Developing a 21st Century Global
Library for Mathematics Research
Committee on Planning a Global Library of the Mathematical Sciences
Board on Mathematical Sciences and Their Applications
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This project was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation under grant number 2011-10-28. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-29848-3
International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-29848-2
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Suggested citation: National Research Council. 2014. Developing a 21st Century Global Library for Mathematics Research. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.
Copyright 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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COMMITTEE ON PLANNING A GLOBAL LIBRARY OF THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
INGRID DAUBECHIES, Duke University, Co-Chair
CLIFFORD A. LYNCH, Coalition for Networked Information, Co-Chair
KATHLEEN M. CARLEY, Carnegie Mellon University
TIMOTHY W. COLE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
JUDITH L. KLAVANS, University of Maryland, College Park
YANN LeCUN, New York University
MICHAEL LESK, Rutgers University
PETER OLVER, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
JIM PITMAN, University of California, Berkeley
ZHIHONG (JEFF) XIA, Northwestern University
Staff
MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Study Director
SCOTT WEIDMAN, Board Director
BARBARA WRIGHT, Administrative Assistant
BOARD ON MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS
DONALD G. SAARI, University of California, Irvine, Chair
DOUGLAS ARNOLD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
GERALD G. BROWN, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
LOUIS ANTHONY COX, JR., Cox Associates
CONSTANTINE GATSONIS, Brown University
MARK L. GREEN, University of California, Los Angeles
DARRYLL HENDRICKS, UBS Investment Bank
BRYNA KRA, Northwestern University
ANDREW W. LO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID MAIER, Portland State University
WILLIAM A. MASSEY, Princeton University
JUAN MEZA, University of California, Merced
JOHN W. MORGAN, Stony Brook University
CLAUDIA NEUHAUSER, University of Minnesota, Rochester
FRED ROBERTS, Rutgers University
CARL P. SIMON, University of Michigan
KATEPALLI SREENIVASAN, New York University
EVA TARDOS, Cornell University
Staff
SCOTT WEIDMAN, Director
NEAL GLASSMAN, Senior Program Officer
MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Program Officer
BARBARA WRIGHT, Administrative Assistant
BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. The committee wishes to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Sara Billey, University of Washington
Thierry Bouche, Cellule MathDoc and Institut Fourier, Université de Grenoble
François G. Dorais, MathOverflow and Dartmouth College
Robion Kirby, University of California, Berkeley
Donald McClure, American Mathematical Society
Jason Rute, Pennsylvania State University
Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles
Eva Tardos, Cornell University
Heinz Weinheimer, Springer
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before
its release. The review of this report was overseen by C. David Lever-more, University of Maryland, College Park. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
The committee also acknowledges the valuable contribution of the following individuals, who provided input at the meetings on which this report is based or by other means:
Patrick Allen, Northwestern University
Dean Baskin, Northwestern University
Anna Marie Bohmann, Northwestern University
Thierry Bouche, Cellule MathDoc and Institut Fourier, Université de Grenoble
Jim Crowley, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Yanxia Deng, Northwestern University
François G. Dorais, MathOverflow and Dartmouth College
Kris Fowler, University of Minnesota
Hongshaw Gai, Northwestern University
Paul Ginsparg, arXiv.org and Cornell University
Daniel Goroff, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Wayne Graves, Association for Computing Machinery
Elton Hsu, Northwestern University
Michael Kohlhase, Jacobs University
Chao Liang, Northwestern University
David Lipman, National Center for Biotechnology Information
Andrew McCallum, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Donald McClure, American Mathematical Society
Andrew Odlyzko, University of Minnesota
Jeffrey Regier, University of California, Berkeley
Clark Robinson, Northwestern University
Herb Roitblat, OrcaTec
George Sell, University of Minnesota
Melissa Tacy, Northwestern University
Michael Trott, Wolfram|Alpha
John Wilkin, University of Michigan
Antony Williams, Royal Society of Chemistry
Contents
Study Definition and Scope and the Committee’s Approach
Previous Digital Mathematics Library Efforts
The Universe of Published Mathematical Information
Current Mathematical Resources
2 POTENTIAL VALUE OF A DIGITAL MATHEMATICS LIBRARY
What Is Missing from the Mathematical Information Landscape?
What Gaps Would the Digital Mathematics Library Fill?