Like most Wall Street investments, mutual funds have been hammered by stock market volatility in recent months.

Still, not all funds are the same, and there may be some bargains out there if you know where to look. A number of good books offer insights into how to choose mutual funds and how to manage a fund portfolio.

If you’d like to learn about mutual funds and how they work, you might want to check out one of the following titles:

“Mutual Fund Investor’s Guide 2002” by Kirk Kazanjian, New York Institute of Finance, 2002 ($20). It spotlights different funds and provides Value Line date on more than 10,000 funds.

“All About Mutual Funds, 2nd Ed.” by Bruce Jacobs, McGraw-Hill, 2001 ($16.95). The book explains how to research, select and manage a mutual fund account.

“Pick Winning Mutual Funds” by Jerry Tweddell, with Jack Pierce, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 ($16.95). It contains information on asset allocation and different types of mutual funds.