November 2008

O’Reilly publishes the familiar line of computer software and programming books with the white covers and public-domain engravings of animals on the covers (see for example Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide). These books are very popular among students and we carry quite a few of them here in the Engineering Library.

The very latest editions are always very much in demand–we often have requests to purchase them well in advance of when they actually become available. In keeping with our new display poster on E-books for engineers, we’ve been talking up our subscription to Safari, an e-book library containing almost every O’Reilly and many Prentice Hall publications for the past 3 years. This e-book library seems especially appropriate both because it expands availability beyond the hardcopy editions we have on-hand and also because it suits the way patrons usually use computer books: They are more likely to need a quick fact or overview than an in-depth study.