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Massachusetts Institute of Technology, News Office records

 Collection
Identifier: AC-0069

  • Staff Only
  • Select item to request

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Series 1A, boxes 1-22, consists of press releases arranged chronologically by the date of release. Dates covered are as follows: 1950 October - 1974 October; 1975 January - June; 1977 March - 1981 July; 1986-1987; 1993-1994. These have been digitized.

Series 1B, boxes 1-2, consists of material relating to the MIT Centennial in 1961.

Series 2, boxes 7-10, 12a, 12b, 13-63, contains the remainder of the records, which are subject files primarily concerning topics on which press releases were issued. The material includes budget information, correspondence, mailing lists, newspaper clippings, press releases, printed material, and reports. There is some administrative correspondence. There are holdings of the News Office publication "The Observer", a montly booklet of newspaper clips mailed to parents of students. Also included are archived version of the MIT News Office website spanning from 2017 through the present.

Series 3, boxes 64-65, comprises Calendars of Events published by the MIT News Office between 1946 and 1967. The series contains an incomplete run of issues.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920 - 2007
  • Creation: 2017 January 25 - Ongoing

Creator

Access note

This collection is open.

Conditions Governing Use

Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.

Historical note

The MIT News Office began as a news service when James Rowlands was hired by MIT president Samuel Stratton in 1925. Tech Talk started in 1957 as a newsletter, and in 1971 became an eight page tabloid newspaper, ceasing print publication after September 2009.

History of the News Office

Extent

56.1 Cubic Feet (53 record cartons, 7 manuscript boxes, 4 half manuscript boxes, 1 flat storage box)

Language of Materials

English

Location

Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.

Appraisal note

Needs review.

Processing Information note

In November 2010, the first 6 boxes of the collection (Series 1a: Press Releases) were reboxed into 20 manuscript boxes that now make up Series 1A. In 2012 boxes 11 and 12 were determined to be Series 1b: Centenial and were renumbered boxes 1 and 2 of series 1B. Non-press release material from original box 12 was put into manuscript boxes 12a and 12b in Series 2.

Title
Inventory to the Records of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology News Office, 1920-2007
Status
Ready For Review
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2022 February 2: Edited by Lana Mason to reflect addition of the MIT News Office website.

Repository Details

Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository

Contact:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US