[Editors] MIT Editors' Club Minutes, Feb. 2010

[Elizabeth A Thomson]

MIT EDITORS' CLUB

*Meeting Notes from February 11, 2010*


*Working with the Publishing Services Bureau*

Coincidentally, a day or so before this meeting of MIT Editors' Club, I got a nice note from one of our members telling me about a freelance editor she'd worked with and would like to recommend to other members. How should she proceed? I suggested that she start by calling Monica Lee or Bara Blender of the Publishing Services Bureau, because the PSB is a great clearinghouse for "vendors" associated with communications. As a result, her freelance editor could potentially find many more MIT clients. But....was I right to send her to Monica and Bara? WAS this something they could help with? At the time, I simply thought that that's what *I* would do---especially since Monica and Bara have always gotten back to me in the past on a range of queries.

Since this meeting was hosted by Monica and Bara, I asked them directly (if a tad belatedly). The answer: "We're always looking for talented people," said Monica. "If you're working with someone who's really good, we definitely want to hear about [her]." The PSB keeps lists of printers, writers, photographers, editors, web programmers and others related to communications. Then, if you or I call the PSB looking for help with a given project, they'll have folks to recommend. Monica explained that once a potential vendor contacts them, they'll conduct an evaluation of that person's work (based on CV, samples, etc.). Obviously, great recommendations from past MIT clients are helpful.

*Photo Archives*

We then segued into what is becoming a perennial topic for this group (along with social media): photos. Or, as someone at the meeting put it a bit more specifically, "the never-ending saga of where to go for photos on campus." Monica told us a bit about the PSB photo library, and many people also mentioned the News Office. I just confirmed with Editors' Club member and News Office Multimedia Specialist Patrick Gillooly that he is indeed a great contact for existing News Office pics. He noted that it's especially helpful if you can ID a specific photo (e.g., send him the link from the web). Also: Jessica Holmes of the News Office is another good contact for photo requests. 

In general, however, people were frustrated by the lack of a centralized database for ALL photos. Some mentioned that the Thalia photo-archiving system might be a solution....apparently many Editors, such as Julie Pryor of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, maintain their own photos through Thalia. And, in the general discussion that followed, it sounded like it might be possible to link together these separate databases. But now I am going well beyond my own personal knowledge (and written notes), so I'll just bring us back to the general observation that there does indeed appear to be a lot of interest in this subject.


*Working with the Libraries*

As you know from the last minutes, Heather Denny of the Libraries is organizing two workshops for this group on working with archivists and others associated with her department. Specifically, the workshops will help us research MIT history and use the multiple resources available.

Last month some of my Resource Development colleagues and I met with Heather and some of her colleagues to discuss content for these workshops. Of course, I couldn't wait to share some of the cool stuff we learned. For example:

--Don't forget to take advantage of the "Ask Us!" service. If the librarian on call doesn't have an answer to your question, he or she will forward it to the proper person. Go to  http://libraries.mit.edu/ask-us/index.html

--Many MIT theses are well-read. This little nugget prompted a smile from Sarah Foote of the Sloan School, who told us about a student from about 5 years ago who was so convinced that no-one would ever read his thesis that he tucked at $20 bill into it. "And...what was his name?" someone else quickly asked.

*THANK YOU*

A big Thank You to Monica Lee and Bara Blender of the Publishing Services Bureau for hosting this meeting at the PSB. 


*Next Meeting*

The next meeting of MIT Editors' Club is as follows. Meetings are always from 12-1, and folks are encouraged to bring a lunch.

Monday, March 8, 66-360
THANKS to Melanie Miller of the Department of Chemical Engineering

Cheers,

Elizabeth
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Elizabeth A. Thomson
Associate Director of Communications
MIT Resource Development
Office of Communications
600 Memorial Dr., W98-300
617-258-5563, 857-756-9457
<thomson at mit.edu>, giving.mit.edu
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