MCC LIBRARY RESOURCES

Mathematicians

This guide has been prepared by the MCC reference librarians to assist you with research for your class. If you need further assistance, please stop by the reference desk to consult with a librarian.

Reference Sources

Reference Sources are a good place to start your research. They can give you a concise overview of your topic, background information, facts & statistics, plus help you define and spell words, and focus your topic. Reference Sources include both books located in the Reference Collection and databases accessible on the Library Web Site under the link Reference Databases.

Call Number Title
REF.Q121.M3 McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology
REF.Q141.N73 Notable Twentieth Century Scientists
REF.Q141.P29 The Genius of Science
REF.Q141.Y675 A-Z Women of Science and Math
REF.QA28.B544 Biographical Encyclopedia of Mathematicians
REF.QA99.S33 "Out of the mouths of mathematicians": a quotation book for philomaths

Books & Media

The Stacks contain books and audiovisual items that may be borrowed or "checked out" of the library. These resources are useful when you need a more in-depth study of a topic than can be provided in reference sources alone. Use the Library's Online Catalog to determine what resources are available on your topic and the call number and location in the library. If our library does not own the necessary resources for your research needs, you may request additional items be ordered through interlibrary loan.

Possible search terms to use for your topic are: Mathematicians or Personal Names (last name, first name)

Call Number Title
QA21.A54 Mathematics: a Concise History and Philosophy
QA21.B18 A Short Account of the History of Mathematics
QA21.B4 Development of Mathematics
QA21.E797 Great Moments in Mathematics Before 1650
QA21.E8 An Introduction to the History of Mathematics
QA21.H58 The History of Mathematics
QA21.S84 Mathematics and Its History
QA28.B4 Men of Mathematics
QA28.O83 Women of Mathematics

Article Databases

Periodicals consist of popular magazines, newspapers, trade and scholarly journals. Magazine & newspaper articles can be good sources to use for very current information, to focus on specific topics or aspects of a topic, to find reviews, and for opinions. Trade journals are helpful to follow trends and career opportunities within a field, and to find practical tips and techniques to use "on the job". Scholarly journals give details of actual research studies that have been conducted and/or scholarly treatment of discipline specific topics. All of these resources can be located using the article databases located on the library web site.

Recommended Databases for

Database Name Vendor Name
Academic Search Premier EBSCO
ProQuest ProQuest
   

Passwords to access the library databases from off-campus are available on the pink handout MCC Library Database Chart. If you have not received this handout, please ask for it at the Reference Desk.

Internet Resources

Recommended web sites for this subject are listed below. For additional web sites on this subject, refer to MCC Library's Web Sites by Subject link on the library web site.

Web Site Address
MacTutor History of Mathematics www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/index.html
Woman Mathematicians www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm
Women in Math Project darkwing.uoregon.edu/~wmnmath/People/index.html 
Fields Medal www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Societies/FieldsMedal.html
Eric Weisstein's World of Biography scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/


Remember to carefully evaluate information found on the Internet. Unlike most traditional print sources, Internet sources may not go through any review process before the information is made available to the public. Anyone can create and publish a web site. If you need help evaluating your sources, please ask at the Reference Desk for guidance. For critieria to use to evaluate your sources refer to our handout on Evaluating Sources. It is available at the Reference Desk.

 

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