Engineering and Science Libraries Updates

The Barker Engineering Library are in the process of moving its bound journal collection to the Library Storage Annex (N57, 1 State Street, Cambridge). Over the past couple of years the 8th floor of the library has experienced a growing number of leaks such that it is increasingly difficult on any rainy day to prevent water damage to the collections. While we expect repairs to begin during this calendar year, our responsibility for careful stewardship of the collection demands that we clear the floor in order to keep these valuable materials safe and undamaged. Once the repairs begin, we expect the floor to be unavailable for approximately one year.

These materials will remain accessible to the MIT Community by a variety of means:

• About 42% of the remaining volumes going to storage are currently available online. Check Vera (http://libraries.mit.edu/vera) and Barton (http://libraries.mit.edu/barton) for URLs for the journals.
• It is possible to request articles in PDF format from storage by using the request service in Barton (http://libraries.mit.edu/lsa/pdf-delivery.html). When you find the journal’s record, click on “All items”, find the volume you want, and click on the “Request PDF” button.
• If you want to look at a whole volume instead of a single article, on the same Barton page you can instead click on the “Request item” button and the volume will be delivered to the library of your choice.
• If you prefer to physically browse one or more volumes, you can also visit the Library Storage Annex by calling to let them know of your visit (617-253-7040). They are open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm and are located in building N57 on State Street, a short walk up Massachusetts Ave.

Unbound print journals in Barker collection (usually the latest year of a subscription) will remain in Barker, but will move to the fifth floor.

This move comes towards the end of an aggressive storage process implemented over the past couple of years. Barker has already sent about 2/3 of its journals to storage because of the availability of full online backfiles. If considered in its entirety, about 80% of Barker’s journal collection is online. These moves have created growth space for circulating books and will allow us to develop more space for individual and group study.

We are interested in any feedback you may have about this change. Please let us know if this change impacts you significantly or if you would like to see any improvements in how you access the collection during this time. If you have any concerns or comments, please send them to esl-feedback@mit.edu.