Reference Books: Print & Online
Finding Information from a Reference
Reference materials are compilations; a "reference" connects a researcher to background information in a way that is intended to be found quickly when needed. Reference materials can be dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, handbooks and guides, catalogs, atlases and maps, directories, almanacs – even the internet.
Using OU Libraries' Catalog
Although the library guide you currently read is considered a reference material, the following lists are not comprehensive. Check the OU Libraries Discover catalog to connect to even more resources. Think about the keywords you would use to search the catalog; for general books containing definitions of terms or overviews of a subject, search for your keywords plus "encyclopedia" or "dictionary." Want reference assistance? Reach out to the STEM Services team at libstem@ou.edu.
Looking for a reference on citation style? Visit the Citations page of the guide.
Finding Books in the Library by Call Number
Books are located in Bizzell Memorial Library in the following call number locations.
Library of Congress Call Numbers for Mathematics:
| Call Number Range | Topic |
|---|---|
| QA 1-939 | Mathematics |
| QA 1-43 | General |
| QA 47-59 | Tables |
| QA 71-90 | Instruments and machines |
| QA 75-76.95 | Calculating machines |
| QA 75.5-76.95 | Computer Science |
| QA76.75-76.765 | Computer Software |
| QA 101-145 | Elementary mathematics, Arithmetic |
| QA 150-272.5 | Algebra |
| QA 273-280 | Probabilities, Mathematical statistics |
| QA 299.6-433 | Analysis |
| QA 440-699 | Geometry. Trigonometry. Topology |
| QA 801-939 | Analytic mechanics |
| QC 19.2-20.85 | Mathematical Physics |
What's new about the catalog? See if the library has a copy of your class's textbook!
Textbooks on Reserve and course reserve materials are now searchable by course code (ex. HIST 3403), course name (ex. Modern Israel), title (ex. Quiet Street), or author. Some materials are searchable by professor last name (ex. Seidelman). Students can search the catalog or the new Textbook Search Scope (located under the Search Scope drop-down menu).
Dictionaries
The Mathematics Dictionary by Call Number: QA 5 .J33 1992ISBN: 0412990318Publication Date: 1992-07-31For more than 50 years, this classic reference has provided fundamental data in an accessible, concise form. This edition of the Mathematics Dictionary incorporates updated terms and concepts in its span of more than 8,000 topics from a broad spectrum of mathematical specialties. It features review-length descriptions of theories, practices and principles as well as a multilingual index.
Mcgraw-Hill Dictionary of Mathematics by Call Number: QA 5 .M425 2003ISBN: 9780071410496Publication Date: 2003-01-27Written in clear, simple language understandable to the general reader, yet in-depth enough for scientists, educators, and advanced students, "The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Mathematics, Second Edition" has been extensively revised, with 4,000 entries encompassing the language of mathematics and statistics.
Handbooks
- NIST Digital Library of Mathematical FunctionsOnline successor to the widely used "Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables"
Handbook of Numerical Analysis by Publication Date: 1990-2011
Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables (ebook and print) by Call Number: Bizzell Stacks QA 3 .U5 (print)Succeeded by the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions http://dlmf.nist.gov/
Encyclopedias
CRC concise encyclopedia of mathematics by Publication Date: 2003
Online Historical Mathematics Collections
- Gallica-Math: La bibliothèque numériqueFull-text books and chapters from the 19th century and earlier. (Website is in French)
- Cornell University Historial Math MonographsCornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs. Contains digitized math books that are out of copyright.
- University of Michigan Historial Mathematic CollectionThe University of Michigan Historical Mathematics Collection is a growing library of books selected from the University of Michigan mathematics collection that have been digitized to improve access and to preserve the content of these books. All of the books in this collection were published in the 19th or early 20th century.
Bibliographies
Primary Sources
Mathematical Works Printed in the Americas, 1554-1700 by Publication Date: 2009
Secondary Sources
Selected Works
Overviews
The Exact Sciences in Antiquity by Publication Date: 1969
Mathematics Across Cultures The History of Non-Western Mathematics (Online access) by Publication Date: 2001
From Alexandria, Through Baghdad by ISBN: 9783642367366Publication Date: 2013-10-30This book honors the career of historian of mathematics J.L. Berggren, his scholarship, and service to the broader community. The first part, of value to scholars, graduate students, and interested readers, is a survey of scholarship in the mathematical sciences in ancient Greece and medieval Islam. It consists of six articles (three by Berggren himself) covering research from the middle of the 20th century to the present. The remainder of the book contains studies by eminent scholars of the ancient and medieval mathematical sciences. They serve both as examples of the breadth of current approaches and topics, and as tributes to Berggren's interests by his friends and colleagues.
Defending Hypatia by Publication Date: 2010
State of the Field
The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences (Online access) by Publication Date: 2002Available as and eBook
Also available in print in the History of Science Collections and Bizzell library
Early Modern Era
Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution by Publication Date: 19951998 Ludwik Fleck Prize
Frequently Used Textbooks
Algebra by Call Number: QA 247 .L67 2006ISBN: 0387289305Publication Date: 2005-12-08This translation of the 1987 German edition is an introduction into the classical parts of algebra with a focus on fields and Galois theory. It discusses nonstandard topics, such as the transcendence of pi, and new concepts are defined in the framework of the development of carefully selected problems.
Abstract Algebra by Call Number: QA 162 .D85 2004 TEXTBOOKSISBN: 9780471433347Publication Date: 2003-07-14The book carefully develops the theory of different algebraic structures, beginning from basic definitions to some in-depth results, using numerous examples and exercises to aid the student's understanding.
Real Analysis by Call Number: QA 331.5 .R6 2010 TEXTBOOKSISBN: 9780131437470Publication Date: 2010-01-15Real Analysis, Fourth Edition, covers the basic material that every reader should know in the classical theory of functions of a real variable, measure and integration theory, and some of the more important and elementary topics in general topology and normed linear space theory.
Measure and Integral by Call Number: QA 312 .W43 2015ISBN: 9781498702898Publication Date: 2015-04-24Measure and Integral: An Introduction to Real Analysis provides an introduction to real analysis by first developing the theory of measure and integration in the simple setting of Euclidean space, and then presenting a more general treatment based on abstract notions characterized by axioms and with less geometric content.
