Zentralblatt MATH (ZBMATH), the world's most complete reference database in mathematical research, published its three millionth bibliographic entry today. ZBMATH is the leading publication in mathematics and has been presenting the state of the art and development of research in this discipline for the past 150 years. A total of 3,500 journals and more than 1,100 book series and monographs are currently documented and analysed.
In practice, this means an annual growth of around 120,000 new entries from research institutes all over the world. The entries consist of abstracts or reviews written by more than 6,000 experts. The editorial work is carried out jointly by FIZ Karlsruhe and the editor-in-chief Professor Bernd Wegner.
On the basis of a cooperation agreement signed between FIZ Karlsruhe and the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007, the rapidly developing Chinese research literature in the field of mathematics is listed in its entirety in the database. A total of more than 70,000 papers are already listed, with around another 8,000 added each year.
Zentralblatt MATH is now a database that goes far beyond the original concept of a journal and networks the international mathematical research community. The editorial office in Berlin structures and assesses content, makes the entries available in electronic form and ensures that the software is refined to be able to deal with the continual growth in mathematical publications. Strong networking among mathematicians allows the functionalities of the database to be optimally adapted to the requirements of researchers and users. Last year, for example, an author database was set up using complex identification processes. By displaying the papers in MathML, complicated mathematical formulas can now be read directly as well.
"There are surely few other scientific disciplines that are presented in such compact form in a comprehensive information database as mathematics is in ZBMATH," said Professor Bernd Wegner on the development of this service. "It is unique in that it contains almost the entire mathematical literature worldwide. This important instrument for mathematicians has managed to cross over into the digital age, evolving from a print journal with a long tradition into a unique electronic information service in mathematical research. Scientific research in mathematics is inconceivable without a service like ZBMATH."
Zentralblatt für Mathematik (ZBMATH) was founded in 1931 and is now regarded as the world's most comprehensive and oldest reference service in the discipline. The merger with Jahrbuch über die Fortschritte der Mathematik, which was set up in 1868, means that ZBMATH's complete database covers publications dating back almost 150 years. The online database is operated jointly by the scientific publishing house Springer and FIZ Karlsruhe. It is co-edited by the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and the Heidelberg Academy of Science.
Springer (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific publisher of books and journals, delivering quality content through innovative information products and services. It publishes close to 500 academic and professional society journals. Springer is part of the publishing group Springer Science+Business Media. In the science, technology and medicine (STM) sector, the group publishes around 2,000 journals and more than 6,500 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in about 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and more than 5,000 employees.