Information Research Weblog

MIT Open Course-ware

My attention has been drawn, once again, to MIT's initiative to put much of its available course material on the Web, with open access. The site has been available for some time, but was only recently formally announced as MIT OpenCourseWare - black marks for its rather illiterate lack of spaces between words. When an institution like MIT stoops to this kind of marketing idiocy there really is no hope for civilization.

The material available there covers the gamut from philosophy to electronic engineering, but don't expect to find that every single item is of a high quality. Much of the material takes the form of notes - intended for either the student or the teacher as an aide memoire. Possibly of more value, in some case, are the syllabus outlines and reading lists, which would enable anyone to learn for themselves. Again, however, these are not of a uniform quality.

Wilbur and Orville Wright

Enthusiasts for aviation history will be fascinated by a new digital collection at the Library of Congress, devoted to Wilbur and Orville Wright. There are more than 49,000 digital images, so it will take you a little time to work your way through! There's even an image of the telegram that Orville sent home to record the longest flight - and he got the time wrong, giving fifty-seven seconds instead of fifty-nine!

The dime novel cover

Lest we get too serious, take a look at the Syracuse University Library site devoted to 'dime novel' covers - and pick your favourite. I rather liked this one, which is probably about George Bush.

Have a good week-end