MIT Press rolls out new version of online cognitive science resource

MIT CogNet, a product of MIT Press, has been enhanced with easier, quicker access for researchers and improved citations for authors. CogNet is an institutional subscription database consisting of six academic journals, 12 cornerstone reference works and more than 700 books spanning cognitive sciences.

Achieving the best presentation of a book’s content was a significant challenge in developing the new version of CogNet. When a catalog search presented a PDF chapter from a book, the source of the book was not obvious to the user. MIT Press turned to Data Conversion Laboratory for help solving that problem. The solution is a one-page opening to all book chapters that includes MIT Press and CogNet branding along with other relevant information on the source of the content. Those additional pages are created dynamically from the original document’s XML metadata.

Bill Trippe, director of technology at MIT Press, says, “When planning the MIT CogNet upgrade, we knew that our internal resources would need to be devoted primarily to software development and Q&A, and so we’d need help with content conversion. Based on our past work with DCL, we have come to rely on them as our go-to vendor for converting complex material accurately and on schedule.”

For the project, DCL converted two of MIT Press’ most significant reference books—foundational works in the cognitive sciences. Those volumes include complex mathematics, tables and images, requiring DCL’s attention to ensure that all data retained the appropriate structuring and formatting schema, as prescribed by their respective academic disciplines, DCL reports.

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