Sudden Selector’s Guide to Mathematics Resources. By John Meier, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski, and Nastasha Johnson. Chicago: Core, 2021. 87p. $15.00 e-book (ISBN 978-0-8389-3765-5).

The Sudden Selector’s Guide to Mathematics Resources is the tenth and most recent addition to Core’s Sudden Selector’s Guide Series. This detail-oriented guide provides a “solid foundation for librarians engaged in collection development, outreach, and instruction,” as the description promises. The thoroughness of this guide will be beneficial to new and veteran selectors alike. The five chapters provide an overview of the discipline of mathematics, the patrons of the library, the professional resources, popular books and publishers, and journals and other resources.

The first chapter, “Know the Discipline,” introduces the history of mathematics and defines the different branches within the discipline. These disciplines are split into two categories: pure and applied. Pure mathematics is purely theoretical, while applied mathematics covers the branches that are applied to real-world problems. By understanding the differences between the different branches of mathematics, a new selector will be able to better serve the patrons. Since applied math is interdisciplinary in nature, the chapter does touch on the place of math at the university. This includes the importance to other departments, like STEM fields and education. The chapter discusses the importance of inclusive spaces for minorities by touching on the challenges that women face in mathematics.

Chapter 2, “Know the User,” is focused on all patrons. Connecting with both students and faculty is important for liaisons. This chapter highlights how to assess needs of the mathematics department and how to improve communication with faculty and students in a manner that could guide a new employee on techniques that could greatly demonstrate the value of the library. This includes tips on attention to department newsletters and meeting with the mathematics department at formal meetings and informal gatherings in a way that could change the perception of how libraries and librarians are viewed. Suggestions for engaging students included public programs on math themes and classes that would benefit from information literacy instruction.

The importance of gaining expertise in selection is emphasized in chapter 3, “Know the Profession.” It thoroughly lists societies, organizations, blogs, and websites for math selectors and mathematicians that librarians can refer to for advice, professional development, and collection development. Tips provided in this list could be of particular benefit to new librarians, such as listservs and mentorship opportunities, and mathematics organizations that provide information specifically for math librarians. An emerging field of research data management is described in a small section of this chapter. It is great that the authors encourage librarians to be proactive about providing data management. However, it is such a new field that more information and resources on this topic should have been included.

The last two chapters, “Books and Publishers” and “Journals and Other Resources,” provide advice specific to collection development. The tips that the authors provide clearly come from many years of experience of working with mathematicians and reflect the preferences that mathematicians have for specific resources. In addition to providing useful lists of resources and publishers, the authors included a helpful case study on managing course reserves as well as a full section on course reserves in chapter 4. Course reserves are extremely important for students who cannot afford expensive textbooks. Options for open educational resources were also included in the section. Useful acquisitions advice in these two chapters consists of working with approval plans, patron-driven or demand-driven acquisition, open access journals, accessing preprints, and institutional memberships. Properly using these techniques can save libraries time and money.

The thoroughness of this guide makes it a valuable reference tool for both new and seasoned math selectors. The guide can be useful to train new librarians and can be referred to for advice throughout one’s career.—Rachel K. Fischer (rfischer@ccslib.org), Cooperative Computer Services, Arlington Heights, Illinois