This book combines detailed scientific historical research with characteristic philosophic breadth and verve.

The oldest known mathematical table was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Shuruppag in southern Iraq. Since then, tables have been an important feature of mathematical activity; table making and printed tabular matter are important precursors to modern computing and information processing. This book contains a series of articles summarising the technical, institutional and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late twentieth century. It covers mathematical tables (the most important computing aid for several hundred years until the 1960s), data tables (eg. Census tables), professional tables (eg. insurance tables), and spreadsheets - the most recent tabular innovation. The book is presented in a scholarly yet accessible way, making appropriate use of text boxes and illustrations. Each chapter has a frontispiece featuring a table along with a small illustration of the source where the table was first displayed. Most chapters have sidebars telling a short "story" or history relating to the chapter. The aim of this edited volume is to capture the history of tables through eleven chapters written by subject specialists. The contributors describe the various information processing techniques and artefacts whose unifying concept is "the mathematical table".

The ideas that gave birth to the computer age Alan Turing, pioneer of computing and WWII codebreaker, was one of the most important and influential thinkers of the twentieth century. In this volume for the first time his key writings are made available to a broad, non-specialist readership. They make fascinating reading both in their own right and for their historic significance: contemporary computational theory, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life all spring from this ground-breaking work, which is also rich in philosophical and logical insight.

"The History of Mathematics: An Introduction," Sixth Edition, is written for the one- or two-semester math history course taken by juniors or seniors, and covers the history behind the topics typically covered in an undergraduate math curriculum or in elementary schools or high schools. Elegantly written in David Burton's imitable prose, this classic text provides rich historical context to the mathematics that undergrad math and math education majors encounter every day. Burton illuminates the people, stories, and social context behind mathematics'greatest historical advances while maintaining appropriate focus on the mathematical concepts themselves. Its wealth of information, mathematical and historical accuracy, and renowned presentation make The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Sixth Edition a valuable resource that teachers and students will want as part of a permanent library.

The International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science was published to widespread acclaim in 1996, and has become the major reference work in the field. This eagerly awaited new edition has been fully revised and updated to take full account of the many and radical changes which have taken place since the Encyclopedia was originally conceived. With nearly 600 entries, written by a global team of over 150 contributors, the subject matter ranges from mobile library services provided by camel and donkey transport to search engines, portals and the World Wide Web. The new edition retains the successful structure of the first with an alphabetical organization providing the basic framework of a coherent collection of connected entries. Conceptual entries explore and explicate all the major issues, theories and activities in information and library science, such as the economics of information and information management. A wholly new entry on information systems, and enhanced entries on the information professions and the information society, are key features of this new edition. Topical entries deal with more specific subjects, such as collections management and information services for ethnic minorities. New or completely revised entries include a group of entries on information law, and a collection of entries on the Internet and the World Wide Web.