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Please suggest book for restocking computer section of library

MBony

MBony

Platinum Member
Ok, I currently work part time a the local library and have taken it upon myself to help point out books for patrons to check out. Our selection is terribly outdated (ex. we have books on Netscape Navigator 2.0.)

I need to get advice on books the people here have bought and used that they feel was an asset to their learning of the particular application/hardware. No topic is off limits!!!!

Some examples:
Windows 2000, Windows XP
Software (photoshop, flash)
Databasing (PHP, ASP, MYSQL)

Please remember when mulling this over that it needs to cater to the masses. If you are down with Foxpro, or DHTML or something random like that, chances are the book won't appeal to as many people as a book on Dreamweaver or something that people are at least familar with. I hope no one takes that in the wrong way. I am just trying to get the most out of what little budget I can.

All bumps are appreciated, there is no time limit on this either so take your time!

We appreciate it!
 
The whole O'Rielly collection.
The whole "Learn something in 24 hours" series
The whole "Learn something in 21 days"

Also, there is this "Visual Guide" series of computer books relating to Windows, Mac OS, etc.
 
Using MS office
email for dummies
A step by step guide to hacking your teacher's computer
home networking for dummies
 
FOR DUMMIES most are sorta outdated, but still apply, adn the new ones are cool too, always get a laugh out of me with something!
 
I'm a huge fan of libraries, so this may sound a bit strange... but I would recommend NOT buying computer books, especially for applications. They become outdated too fast. They have a usable shelf-life of about a year. Books on operating systems should last longer, but you don't need very many.

If a tight budget is a problem, don't buy books that have no staying power. Can you use interlibrary loan to get the books when you need them?
 
Get all the oreilly series, all excellent books and most of them are not application specific, but they will mostly only appeal to programmers
 
three all-time classics and a newcomer I've seen recommended often:

James D. Foley, et al; - Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice in C (2nd Edition)
Charles Petzold - Programming Windows, Fifth Edition
Jeff Prosise - Programming Windows With MFC

Charles Petzold - Programming Windows with C# (Core Reference)

(edit) also the first 3 are from mature principles and technology, they won't ever be outdated. The C# will probably be revised sooner.
 
I second the nomination for any of the Teach Yourself X in X time series. Get some on .NET, ASP, HTML, Perl, Access, Word, etc. Those are good books to get folks started.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
I'm a huge fan of libraries, so this may sound a bit strange... but I would recommend NOT buying computer books, especially for applications. They become outdated too fast. They have a usable shelf-life of about a year. Books on operating systems should last longer, but you don't need very many.

If a tight budget is a problem, don't buy books that have no staying power. Can you use interlibrary loan to get the books when you need them?
Click to expand...

We do use interlibrary loans if the library is close by (60 miles max), but I was asked to try and "beef up" our selection by administration. I agree on the life span of the books, so if you know of any other ways please let me know.
 
Get books that relate to languages (i.e. C++, PHP, Perl, etc.). Don't get books about apps, b/c as the above poster said, new versions make them outdated quickly.
 
I'd recommend taking a good look at most of the O'Reiley (sp?) books.

Sedgewick also has an excellent algorithm book (Algorithms In C)

Dave
 
What kind of library is this? If its a public library, you prolly want to stay away from stuff that deals in the realm of discrete structures, fourier transforms, algorithms, programming, database engineering, and the like. People tend to be looking more for generalized topics of an introductory nature with less depth and academic rigor, like:

Build Your Own PC

PCs For Dummies

How Computers Work

Upgrading and Repairing PCs

Computer Networks

Networking For Dummies

Mac OS X All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface

Newton's Telecom Dictionary, 19th Edition: Covering Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technology, Computing and the Internet

Red Hat Linux 9 Bible

Digital Evidence and Computer Crime

And soooo many others...
 
Originally posted by: tcsenter
What kind of library is this? If its a public library, you prolly want to stay away from stuff that deals in the realm of discrete structures, fourier transforms, algorithms, programming, database engineering, and the like. People tend to be looking more for generalized topics of an introductory nature with less depth and academic rigor, like:

Build Your Own PC

PCs For Dummies

How Computers Work

Upgrading and Repairing PCs

Computer Networks

Networking For Dummies

Mac OS X All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface

Newton's Telecom Dictionary, 19th Edition: Covering Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technology, Computing and the Internet

Red Hat Linux 9 Bible

Digital Evidence and Computer Crime

And soooo many others...
Click to expand...

Thanks so much, you are right about needing to stay with general topics although I will be submitting the book on algorythms(?). I also would very much appreciate it, if possible to link the books to Amazon like in this post. This makes it easier for me to print out to give me my bosses. They need the ISBN # to search their database. If you are pressed for time, its no problem. I know, "Beggars can't be choosers." It just makes my already busy day alot easier when I can use the link provided to print out the info.

Thanks to all who have posted so far, I would never have thought of alot of these. I could use a few more on Linux and Mac, so if anyone thinks of any, please let me know 🙂
 
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