Mens et manus at work: The distributed library initiative at MIT

Abstract

Most buildings at MIT are connected, and the long hallway which runs the length of the main complex is called the “infinite corridor.” This design was intentional when the Cambridge campus began construction along the banks of the Charles River basin in 1913. The purpose of interconnecting buildings, in contrast to the separate buildings of many campus quadrangles, is to promote conversation and interchange among students, faculty, and staff. This was viewed especially important for the cross‐fertilization of interdisciplinary studies. What does this have to do with the DLI? It is an early analog of the DLI purpose to nourish and encourage the quality of education and research for the entire MIT community. Within the Athena computing environment students often learn cooperatively. Through services such as Discuss, an online meeting facility, students can ask questions, continue dialogue, probe for new answers, and relax. The DLI provides the information layer of this learning environment and helps to build the electronic infinite corridor.