Digital Mathematics Libraries: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

TL;DR

This paper discusses the vision, challenges, and proposed model for creating a global digital mathematics library, emphasizing a practical, institution-based network approach to archive mathematical documents digitally.

Contribution

It introduces a reference digital mathematics library model based on a bottom-up network of institutions, outlining steps to realize a global digital math library.

Findings

A feasible model for a reference digital mathematics library is proposed.

Current local libraries can contribute to the global digital library.

A strategic plan for implementing the digital mathematics library is summarized.

Abstract

The idea of a World digital mathematics library (DML) has been around since the turn of the 21th century. We feel that it is time to make it a reality, starting in a modest way from successful bricks that have already been built, but with an ambitious goal in mind. After a brief historical overview of publishing mathematics, an estimate of the size and a characterisation of the bulk of documents to be included in the DML, we turn to proposing a model for a Reference Digital Mathematics Library--a network of institutions where the digital documents would be physically archived. This pattern based rather on the bottom-up strategy seems to be more practicable and consistent with the digital nature of the DML. After describing the model we summarise what can and should be done in order to accomplish the vision. The current state of some of the local libraries that could contribute to the global views are described with more details.