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Mathematics
Bibliographer: Lauren Gala, (215) 746-0228, milaur@pobox.upenn.edu
I. Program Information
Mathematics is both a discipline in itself and a fundamental tool for research in many fields, including the physical and life sciences, computer science and engineering, the social sciences, statistics and business. The Department of Mathematics offers both specialized training in mathematics (through the Ph.D. program) and prepares students for careers in all fields for which mathematics is a fundamental tool. The Department confers about 40-45 bachelor's degrees, 4-5 master's degrees, and 5-6 doctorates per year. Many undergraduate majors have a co-major in one of the physical sciences, engineering, or finance.
The research program of the Department is in pure mathematics and concentrates on algebraic geometry, algebraic topology, algebraic number theory, combinatorics and algorithms, logic and programming semantics, representation theory, Riemannian geometry, several complex variables, string theory, and mathematical physics. A concentration in applied mathematics has been started recently.
II. Collection Description
Because of the broad significance of mathematics to scholarship, the prominence mathematics has had in University's curriculum, and the complex development of the library system, materials on mathematics can be found in a number of campus locations, notably the Math-Physics-Astronomy Library, the Van Pelt Library, the Lippincott Library, and the Engineering Library.
The largest and most current concentration of mathematics materials is in the Math-Physics-Astronomy Library. This collection, established in 1948, contains approximately 10,000 monograph volumes and receives some 200 current serial titles. It has the collected works of nearly 150 mathematicians of the 19th and 20th centuries, and a collection of 82 French mathematical seminars. Because of space limitations, a significant number of older mathematics journals and monographs are now located in LIBRA, from which they can be retrieved daily. The Department is an institutional member of the American Mathematical Society and collects all of the Society's publications.
The Math-Physics-Astronomy Library also provides print and electronic indexes and abstracts to the literature of mathematics. MathSciNet provides electronic access to over 55 years of Mathematical Reviews and Current Mathematical Publications. Also available is the ISI Science Citation Index database. The Reference collection consists of dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias, and data tables. Dissertations from the Mathematics department are added to the collection as they become available.
The Van Pelt Library contains approximately 7,000 volumes classified in mathematics. Among these are nineteenth-century journals, materials on the philosophy and history of mathematics, a large collection of older treatises and textbooks, material on the teaching of mathematics, and some popular work on computer science.
The Lippincott Library has approximately 1500 volumes classified in mathematics in its active collection. The collection is centered on the application of mathematics to business needs, especially computer simulation, database management, mathematical programming, probability, and statistics.
The Engineering Library houses some five hundred volumes on various aspects of applied mathematics and computational mechanics.
III. Guidelines for Collection Development
This policy applies to mathematics as collected for the Math-Physics-Astronomy Library.
- Chronological
Emphasis is primarily on the 20th century. Materials from the 19th century are collected selectively. Materials prior to 1800 are out of scope.
- Formats
Journals and monographs are the primary formats for mathematics materials. Many monographs are part of ongoing series.
- Geographical
Not applicable.
- Language
English is preferred, but materials in the major European languages are also acquired. Major Russian journals are collected both in the original and in translation. Asian works are collected in translated editions only. More and more, English is the major language of scientific publications.
- Publication Dates
The emphasis is on current publications.
IV. Principal Sources of Supply and major Selection Tools
Faculty members play a major role in the selection of materials for the mathematics collection. Publishers announcements and catalogs, both print and electronically, are sources of bibliographic information. In addition to title-by-title selection, materials also come through standing orders for monographic series and approval plans. Preprints are received directly from the originating institutions as gifts.
V. Subjects Collected and Levels of Collecting
Subjects Collected Levels of Collecting Applied Linguistics 4W General Works 4/3W Dictionaries, Bibliographies, Handbooks 3/2W Recreational, Problem Books 1/0/0 Instructional Exposition 2/0/0 Conference Proceedings 3/4W Collected Works 4/4W Abstract Harmonic Analysis 3/4W Algebra 4/4W Algebraic Geometry 4/4W/5W Algebraic Topology 4/4W/5W Approximations and Expansions 3/2E/2 Associative Rings & Nonassociative Algebras 4/4W Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control 3/3E Category Theory, Homological Algebra 4/4W Combinatorics 4/4W Commutative Rings and Algebras 4/4W Convex and Discrete Geometry 3/3W Differential Geometry 4/4W/5W Error Analysis 2/1E Field theory and Polynomials 4/4W Functional Analysis Selfadjoint Operator Algebras 4/4W Functions of complex Variable 4/4W Game Theory 4/1E General Algebraic Systems 3/2W General Topology 3/2E Geometry 4/4W Geophysics, Economics, Operations Research 3/1E Global Analysis, Analysis on Manifolds 4/4W Graph Theory 4/4W Group Theory 4/4W Integral Equations 3/3W Integral Transforms, Operational Calculus 3/3W K-Theory 3/4W Linear and Multilinear Algebra, Matrix Theory 4/2W Manifolds and Cell Complexes 4/4W Mathematical Logic and Foundations 3/4/4W Measure and Integration 3/3W Mechanics of Particles and Systems 4/3E Number Theory 4/4W/5W Numerical Analysis 3/2/3E Operator Theory 4/4W Ordinary Differential Equations 3/2W/3W Partial Differential Equations 4/4W/5W Potential Theory 3/3E/3W Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes 4/2E Quantum Theory 4/4W Relativity and Gravitational Theory 4/4W Sequences, Series, Summability 3/2E Set Theory 3/2E Statistics 4/2E Statistical Mechanics 3/2W Theory of Computation (Programming Semantics) 2/3/4W Topological Groups, Lie Groups 4/4W
VI. Subjects Excluded
Recreational books, problem books, instructional exposition books, and introductory undergraduate textbooks are excluded.
VII. Cooperative Arrangements and Related Collections
Lippincott Library collects in probability, statistics and the application of mathematics to business. Van Pelt Library collects in the history, biography, and philosophy of mathematics and in game theory and logic. Applied mathematics is the general responsibility of the Engineering Library. Computer Science is collected by the Engineering Library.
A formal user arrangement has been established between Penn and Drexel University to allow Penn faculty to use the Drexel University Library. Nearly half of the Mathematics Department faculty take advantage of this arrangement.
