Springer and the European Mathematical Society Launch the Encyclopedia of Mathematics Open Access Wiki
New York/Heidelberg, 18 April 2012 —In late 2011 Springer Science+Business Media and the European Mathematical Society (EMS) partnered to transform the Encyclopedia of Mathematics (EoM) into an open access wiki for the mathematics community (www.encyclopediaofmath.org). In the first six months since its launch, the site has already attracted more than 500,000 visits.
Originally published online in 2002 as a subscription-based product, the EoM is comprised of more than 8,000 entries, illuminating more than 50,000 notions in mathematics. Moreover, members of the mathematical community are now invited and encouraged to freely use and contribute to articles on the wiki, all of which are reviewed by an active editorial board from the European Mathematical Society. The addition of user-generated contributions to the full content of the original encyclopedia positions the EoM as the definitive resource for higher mathematical reference.
“The Encyclopedia of Mathematics wiki will become a benchmark example for similar initiatives in other disciplines and scientific areas,” remarked Marta Sanz-Solé, EMS President. “By monitoring the entries through a large and active editorial board, headed by Ulf Rehmann, University of Bielefeld, EMS will maintain the high level of this e-reference work. We are most pleased for having conceived and launched the EoM wiki with Springer's invaluable co-operation, and very grateful to benefit from the expertise of such an outstanding publisher in mathematics.”
Lynn Brandon, Senior Editor, Mathematics at Springer added, “The Encyclopedia of Mathematics has long been the gold standard in mathematical reference, and we are confident that this new format will only serve to enrich both content and the user experience. This new wiki, and our partnership with the European Mathematical Society, both underscore Springer’s forward-thinking approach to publishing and its commitment to meet the needs of the scientific community in new and useful ways.”
The European Mathematical Society (www.euro-math-soc.eu) is a learned society representing mathematicians throughout Europe. It promotes the development of all aspects of mathematics in Europe, in particular mathematical research, relations of mathematics to society, relations to European institutions and mathematical education. Members of the EMS include around 60 national mathematical societies in Europe, 20 mathematical research centers and 3000 individuals.
Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physicians and professionals working in the automotive, transport and healthcare sectors. Roughly 2,000 journals and more than 7,000 new books are published by Springer each year, and the group is home to the world’s largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. Springer employs nearly 6,000 individuals across the globe and in 2011 generated sales of approximately EUR 890 million.