Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute (MTBI)

University libraries provide a service whereby they will obtain material not available locally.

If a book is not available, your library will find a library that does have the book and borrow it from them.  

If a journal article is not available because your library does not subscribe to the journal, your library will request a copy from a library that does.

With these Interlibray Loan (ILL) services you have access to the world's scholarly literature - not just the books and journals within your library. 

For ASU students:
Submit a Request
Find out more about ILL

For Visiting Students: 
Check your university library for this service

The more you know about a topic, the better you'll be able to research it.  You'll be familiar with the terminology, you'll  understand the underlining science  and you'll be aware of the issues in the field.  Most importantly, you'll find it easier to read the books and articles that you found from your library search.   

The following encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks will help you learn about the basics of your topic before and during your research.   

• Library One Search
  To find encyclopedia articles and other types of background material, enter your topic in the search box.  When you get the results list, look in the left-hand column for the "Content Type" section and check the "Reference" option - this will limit the results mainly to  encyclopedias but may also include handbooks and other types of material useful for getting an introduction to a topic.  You might also want to include "Book Chapter" as a "Content Type" - sometimes this strategy will retrieve appropriate articles but at other times it will fail - try it to see if it works for you.    
  
  
  

 

• eLS: citable reviews in the life sciences  
  Formerly known as the Encycloped of Life Sciences, this is an excellent source for introductory articles on life sciences topics.  After you enter the database, make sure to click on "search within this book" link as illustrated below before you enter your search terms.
  
  
  
  

• Knovel 
  Search the whole database of over 3000 science and engineering handbooks, encyclopedias, and databases, or search just within a specific title.  These are just a few examples of the types of books in the Knovel database:

• Dictionary of Science
  Need just a simple definition for a term?  This dictionary covers all aspects of chemistry, physics, biology, earth sciences, and astronomy.
  
  
• Handbook of Mathematical Functions With Formulas, Graphs and Mathematical Tables 
  A comprehensive and self-contained summary of the mathematical functions that arise in physical and engineering problems.
  
  
• Oxford Users' Guide to Mathematics 
  A broad modern picture of mathematics starting from basic material up to more advanced topics.
  
  
• MathWorld
  A very useful free web site in which you can find an extensive range of mathematical terminology defined.   Many (but unfortunately, not all) of the entries in this encyclopedic work are well illustrated and contain a list of references for further reading.  This site is a great place to find mathematical formulas and descriptions of mathematical terminology.