[WEB4LIB] Re: Computer Books for a Library

[Kevil, L H.]

I would add a vote for:

Charles Petzold. Code: the hidden language of computer hardware and
software.

This book might be of greater interest for those of us who did computer work
before there were GUI interfaces.

L. Hunter Kevil
Collection Development Librarian
176 Elmer Ellis Library
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65201

KevilL at missouri.edu
573-884-8760 voice
573-882-6034 facsimile

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Dowling [mailto:tdowling at ohiolink.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 9:23 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: Computer Books for a Library


> Interesting discussion on Slashdot:
>
> "I've been asked to come up with a list of suggestions for books
covering
> computer subjects that would be appropriate for a public library.
Ideally,
> the books suggested would have a fairly long shelf life and cater to as
many
> different audiences as possible, from the absolute beginner to an
> experienced geek. What books dealing with computer subjects should a
library
> have on it's shelves?" Considering that library books need to have
lasting
> and generalized value, not just programming fads of the month, what
books
> would you recommend for a desert-island library collection? What books
won't
> you give up on your tech-library?"
>
> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/07/30/137231
>

It's a little unfair to bundle all quickly developing tech topics as
"programming fads of the month."  But if you want a couple of titles with
seriously long legs, your alpha geeks will want The Mythical Man-Month
(Frederick Brooks, 1975) and The Art of Computer Programming (Donald
Knuth, 1968 to ???), and probably The C Programming Language (Kernighan
and Ritchie, 1988).

Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu