FAQ
If you do not see your question listed below, please visit our MIT Press Direct Service Desk for more information.
Access
Librarians and Partnered Institutions
Are free trials available for institutions?
Yes. Request a Trial via our customer support portal.
How do I create an administrator account?
Institutional admins can create and manage their administrator account through the Institutional Dashboard. Please note that at this time only one institutional administrator may be assigned to each institution.
How do I access information regarding my institution's programs and holdings?
Institutional admins can access information regarding their active subscriptions and purchased products through Institutional Dashboard.
Users
How do I create a user name?
- Click the "Register" link in the header in the top right of the site.
- Provide your name and email address and set up your password.
- Click "Submit."
- Log in with your new account.
Navigation and Search
What filter options are available for search?
In addition to searching by title, author, DOI, or keyword, users can build queries and filter results by format (book or book chapter), subject, publishing date, and user access/availability.
How do I retrieve citation information for a chapter or book I'm currently reading?
Once you are on a book or chapter landing page, please navigate to the Tools icon and click the dropdown. A full citation of either the book or book chapter will appear, as well as the option to download the citation file.
How do I access my saved searches?
Once you are logged in, please click on your username in the top right corner of your browser. Select “Saved Searches” from the expanded menu items to access your saved searches.
How do I delete items from my saved searches?
Once you are logged in, please click on your username in the top right corner of your browser. Select “Saved Searches” from the expanded menu items to access your saved searches. Review the list of your saved searches and click “Delete” to delete any searches you previously saved.
Subscriptions and Purchasing
Librarians and Partnered Institutions
How do patrons get access to books online?
In order for access to be enabled, the MIT Press must receive either payment or a free trial agreement and a site license agreement. Customers will receive an email acknowledgement once access has been granted. Users within an institution’s determined IP range or with associated user accounts will be able to access books online.
How can my institution provide remote access for our users?
Users associated with a subscribing or purchasing institution are provided remote access through their individual user accounts. Please see further instructions on how to Create An Account.
Does the MIT Press have open access content?
Yes! The MIT Press has been a leader in open access (OA) publishing for two decades and actively supports a variety of OA models. Users can search for OA content specifically on the search page, by selecting the “Open Access” button under “Availability.”
May I purchase a single title on MIT Press Direct instead of a collection?
At this time, MIT Press Direct is offering complete and/or collection-based access to titles. To purchase an individual title in print or digital format, please refer to The MIT Press website.
Are the URLs for the books and book chapters in MIT Press Direct stable? Can we link directly to the book or book chapter?
URLs for books and book chapters are stable, but we recommend linking to the DOI, displayed on both book and book chapter landing pages, whenever possible.
Users
Can I access MIT Press Direct on my mobile device?
Yes! MIT Press Direct was designed with mobile responsiveness and usage in mind.
Can I access MIT Press Direct content if I am an independent researcher not affiliated with a subscribing institution?
We are not currently able to offer individual subscriptions to MIT Press Direct, although we hope to in the future. For now, please consider recommending this resource to your librarian.
What is the format of digital books on MIT Press Direct?
MIT Press Direct titles are offered on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Each book chapter is available as a PDF.
Are the print and digital books the same?
Generally speaking, MIT Press print and digital books are the same. However, digital books do have certain unique enhancements, such as allowing users to click on live URL references and search the text of the PDF in their chosen PDF viewer.
Are the print and digital editions available simultaneously?
As often as possible, the MIT Press strives to release print and digital editions of a title simultaneously. However, for the purposes of MIT Press Direct, frontlist additions will be made on a regularly scheduled seasonal basis, which does not align with our regular retail release and distribution process.
Tools and Resources
Librarians and Partnered Institutions
Do you provide usage statistics?
Yes. Please refer to our Usage Reports for further information.
Do you support SUSHI for accessing statistics?
Yes. Institutional Administrators can run SUSHI requests for their institution. Consortia Master Institutional Administrators can run SUSHI requests for their master consortia as well as the member institutions.
Do you supply MARC catalog records or other tools to help catalogers?
Yes. Please refer to our MARC Records and KBART Info page for further information.
Can you notify me when new content is added to MIT Press Direct?
Yes, in a few ways. Users with a Saved Search can turn on notifications for that search, which will alert users to new content additions in their search queries. Additionally, institutional admins are encouraged to subscribe to our newsletter via our Librarian Alerts, which will include updates on our products and offerings.
Where does my institution name display on the MIT Press Direct site, and can I change it?
Institution names and logos will appear next to the Register and/or Username link at the top right-hand corner of your browser. Institutional Admins can edit this information via the Institutional Dashboard.
How do I search for book content in MIT Press Direct?
To search for book content, simply type a search query into the main search bar on the homepage, or at the top center of resulting pages. Additionally, users can build more detailed queries using our Advanced Search links or through the query builder on the Search Results page.
Does the MIT Press load MARC records for books into OCLC WorldCat?
Yes. The MIT Press partners directly with OCLC WorldCat to ensure our records are made available.
Does MIT Press Direct provide a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for books and book chapters?
Yes. DOIs are provided for both books and book chapters.