Collection Development Policy

Prepared by: Linda Yamamoto, Bibliographer

August 2001

I. Programmatic Information

Library materials in the mathematical sciences support the departments of Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, and Operations Research. Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in Mathematics and Computer Science, and graduate programs only are offered in Statistics and Operations Research (now part of the Department of Management Science & Engineering). The Math/CS Library also serves the needs of students in the programs in Mathematical & Computational Science, Scientific Computing & Computational Mathematics, and interdisciplinary majors using courses and faculty from the above four departments.

As a secondary objective, the Bibliographer collects material for students and faculty in other departments who use mathematics, statistics, and computers as tools in their studies and research. This population includes users of Information Resources (ITSS, the University's computing facilities), logicians in the department of Philosophy, and members of such programs as the Center for Integrated Systems (CIS), Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI), Stanford Medical Informatics (SMI), and the Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY, formerly the Institute of Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences). To a lesser extent and within the collection development policy, the computer science collection serves programmers and systems analysts within the University.

II. Coordination and Cooperative Information

The Engineering Library has the greatest amount of overlap with Math/CS. Coordination and continuing evaluation is required in the following fields: digital electronics, robotics, information theory, computer architecture, computer aided design, and pattern recognition. In general, the programming, software, and interfacing techniques are in Math/CS. The hardware and networking interests are in Engineering. The responsibility for operations research is currently divided as follows: Math/CS emphasizes the theoretical and mathematical aspects and engineering emphasizes the applied aspects.

Responsibility for the history of mathematics is shared with the History of Science Bibliographer with materials pertaining to pre-nineteenth century mathematics falling primarily in that collection, which is housed in Green Library. The Math/CS and Green Libraries collect some introductory texts and surveys in computer science, as well as materials on computers and society. The Psychology Bibliographer has the primary responsibility for cognitive science with the Math/CS Library collecting materials on artificial intelligence. Cubberley Education Library collects materials on teaching math and computer science. Selections are made for the Math/CS Library in the area of mathematics education to meet specific needs of the faculty and teaching assistants in the Mathematics Department.

Jackson Business Library collects materials on business data processing. The Math/CS Library has very little information on marketing and sales of computers or on the business aspects of the computer industry.

The Law Library has the major collection on computers and the law. The Math/CS has materials on computer security and encryption. Math/CS collection has some general materials on laws effecting computer technology (e.g. networks, software).

Applied mathematics is developed at the level of post-doctoral research. In certain areas the more complete collections lie in the library responsible for the area of applications (e.g., geomathematics in Branner, mathematical biology in Falconer, mechanics and mathematical physics in the Physics Library). The Math/CS Library and Physics Library work closely together in this area, making decisions on a case-by-case basis. Math/CS selects some materials in theoretical biostatistics.

Computer Applications materials are found in the library of the applied discipline (e.g., computer applications in chemistry, Swain). Some applied materials are in Math/CS to meet the direct research needs of the Computer Science Department.

III. Subject and Language Modifiers

Geographical: Not applicable.

Chronological: In general, mathematics written before the nineteenth century is not collected, with the exception of the collected works of well-known mathematicians. Computer Science is entirely twentieth century by its nature.

Language: English is preferred. Major foreign language journals are acquired in their original languages in addition to the English translations because of the time lag in the availability of the translations. Research monographs are collected in other languages if no English translation is likely or available when the material is required. German, French, Russian, and Italian are the predominant foreign languages.

IV. Description of Materials Collected

Types of Material and Format:

Monographs

Research monographs

Texts: graduate level; some upper division (lower division texts and programmed texts are excluded)

Mathematical and statistical tables

Technical glossaries and bilingual dictionaries

Bibliographies

Biographical and institutional directories

Stanford dissertations

Proceedings, if critical to the discipline

Reports

Technical reports: Stanford (retained as archive) and non-Stanford; many on microfiche

Lecture notes and course materials

Preprints and reprints are excluded

Serials

Professional journals

Conference proceedings

Indexes and abstracts

Non-print

Microfiche and microfilm

Audio cassettes of conference presentations (e.g. debates) not available in print format

Video tapes

CD-ROMs

Floppy disks

Publication Date: Research publications in mathematics do not become obsolete. Computer hardware-dependent material obsoletes fairly rapidly, but some is retained for historical interest.

V. Special Considerations

By virtue of our institutional subscription to the Pacific Journal of Mathematics, we receive a number of Eastern European and Asian journals on exchange.

We are also institutional members of the Association for Computing Machinery and the American Mathematical Society. We try to acquire all of their publications.