The body of knowledge in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics is vast and increasing at an exponential rate. By reading specialized journals and attending conferences regularly, an individual researcher can keep abreast of developments within a relatively narrow field. Digital library technology, coupled with painstaking development and validation of comprehensive reference data, has the potential to minimize this general problem. Pure and applied mathematics are the most pervasive disciplines in science and engineering.
Mathematical definition is the key to uniform and accurate utilization of technical knowledge.
The increasing reliance of scientists and engineers on mathematical modeling and simulation, the growing use of symbolic and numerical software, and the rapidly developing capabilities of the Internet and World Wide Web, present challenges and opportunities for a comprehensive standardization of mathematical knowledge which supports new levels of multidisciplinary communication. The authors are part of a NIST team effort to collect, organize, validate, develop, and disseminate a comprehensive and evolving digital library pertaining to mathematical functions. This work has had unique influence among individuals who apply mathematics to the solution of real-world problems, e.g. engineers, physical scientists, and statisticians. Data from Science Citation Index. AMS 55 is one of the most frequently cited works in the scientific literature .