South Seattle Emerald: Collage made up of the following: U.S. Postal Service workers overrun with Christmas packages, which became commercialized in the 19th century with steel rails (Image: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs LB-B2-2215-5); An early light bulb created by Thomas Edison (Image: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Thomas Edison Historical Park); A magnetic cassette tape. These made it possible to curate music with the mixtape — the early “playlist” (Image: A. Ramirez); Glass is often overlooked but it is central to scientific discoveries as those made possible by microscopes (Image: A. Ramirez); An announcement of Alexander Graham Bell’s demonstration of his telephone in the New Haven Evening Register in 1877 (Image: A. Ramirez).

For the 60th anniversary of MIT Press, authors, staff, friends, and community members with a connection to the MIT Press have shared their memories and appreciations. Among the well-wishers is Ainissa Ramirez, 2006-08 MIT MLK Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering:

“Great books don’t come into the world by accident. They require fine authors, but also publishers that can spot and support talent, particularly when authors are of diverse backgrounds. The MIT Press is one such press, and by doing so it is shaping the entire publishing world and moving this industry towards where it actually should be.”

--Ainissa Ramirez, author of The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another (MIT Press, 2020)

To read more—and contribute your own—check out happy60.mitpress.mit.edu.