MIT Libraries' Publications

when at start of sentence or in title: "E-book" (do not capitalize the "b")

This is an arbitrary choice (Publisher's Weekly handles it this way most often).

ALWAYS capitalize the word "Libraries" in "the MIT Libraries" or "the Libraries" when MIT Libraries are meant (but do not capitalize "the" midsentence).

Wrong: "Please visit The [MIT] Libraries."

Right: "Welcome to the Libraries."

lower-case "the library" even when referring to a particular library

Ex: "The Lindgren Library is located in 54-200. The library collects material on earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences."

USE "an" as article with "MIT." Ex: "an MIT thesis." (The general rule is that you choose the article based on the way the acronym is pronounced.)

Don't include periods in "MIT."

Whether the collective noun "staff" is plural or singular is a matter of some contention. TOEFL-takers are told that it depends on the context: "Staff is unanimous" vs. "Staff are in disagreement." (Luckily the latter case almost never happens.)

Since this could lead to having different usages adjacent to each other, it may be best to finesse by avoiding constructions that expose whether plural or singular has been chosen. Ex: use "staff can assist," instead of having to choose between "staff assist" and "staff assists." Another popular dodge is using the term "staff members."

See http://www2.ncsu.edu:8010/ncsu/grammar/Verbs3.html to read about a library-specific instance of this quandary.

Use periods between each set of numbers.

Ex: "617.253.0000"

(when set off on the page as in letterhead, mastheads, etc.)

Include area codes in all publications which could be conceivably viewed by those not in Cambridge--that is, include the area code on the Web, and in brochures and other widely distributed materials.

In more local contexts (such as an email or a flyer for a particular class) include first 3 digits of phone number.

Include the http://
(note that using http:// in Eudora makes the URL clickable)

Do not include a final slash after the last directory:

Correct: http://libraries.mit.edu/barker

If URL goes over a line in length, break after a slash--do not use hyphens to indicate continuation. (Yes, the Boston Globe does it, but it is confusing.)

To achieve this, use a hard break (Shift + Enter in MS Word). You can increase letterspacing a subtle amount if the resulting line is too short. Having a ragged right margin in your document makes this look less awkward.

electronic version: describes resources such as CD-ROMs that are electronic but not online (networked)

online version: describes resources that you dial into online (ex: DIALOG) but which are not necessarily HTML

web version: describes resources that are in HTML & can be accessed through a web browser. This is the most specific term.