Overview

Books in this (small) collection have mathematical themes which are aimed at a broad audience, including students and the general public. They are neither textbooks nor research level books. The background required to read them varies from almost nothing up to a few of years of university mathematics.

Rationale

Mathematics is the study of universal patterns and structures. It plays an increasingly important role in computer science, information technology, engineering, the physical and biological sciences, medical science, economics, psychology, and many other fields. These books go some way towards giving an appreciation of the beauty and utility of mathematics.

Most of the books are not in the ANU library, while those which are in the library are not catalogued together. We hope that by having the collection based in the Mathematical Sciences Institute [MSI] we can help a little in promoting, to a wide group of students and others, the importance and fascination of mathematics.

Thanks and a request

The initial set of books was generously donated by Tim Bourke. If you have suitable books you would like to give/loan to the collection, please let us know!

How it works

There is a link from each title to the corresponding page on the Amazon website. The various reviews there should give a reasonable idea of the content and level of each book. (Unfortunately it is not viable to have the books available for browsing, but the online information should be even more useful!)

If you would like to borrow a particular book, or reserve a book currently out on loan, please contact someone at the front desk in the lobby of the MSI building.