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Joanne Adamowicz
Mathematics Librarian
Questions? Email : adamowic@brandeis.edu
Updated January 2008
This is a guide to library research in Mathematics. It contains a selective list of resources that may be helpful for getting started with Mathematics research.
Please contact Joanne Adamowicz, the Mathematics Librarian or Ask a Librarian for additional assistance.
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics, 3rd. ed.
Brief definitions of mathematical terms and basic biographical information on mathematicians; appendices include: table of areas and volumes; table of derivatives; table of integrals; table of series; table of trigonometric formulae; table of symbols.
Sci Ref QA 5 .C53 2005
Dictionary of Mathematics
In addition to offering short definitions or explanations of terms, this book provides problem sets and solutions.
Sci Ref QA5 .D4988 1999
The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English
"A reference book describing the origins of over 1500 mathematical terms used in English, including a glossary that explains the historical and linguisitic terms used in the book."
Sci Ref QA5 .S38 1994
Subject encyclopedias provide a broad overview of the current research on a particular topic and a short list (bibliography) of key resources.
Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences
Signed articles with bibliographies including ancient and non-Western mathematics; Middle Ages, Renaissance and 17th century developments; and the development of the principle research areas of mathematics.
Sci Ref QA21 .C645 1994, vols 1-2
CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics
A compendium written in an informal style of mathematical definitions, formulas, figures, tabulations, and references. Some references are links to the Internet.
Sci Ref QA5 .W45 2003
Encyclopaedia of Mathematics
Translation of the Soviet "Mathematical Encyclopedia", Kluwer, 1988. 6,600 signed articles with key references. Includes general treatment for non-specialists; detailed problems, results & techniques for specialists; and short reference definitions.
Sci Ref QA5 .M3713 1988, vols 1-10 (index)
Eric Weistein's World of Mathematics
A free service for the mathematical community provided by Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica, with additional support from the National Science Foundation
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
World of Mathematics
This unique reference tool offers detailed information on the "Bread-and-butter" ideas of mathematics - patterns and puzzles, theorems and proofs, shapes and symmetries ... Many biographical sketches. The historical chronology includes over 500 events in the history of mathematics from around 35,000 BC through 1995.
Sci Ref QA5 .W67 2001 (2 vols.)
Handbooks are concise compact compendiums of information written by professionals for professionals.
Handbook of Mathematics
All the major branches of mathematics are represented in this handy reference tool.
Sci Lib QA40 .B713 1998
Mathematical Handbook for Scientists and Engineers
This handbook is designed as a comprehensive reference collection of mathematical definitions, theorems, and formulas for scientists, engineers, and students of both the undergraduate and graduate level. Each chapter is arranged to permit review of an entire mathematical subject.
Sci Ref QA40 .K598 2000
Handbook of Mathematical Formulas and Integrals 2nd ed.
This handbook contains a collection of general mathematical results, formulas, and integrals that occur throughout the world of mathematics.
Sci Ref QA47 .J38 2000
CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulae 31st ed. An up-to-the-minute handbook for both pure and applied mathematics. There are chapters on Probability and Statistics, Scientific Computing, and Financial Analysis. CRC even maintains a homepage for the book for errata and improvements to the text.
Sci Ref QA47. M315 (ed.31) 2003
These research guides provide annotated lists of resources useful for identifying the classic works in mathematics.
Using the Mathematical Literature: A Practical Guide.
Of special note is the chapter "A Brief History of the Mathematical Literature" from Prehistory through the Twentieth Century.
Sci Lib QA 41.7 .S3
Use of Mathematical Literature
Sci Lib QA41.7 .U83
Guide to the Literature of Mathematics and Physics
Sci Lib Z6651 .P3 1958
LOUIS, the online catalog of the Brandeis Libraries, is the principal means of locating books in the library collections.
LOUIS can be useful at two levels of your research:
WorldCat
This enormous combined library catalog contains books and other materials held in most academic, research and large public libraries in the US and elsewhere. Use the ILL (Interlibrary Loan) button in WorldCat to order books not owned by Brandeis.
Use the online databases below to identify journal articles or articles in books on your topic. Ask a Librarian if you need help locating the item.
MathSciNet
1940--to present. Electronic version of Mathematical Reviews and Current Mathematical Publications. Provides online access to bibliographic references, full-text reviews and abstracts of international research in mathematics.
ACM Digital Library
Bibliographic information, abstracts, reviews and full-text for articles published in Association for Computing Machinery periodicals and proceedings since its founding in 1947, plus selected works published by affiliated organizations.
Web of Science
This multidisciplinary database covering the journal literature from 1945 to present offers both subject and citation searching. If you know one or more key articles in your area of interest, use Cited Reference Search to find later articles that have cited those key works. If you need help, a tutorial of Web of Science features is available or ask a Librarian.
JSTOR
Indexes and provides full-text to the older issues of over 100 scholarly journal titles from most disciplines, including Mathematics, 1800s to the recent 2-5 years.
Academic Search Premier
Another multidisciplinary database with full text articles to many scholarly publications.
Journals for Mathematics can be searched for directly in LOUIS catalog using the Journal Search link at the top of the screen. The vast majority of print Math journals are arranged alphabetically within the Group I - Red Bands section of the Science Library.
American Men and Women of Science
A biographical directory of today's leaders in Physical, Biological and related Sciences. The Discipline Index has a section on Mathematics broken down into sub-fields.
Sci Ref Q141 .A484
World Directory of Mathematicians
A total of 527,277 names from almost every continent are listed in this 12th edition.
Sci Lib QA30 .W6 2002
Combined Membership List
American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Association for Women in Mathematics, and Canadian Mathematical Society.
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
From the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, a web site on the history of mathematics and biographical information on mathematicians.
Mathematics on the Web: Societies, Associations and Organizations.
For additional resources see: Finding biographical information
EndNote is a personal software tool for managing your research citations and creating bibliographies and footnotes in a variety of citation styles. It can be downloaded to both Macs and PCs from here. Learn how to download citations from databases such as Science Direct and Web of Science into EndNote here.
