  Previous studies have found that ~1 deg2 fields surrounding the stellar
aggregates in the Taurus star-forming region exhibit a surplus of solar-mass
stars relative to denser clusters like IC~348 and the Orion Nebula Cluster. To
test whether this difference reflects mass segregation in Taurus or a variation
in the IMF, we have performed a survey for members of Taurus across a large
field (~40 deg2) that was imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We
obtained optical and near-infrared spectra of candidate members identified with
those images and the Two Micron All Sky Survey, as well as miscellaneous
candidates that were selected with several other diagnostics of membership. We
have classified 22 of the candidates as new members of Taurus, which includes
one of the coolest known members (M9.75). Our updated census of members within
the SDSS field shows a surplus of solar-mass stars relative to clusters,
although it is less pronounced than in the smaller fields towards the stellar
aggregates that were surveyed for previously measured mass functions in Taurus.
In addition to spectra of our new members, we include in our study near-IR
spectra of roughly half of the known members of Taurus, which are used to
refine their spectral types and extinctions. We also present an updated set of
near-IR standard spectra for classifying young stars and brown dwarfs at M and
L types.
