Finding Information in the Library
I'm looking for information about a specific topic in mathematics.
Where should I begin searching?
You have several options:
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Advanced
Search in the Online Catalog - If you have only a general idea of the topic you want, search
the term in the "any words", "title words," or "subject words" fields and, to avoid overwhelmingly
large hit lists early in your search process, restrict results to titles in the Mathematics
Library. If a particular title is close to but not quite what you want, click on terms listed under
"Subject (LCSH)" in the item record for other titles on those topics. You can also click on the
call number to see the other books that are shelved with that particular title.
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I-Share
Catalog - If you do not find anything in the online catalog, search here. One useful method is
to try topic phrases in the "subject heading" field, especially if you still do not have a
particular author or title in mind.
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MathSciNet - You may search by
author, journal title, or simply names or terms "anywhere." This database includes journal, book,
and proceedings titles.
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Zentralblatt MATH - This
database is similar to MathSciNet but indexes some different titles. Search by author, title, or
source. You can limit searches to a specific publicatio date range. Clicking on "classification"
will provide you with information on different search strategies.
Don't forget about the
online mathematics journals and, of
course, once you have citations, the print journals in the Mathematics Library reading room.
Please talk to a member of the library staff if you need help or have questions at any step
in your research process.
