CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Digital Library of Mathematical Functions

online project meant to be a collection of special functions

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 18, 2025
Entity authorityQ24534
Source-derived summary

The Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF) is an online project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a database of mathematical reference data for special functions and their applications. It is intended as an update of Abramowitz's and Stegun's Handbook of Mathematical Functions (A&S). It was published online on 7 May 2010, though some chapters appeared earlier. In the same year it appeared at Cambridge University Press under the title NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions.

In contrast to A&S, whose initial print run was done by the U.S. Government Printing Office and was in the public domain, NIST asserts that it holds copyright to the DLMF under Title 17 USC 105 of the U.S. Code.

See also

NIST Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures

References

Further reading

Cipra, Barry Arthur (1998-03-08). "A New Testament for Special Functions?". SIAM News. SIAM. Archived from the original on 2007-07-15.

Lozier, Daniel W. (October 1997) [September 1997].

Editorial summary

“Digital Library of Mathematical Functions” enters the record as online project meant to be a collection of special functions. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Digital, Library and Mathematical can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2010, 1998, 2007, 1997—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Digital, Library and Mathematical.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Digital Library of Mathematical Functions” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Digital, Library and Mathematical provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 18, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q24534. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2010, 1998, 2007 and 1997.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Digital Library of Mathematical Functions”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Digital Library of Mathematical Functions primary sources, Digital Library of Mathematical Functions archive and Digital research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Digital Library of Mathematical Functions”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Digital Library of Mathematical Functions” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.