libraries to use as an orientation activity. On Monday, we will talk about ARGs and present some basic ideas, and the constraints and resources for the game will be presented. Students will be working on their own throughout the week to plan out the ARG, and there will be a time each day for the class to meet and groups to present on their progress and get ideas. On Friday, each group will present their ARGs to each other, library staff, and other MIT faculty. By the end of the workshop, participants will understand what an ARG is, will have created the structure for an ARG, and will also know more about key resources in the library.

The focus in this workshop is on the game design and not the programming of game software, so no programming expertise is required. The final product will be a paper-based plan and prototype that may be accompanied by digital media as a demonstration.
Web: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/
Contact: Scott Nicholson (Please register at link above), NE25-369, x4-8973, scottn@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Comparative Media Studies

Apps for Academics: Mobile Web Sites & Apps for Your Academic Life
Nicole Hennig, Remlee Green
Thu Jan 19, 11am-12:15pm, 13-2137

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

In this whirlwind show & tell, we will recommend the best mobile web sites and apps (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android) for use in your academic life. We'll demo apps for productivity, library research, note-taking, e-reading, PDF-reading & annotating, sketching, and more. Some apps we'll demo include Evernote, Instapaper, Dropbox, GoodReader, Papers, Wolfram Alpha, PLoS, ACS Mobile, and WorldCat Mobile.

We'll point you to the best apps and mobile sites, and also ask class members to also share their favorite apps. If you're thinking about getting an iPhone, iPad, Touch, or Android device, this may help you decide how you might use it.

The class is 75 minutes and will include break-out sessions where each small group will discuss the apps they find useful and report back to the larger group. We will have several iPads available for use during the breakout sessions. If you have a mobile device that you use for academic work, we invite you to bring it and share your knowledge with the group.

Register for class: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/
Contact: Nicole Hennig, 10-500, hennig@mit.edu

Archives.101
Nora Murphy
Mon Jan 9, 04-05:00pm, 14N-118

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

The Institute Archives and Special Collections – along with all other archives – can be a bit of a mystery. What is in an archives? Can anyone use it? How does one find things? How come it’s not just all on-line, anyway… Please join us to learn more.
Contact: Nora Murphy, 14N-118, x3-8066, nmurphy@mit.edu

Arts and Culture Multimedia in the MIT Libraries
Mark Szarko, Jolene de Verges, Peter Munstedt, Andrea Schuler
Tue Jan 17, 11am-12:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 17-Jan-2012
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

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 at: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/.
Contact: Mark Szarko, 14S-144, x8-8022, szarko@mit.edu

BIOBASE Knowledge Library and Explain Analysis System Training
Courtney Crummett
Thu Jan 26, 11am-01:30pm, 14N-132 DIRC

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Interested in finding out what's known in the scientific literature about a particular gene, disease or drug? Want to apply that information to high-throughput data analysis? Learn to search the BIOBASE Knowledge Library (BKL) by topic or multi-gene data sets. Interested in human inherited diseases and their associated mutations? Learn to use the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD), a comprehensive database on human germ-line mutations associated with disease, to determine whether an identified gene lesion is novel, search for known mutations within a given gene, or search for a type of gene mutation within a chromosomal location. In addition, see a demonstration of how Genome Trax, a new offering from BIOBASE not yet subscribed to by MIT Libraries, makes it easy to map human variations identified through NGS applications to biologically relevant sequence features such as HGMD mutations, known transcription factor binding sites and more. Registration is required and lunch will be provided! Register here: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/biobase-training-8/131/
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/biobase
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-134, (617) 324-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Basics of Obtaining a Patent
Howard Silver
Wed Jan 25, 12-01:30pm, 3-133

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Prereq: none

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.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/patents
Contact: Howard Silver, 14S-134, (617) 253-9319, hsilver@MIT.EDU

Big Docs in Word: Tips and Tricks to Format your Thesis
Lourdes Aleman
Tue Jan 24, 11am-12:30pm, 14N-132 DIRC

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

Are you writing and formatting your thesis this year? Don’t let WORD get you down. This 1.5 hour interactive tutorial led by an MIT PhD graduate will illustrate some simple shortcuts you can take in Word 2008 for Macs to make thesis formatting a breeze (automatically generating/updating table of contents, applying consistent formatting throughout the document, etc.), saving you many precious hours. The hands-on workshop will be conducted on Word for Macs ONLY. Please bring your own laptop. If you have a PC and would still like to come to the workshop, printed instructions for Word 2007 for PCs will be available but please note that the workshop will be conducted using a Mac. Note: this workshop will not cover formatting a bibliography or reference managing programs.Please register for this IAP session at http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=378
Contact: Lourdes Aleman, NE48-308, 715-5348, laleman@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Bioinformatics for Beginners
Courtney Crummett, Amy Stout
Wed Jan 11, 10-11:30am, 14N-132 (DIRC)
Tue Jan 17, 03-04:30pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 20 participants.
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Entrez family of databases is the foundation of knowledge for molecular level bioscience research. Class attendees will learn about the organization of and interconnectedness of NCBI databases while focusing on several specific databases. The session is a hands-on practicum and an excellent starting point for people who are new to, or curious about bioinformatics research tools. Participants welcome at any session.

1/11 session taught by Bioinformatics Librarian, Courtney Crummett (please register at: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=346, and 1/17 session taught by Courtney Crummett
and Computer Science Librarian, Amy Stout (please register at http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=347).
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-134, x4-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Biotech Business Information for Engineers and Scientists
Courtney Crummett
Wed Feb 1, 02-03:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

It's not Brain Surgery...it's Market Research. This session will introduce scientists and engineers to information resources that cover biotechnology industries and markets. We will use realistic examples and hands-on exercises with key resources to demonstrate how to match your ideas and discoveries with the opportunities and realities of the marketplace.

The training room has 20 PC terminals and a large table in the back for laptop use. Please register at: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=351.
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-134, x4-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Book Collecting as a Hobby: Embracing this Gentle Madness
Patrick Olson, Patrick Ford, Stephen Skuce
Fri Jan 27, 10-11:30am, 14N-118

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 25-Jan-2012
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

Have you ever wondered what makes a book collectable? Or what the words “first edition” really mean? In this hour and a half, we’ll answer all the questions you have (and never had) about book collecting. Come learn about the methods, resources, and terms collectors are using today. We’ll have a selection of MIT’s rare books on hand for viewing, including some with their own fascinating histories of private ownership. Whether you’re a veteran bibliophile, an aspiring collector, or just plain curious, you’re sure to come away from this event informed and inspired.

Please register at: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/.
Contact: Patrick Olson, 14N-118, x5-4467, polson@mit.edu

Book Discussion: "Alice Bliss" by Laura Harrington
Mark Szarko
Thu Jan 26, 12-01:00pm, 14N-417

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Single session event

Alice Bliss, the debut novel by playwright and Music and Theater Arts faculty member Laura Harrington, tells a coming-of-age story of an adolescent girl coming to terms with her father’s deployment in Iraq. The discussion will be facilitated by Mark Szarko, Literature, Theater Arts, and Writing & Humanistic Studies Librarian.

The first 10 individuals to register will receive a free copy of the book, either hardback or Kindle edition. Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Mark Szarko, 14S-144, x8-8022, szarko@mit.edu

BrainNavigator: Hands-On Introduction and Demo
Courtney Crummett
Thu Jan 19, 10-11:30am, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

BrainNavigator integrates accurate content and innovative tools to improve the productivity, efficiency and quality of research. It helps locate specific areas of the brain, making visualizing and experimental planning in the brain easier. Class attendees will learn how to access high resolution images, identify coordinates and calibrate those coordinates to their own animals, link their own images to BrainNavigator atlases, count cells using the cell marker tool, overlay schematic drawing onto atlas stained sections or their own images, and use the injection planner.

The session is a hands-on practicum. The training room has 20 PC terminals and a large table in the back for laptop use. Please register at http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=349.
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/brainnav
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-134, x4-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Data Management in Stata
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Fri Jan 27, 01-03:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 25-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Familiarity with Stata (such as the Intro. workshop). Note:

Topics covered include basic data manipulation commands such as: recoding variables, creating new variables, working with missing data, and generating variables based on complex selection criteria. Participants will be introduced to strategies for merging datasets (adding both variables and observations), and collapsing datasets. Prerequisite: a general familiarity with Stata (such as taking the Intro. workshop).

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Dear Diary -- Before There Were Blogs
Dana Goblaskas, Liz Andrews
Fri Jan 20, 11am-12:30pm, 14N-118

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 25 participants.
Single session event

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.
Contact: Dana Goblaskas, 14N-118, x3-5705, dgoblask@mit.edu

EndNote Basics
Peter Cohn
Fri Jan 13, 12-01:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

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: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/. Questions? Contact Peter Cohn.
Web: http://libguides.mit.edu/endnote
Contact: Peter Cohn, 7-238, x8-5596, pcohn@mit.edu

Energy Information: Industries and Statistics
Katherine McNeill
Thu Jan 19, 03-04:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 17-Jan-2012
Limited to 25 participants.
Single session event

Interested in researching or working in the field of energy? Want to find out how your energy project fits into the landscape of various industries? This session will give you the skills to research the business and statistical information on energy to find industry overviews, market research, news and data.

Sign up at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu
Cosponsor: MIT Energy Initiative

Energy Information: Maps and Data to Use with GIS
Anne Graham, Lisa Sweeney
Thu Jan 19, 04-05:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Where are the power plants and the pipelines? How close are they to population centers? In this session, MIT GIS Services will introduce you to energy maps and spatial data available, and demonstrate GIS in action on the energy front.
Register for this workshop at: http://bit.ly/GIS-IAP-2012. Check the GIS Services website for the most up to date information about this IAP GIS workshop series.
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/gis/teach/current-workshops.html
Contact: Anne Graham, 10-500, x3-7744, grahama@mit.edu
Cosponsor: MIT Energy Initiative

Energy Information: Where to Go, What to Do
Angie Locknar, Chris Sherratt
Wed Jan 18, 11am-12:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

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.
Contact: Angie Locknar, 14S-134, locknar@mit.edu
Cosponsor: MIT Energy Initiative

Fair Use and Electronic Reserves
Roshni Gohil, Margaret H. Willison, Ellen Duranceau
Thu Jan 19, 12-01:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

No limit but advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 19-Jan-2012
Single session event

Are you teaching or supporting a spring class and want to learn more about copyright and electronic reserves on Stellar? We'll provide an overview of "fair use" and other restrictions for course materials and help you navigate through the ins and outs of electronic reserves. Staff from the MIT Libraries' Office of Scholarly Publishing & Licensing and Course Reserves Team will be available to answer questions. Please sign up in advance at the link below so that we can better tailor the session for your needs.

Please register at: http://libraries.mit.edu/events.
Contact: Roshni Gohil, 14S-100, x3-2283, rgohil@mit.edu

Finding Research Datasets: ICPSR and the Harvard-MIT Data Center
Katherine McNeill
Fri Jan 20, 10-11:30am, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 18-Jan-2012
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Need data to answer a research question? Interested in analyzing raw datasets with micro-level records about individual respondents? This hands-on workshop will familiarize you with the resources of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and the Harvard-MIT Data Center, which provide access to datasets in the social sciences and related fields. Topics will include the structure of data files, finding and downloading datasets, and understanding data documentation.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Workshops
GIS staff
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 19-Jan-2012
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

MIT GIS Services will be offering a series of workshops to introduce the MIT community to Geographic Information Systems and the world of Digital Mapping. Workshops typically combine lectures about concepts with hands-on exercises. Register for these workshops at: http://bit.ly/GIS-IAP-2012 Check the GIS Services website for the most up to date information about this IAP GIS workshop series.
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/gis/teach/current-workshops.html
Contact: GIS staff, 7-238, x8-6680, gishelp@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Geographic Information Systems Lab

Energy Information: Maps and data to use with GIS
GIS Staff
Where are the power plants and the pipelines? How close are they to population centers? In this session, MIT GIS Services will introduce you to energy maps and spatial data available, and demonstrate GIS in action on the energy front.
Cosponsor: MIT Energy Initiative
Thu Jan 19, 04-05:00pm, 14N-132

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
GIS staff
Learn the basics of visualizing and analyzing geographic information and creating your own maps in a GIS. We will introduce concepts and let attendees choose to work through exercises using ESRI ArcGIS (proprietary) and/or Quantum GIS (QGIS) (open source). Learn to work with data from the MIT Geodata Repository, analyze the data and create maps that can be used in reports and presentations. (This workshop offered twice.)
Fri Jan 20, Mon Jan 23, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

GIS Level 2
GIS Staff
Expand your experience with GIS software and learn how to create and edit GIS files, geocode addresses onto a map, reproject data and use tools like clip, buffer, spatial join. PreReq: Participants should take the Introduction to GIS or have previous experience using ArcGIS.
Tue Jan 24, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

Discovering and Using US Census Data
GIS staff
The US Census holds an enormous amount of demographic information dating back to 1790. Come learn about what is in the US Census and some tools that are available through the MIT Libraries for finding and working with Census Data.
Wed Jan 25, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

Introduction to Spatial Statistics using GIS
GIS Staff
Have you ever wondered how your data are distributed? Are there patterns? Are features dispersed or clustered? Where is the center of your features? This course will combine lecture and hands-on exercises to introduce participants to basic statistical tools that can be used to analyze spatial data.
Thu Jan 26, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

Using Elevation Data and Hydrographic Tools in a GIS
GIS staff
Learn to read a topographic map and how to use a digital elevation model to create contour lines and do hydrographic analysis. PreReq: Participants should take the Introduction to GIS or have previous experience using ArcGIS.
Mon Jan 30, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

Integrating Map APIs into your website and Using Google Fusion Tables
GIS Staff
This session offers a hands on opportunity for integrating online maps into your website, from both Google Maps and OpenStreetMap, and using Google Fusion tables. Some familiarity with HTML, XML, any modern programming language will make this workshop easier but is not required.
Tue Jan 31, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132

GIS Institute
GIS Staff
A 3 day program of intensive training in GIS, this program is designed for the MIT student and research community who want to learn spatial analysis and apply GIS methods in their research. Participants should take the Introduction to GIS or have previous experience using GIS. Apply online at: http://bit.ly/GIS-Institute-2012.
Wed Feb 1, Thu Feb 2, Fri Feb 3, 10am-04:00pm, GIS Lab 7-238, Rotch

Get the most from your "omics" analysis: GeneGo MetaCore Software Training  
Courtney Crummett, GeneGo Trainer
Thu Feb 2, 02-04:00pm, 14N-132 DIRC

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Attend this IAP session and learn how to use GeneGo's MetaCore,a bioinformatics software tool licensed by the MIT Libraries with support from the Whitehead Institute, the Koch Insitute, and MIT's Department of Biology. MetaCore provides a solution for using "omics" gene lists to generate and prioritize hypotheses. Learn how to work with different types of data (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and interaction data) beginning with how to upload gene lists and expression data. Use GeneGo software to upload, batch upload, store, share and check data properties and signal distribution; extract functional relevance by determining the most enriched processes across several ontologies; emphasize the role of expression data in your analysis; visually predict experimental results, associate disease and possible drug targets; and compare data sets and work with experiment intersections. Register here: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=338
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/metacore
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-M48, x4-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Going beyond Google Scholar: Using the Web of Science and Other Citation Searching Resources to Discover Articles
Michael M Noga
Thu Jan 12, 12-01:00pm, 14N-132 DIRC

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session

Do you usually look for articles by searching keywords and authors? Try tracking ideas back and forth through time by searching citations to and from articles, reports and other scholarly literature. Citation searching started with the Science Citation Index (Web of Science) and now is part of several other information sources such as Scopus, e-journal collections, and Google Scholar. We will look at several places where you can find scholarly literature through citations. We will investigate the different results you get depending on where you search for ciations.
Contact: Michael M Noga, 14S-222, x3-1290, mnoga@mit.edu

Graphics in Stata
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Fri Feb 3, 01-03:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 31-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Familiarity with Stata (such as the Intro. workshop). Note:

Graphs are a powerful and memorable means of communicating quantitative information. This hands-on class will provide a comprehensive introduction to graphics in Stata. Topics for the class include graphing principles, descriptive graphs, and post-estimation graphs. Prerequisite: a general familiarity with Stata (such as taking the Intro. workshop).

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Introduction to R (Statistical Software)
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Tue Jan 24, 01-04:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 20-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: No previous experience with R is required.

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! Note: Current MIT faculty, students, and staff only.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Introduction to SAS (Statistical Software)
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Fri Jan 27, 09am-12:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 25-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: No previous experience with SAS is required.

This course is intended for individuals with little to no experience using SAS, a powerful statistical software package available on Athena. With hands-on exercises, explore SAS's many features and learn how to import, and manage your data in SAS. Novices welcome! Note: Current MIT faculty, students, and staff only.

Please sign up at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Introduction to Stata (Statistical Software)
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Tue Jan 24, 09am-12:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 20-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: No previous experience with Stata is required.

This workshop is designed for individuals who have little or no experience using Stata software. You will learn how to navigate Stata’s graphical user interface, create log files, and import data from a variety of software packages. We will also share tips for getting started with Stata including the creation and organization of do-files, examining descriptive statistics, and managing data and value labels. Note: Current MIT faculty, students, and staff only.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

Learn to use IPA during IAP
Courtney Crummett, IPA Trainer
Wed Jan 18, 01-04:00pm, 14N-132 DIRC

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Attend this introductory and hands-on training session and learn how to use Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA), newly licensed by MIT Libraries and friends. IPA is an all-in-one software application that helps researchers model, analyze, and understand complex biological and chemical systems relevant to their experimental data. Researchers can search the scientific literature and find insights most relevant to their experimental data; analyze and build pathways for targets, biomarkers, diseases and biological functions from various data types; compare and contrast across list, pathways, biomarkers and analyses; and share and collaborate with colleagues. Please register at http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/?p=344
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/get/ipa
Contact: Courtney Crummett, 14S-M48, x4-8290, crummett@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

MIT Libraries Bookmobile
Lisa Horowitz
Tue Jan 31, 11am-02:00pm, Bldg 32 (Stata)

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event

Cushion your transition into the semester--check out new fiction and non-fiction, DVDs and music from the MIT Libraries! We'll be in the Stata Center, close to the Farmer's Market.

(Bring your MIT ID if you want to borrow something.)
Contact: Lisa Horowitz, 10-500, x3-9353, lisah@mit.edu

Make Your Own Decorative Paste Paper
Nancy Schrock, Rebecca Caswell
Tue Jan 10, Wed Jan 11, 10am-12:00pm, 14-0513

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 03-Jan-2012
Limited to 12 participants.
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session
Prereq: manual dexterity or equivalent

Learn the centuries-old technique of making decorative papers with paste, paint, and paper in the MIT Libraries' Wunsch Conservation Laboratory. Paste papers are made by covering a dampened sheet of paper with a mixture of paste and colored pigment and then working the surface with a variety of tools to create patterns. Originally used by bookbinders for covering material and endpapers, paste papers today are used for notecards, collage, scrapbooking, giftwrapping, and other paper arts.

Participants will learn about the history of paste paper, see a demonstration and examples, and have an opportunity to try their hand at the craft. Each participant will make 2 or more sheets of paste paper, which will be dried overnight in the Lab and then mailed. All materials will be provided.

Directions to the Wunsch Conservation Lab: http://libraries.mit.edu/preservation/aboutus.html

No walk-ins allowed. Please contact us if you find you cannot attend, as there is likely to be a waiting list.
Web: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/
Contact: Andrew Haggarty (register at link above), 14-0513, 253-5282, ahaggart@mit.edu

Managing Research Data 101
Anne Graham, Katherine McNeill
Tue Jan 17, 01-02:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 17-Jan-2012
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

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
Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Web: http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/data-management/
Contact: Anne Graham, 10-500, x3-7744, grahama@mit.edu

Managing Your References: Overview of EndNote, RefWorks and Zotero
Mat Willmott, Remlee Green
Thu Feb 2, 12-01:15pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

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.

20 computers are available; first-come first-served. Attendees are welcome to bring their laptops. Please register at http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Mat Willmott, 14S-M40, (617) 324-5855, willmott@mit.edu

Mendeley Basics
Peter Cohn
Wed Feb 1, 04-05:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event

Mendeley is a free program that allows you to manage your citations and pdfs. You can also share your collection with fellow researchers or your lab group. Social software features allow you to connect with other Mendeley users who research similar topics. We’ll cover these topics and others in this session.

Please register for this session: http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/. Questions? Contact Peter Cohn.
Contact: Peter Cohn, 7-238, x8-5596, pcohn@mit.edu

Patent Searching Fundamentals
Howard Silver
Thu Jan 19, 01-02:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 20-Jan-2012
Limited to 40 participants.
Single session event

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 at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/
Contact: Howard Silver, 14S-136, x3-9319, hsilver@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Technology Licensing Office

Practically Genomic
Charlie Whittaker, Paola Favaretto, Sebastian Hoersch, Courtney Crummett
Mon Jan 23, Wed Jan 25, Fri Jan 27, 11am-01:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Limited to 20 participants.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)

Genomics, microarrays, and next generation sequencing have made biology research a highly quantitative field. As a result, most biologists must master computers and computational methods to effectively carry out their research. These sessions are designed to introduce students to some of the computational and bioinformatics tools and methods mandated by modern biological research. Practical and hands-on examples will be used to demonstrate some powerful aspects of the Unix operating system, more advanced Excel techniques, scripting with Perl and statistics with R. We will also introduce attendees to some of the many bioinformatics tools for genomics. Potential topics include the UCSC genome browser, GALAXY, IGV, Argo, GenePattern, Bioconductor and various functional annotation methods.
Web: http://rous.mit.edu/index.php/IAP_2012
Contact: Charlie Whittaker, 76-189B, x4-0337, charliew@mit.edu
Cosponsor: David H. Koch Inst. for Integrative Cancer Researc

Protocols and Methods: Recipes for Successful Research
Howard Silver
Wed Jan 18, 05-06:00pm, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 17-Jan-2012
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: none

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. Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/
Contact: Howard Silver, 14S-136, x3-9319, hsilver@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Biology

Public Opinion Data Resources
Katherine McNeill
Wed Jan 25, 10-11:00am, 14N-132

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 23-Jan-2012
Limited to 20 participants.
Single session event

Interested in studying public opinion in the U.S. and other countries? Want to gauge how the electorate stands on issues in advance of the 2012 election? This workshop will teach you how to find data from public opinion polls, both summary statistics and individual response-level data files that you can analyze yourself. Covers the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and other resources on topics such as government, the economy, and much more.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

R Programming
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Wed Feb 1, 01-04:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 30-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Familiarity with basic programming concepts such as looping,

This hands-on, advanced R course will guide users through a variety of programming techniques in the open-source statistical software program, R.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic programming concepts such as looping, conditional branching, classes, and functions.

Topics covered will include:
- Blocks, loops, functions, if/then statements
- Objects and lists
- Timing and random variable generating functions
- Using C, C++, and Fortran functions
- Interactive batch use
- Debugging: traceback, debugger
- Memory and time profiling: Rprof, proftools, profr
- Using Parallelism: Rmpi, Snow, calling R from Python

Note: Current MIT faculty, students, and staff only. Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

R and Statistics
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Wed Feb 1, 09am-12:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 30-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Knowledge of certain statistical tests, see description.

This hands-on, advanced R course will demonstrate a variety of statistical procedures using the open-source statistical software program, R. Prerequisites: Familiarity with the following statistical processes (the course will teach only how to run those processes in R):
- Regression models (linear, logistic, poisson, etc.)
- Multilevel modeling
- Multiple imputation
- Running analyses with multiply imputed datasets

Note: Current MIT faculty, students, and staff only. Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

RefWorks Basics
Anita Perkins
Fri Jan 20, 12-01:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: None

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.

The training room has 20 PC terminals and a large table in the back for laptop use. Please register at http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Anita Perkins, E53-100, x2-1510, perkins@mit.edu

Regression Using Stata
Ista Zahn, Statistical Trainer, Harvard-MIT Data Center
Fri Feb 3, 10am-12:00pm, 1-115

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 31-Jan-2012
Limited to 23 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: Familiarity with Stata and the OLS linear regression model.

This hands-on class provides a comprehensive introduction to estimating the linear regression model using ordinary least squares in Stata. Topics for the class include multiple regression, dummy variables, interaction effects, hypothesis tests, and model diagnostics. Prerequisites: General familiarity with Stata (including importing and managing datasets and data exploration) and knowledge of the linear regression model and ordinary least squares estimation.

Please register at: http://info-libraries.mit.edu/events/.
Contact: Katherine McNeill, E53-168c, x3-0787, mcneillh@mit.edu

The revolution will be well-informed: Creating the A- Z Library at Occupy Boston
Heather McCann
Thu Jan 12, 01-02:00pm, 4-145

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Limited to 40 participants.
Single session event

Shortly after the Occupy Boston encampment was founded, a group of intrepid librarians and an activist bookstore owner came to Dewey Square independently with the idea of creating a library. They quickly joined forces, and the Audre Lorde-Howard Zinn (A-Z) library was born. This talk will describe how a fully-functioning library was created from scratch within a few days and how it continues to live on despite the eviction from Dewey Square.
Contact: Heather McCann, 7-238, x3-7098, hmccann@mit.edu

VEGAS / VENICE: Cambridge-based Aerial Photographer Alex MacLean on their Beauty and Fragility from the Air
Alex MacLean Landslides Aerial Photography, Jolene de Verges
Thu Jan 26, 01-02:00pm, 4-237

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up

In his new illustrated book, American pilot and photographer Alex MacLean devotes himself to two cities that have more in common than the first two letters of their names: Venice and (Las) Vegas. Both cities exist in a difficult natural environment: one in salt water and the other in the desert. It requires enormous energy resources to keep them alive in locations hostile to settlement. Both cities are mythical places and, by virtue of their architecture and histories, magnets for mass tourism from all over the world.
Alex MacLean is the first person to attempt a visual comparison between these cities from the air, a comparison that opens our eyes to their structural similarities. In his latest illustrated book, he produces pictures of immense aesthetic power. At the same time, they illustrate the fatal dangers to which both cities are exposed through uncontrolled land speculation, thoughtless leisure and consumer activities, and a profligate approach to natural resources.
Contact: Jolene de Verges, 7-238, x8-5593, jdeverge@mit.edu

Weird Science: Finding the Unexpected in the Libraries’ Rare Book Collections
Audrey Pearson, Stephen Skuce, Patrick Ford
Fri Jan 13, 10:30am-12:00pm, 14N-118

Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Signup by: 11-Jan-2012
Limited to 25 participants.
Single session event
Prereq: none

Here’s your chance to see some of the most intriguing—and occasionally perplexing—books in the library vault. Come see selections from MIT’s rare book collections in a show-and-tell session focused on unlikely “scientific” subjects such as animal magnetism, alchemy, and n-rays. The session will provide short introductions to the unusual topics covered in these books, and will allow participants to view the books up close.
Please register at http://libraries.mit.edu/sites/events/.
Contact: Audrey Pearson, 14N-118, x5-4466, pearsona@mit.edu


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Last update: 7 Sept. 2011