Mathematics

Skip Contact Info and Research Tips

Contact

John J Meier
Title: Science Librarian

Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library
201 Davey Lab
814-867-1448

Top Picks

Mathematics: E-journals

Penn State: Mathematics Department

Articles and Databases

MathSciNet (Math Reviews 1940 - to date) Tutorials available from AMS - most comprehensive coverage of mathematics scholarly journals.

Web of Science (Citation Database 1900-present) - select journals in pure and applied mathematics are included

Project Euclid (mathematics journals) - collection of a few titles

Jahrbuch über die Fortschritte der Mathematik (Math Literature from 1868-1942) - a historical search engine

Zentralblatt Math Database (limited searching) - another resource for finding references

arXiv.org Mathematics - some fields of math have articles awaiting publication freely available

Preprints from PSU Math Department List of pre-print Servers recommended by the Penn State Mathematics Department

Of related interest

LionSearch - one search for many of Penn State's magazines, journals, and books. Good coverage of the mathematics literature.

Academic Search Complete - has general science news and journals for undergraduates

Books

How do I find out what Penn State owns?

The CAT, short for catalog, contains information on the over 5 million books, journals, documents, videos, music and more owned by the Libraries. The CAT does NOT provide a listing of journal articles -- for that you should use LionSearch. For more information about using The CAT, consult the Quick Guide to the CAT. For more information about using LionSearch, consult the LionSearch FAQ.

Tip #1: Use the I WANT IT button in the CAT to have things delivered for pickup or to request an item already in use.

Tip #2: My Library Account shows you what you have checked out and allows you to renew your books without coming to the library. You can borrow up to 200 items; most items can be charged out until the end of the current semester before needing to be renewed.

How do I find items on the shelf?

The Penn State libraries use the Library of Congress call number system to shelve most items in the libraries. Below are two examples of this call number system.

example of using LOC call numbers to find items on the shelf

What if Penn State doesn't own an item or no copies are available?

If we do not own something or if all Penn State copies are in use, we'll attempt to get it for you - for free! Use ILLiad to request items not owned by Penn State. Most items arrive within 7-10 working days. Photocopies are scanned and emailed to you; books and other loans will be delivered to the library of your choice for pickup.

Tip #3: Use the E-ZBorrow service to borrow books which are always in use at PSU. E-ZBorrow draws from other academic libraries in our region so materials arrive quickly (3-5 days).