Library:

Researching Topics In Computers and Computing

Reference Books

Reference books are found in the physical Library and in our e-book databases, netLibrary and Books 24x7. A reference book is a work, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia, containing useful facts or information. Because these books are consulted for brief information and not read all the way through, they do not leave the library. They are located in the reference section, that is, in the first couple rows of books in the Library. Here's some that might be helpful (though, this is not an exhaustive list):

R 004.6 CRY Glossary of Netspeak and Textspeak
R 004.6 FRE The Computer Glossary
netLibrary Encyclopedia of the History of Technology
Books 24x7 Emerging eCommerce and Mobile Computing Technologies
Books 24x7 Maximum Security: A Hacker's Guide to Protecting your Internet Site and Network
Books 24x7 Microsoft Encyclopedia of Security
Books 24x7 Networking Explained
Books 24x7 Upgrading and Repairing your PC Answers!

Often, books that you can check out are published about specific companies and/or industries. Use the Library's catalog to search for such titles.

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Databases

(I need help accessing the databases)
The Library subscribes to--that is, pays for--a number of databases that contain articles, books and other information for you to use for your computers and computing research. The most useful databases for this subject are:

Business Source Premier (EbscoHost): Provides articles from respected scholarly and trade business publications, covering the business side of IT, including industry reports. Remember that you must use Boolean operators when searching any EbscoHost database. If you need a quick tutorial in Boolean click "help" in EbscoHost.
Faulkners Advisory for IT Studies: A reports database covering IT infrastructure, telecom, data networking, wireless communications, security, enterprise systems, the Internet and World Wide Web, as well as technology vendors. In addition, FAITS has links to major online technology and business news resources like Nando Net, The New York Times, Financial Times, NewsBytes, and the BBC.

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Web sites

(I need help choosing quality websites)
Because anyone can publish anything they want on the Web, you need to be cautious about which sites you choose to use. Here are sites we recommend for researching computers and computing:

General

CIO Magazine
(www.cio.com)
Offers content from CIO magazine, white papers, blogs, and webcasts. Topics covered include leadership, knowledge management and storage, security, industries, and careers.
RSS / XML available. (what is this?)
CNet Tech News
(http://news.com.com/)
Aggregates IT news from a variety of other news sources. The range of topics include enterprise software and hardware, security, networking, personal technology, and the Internet.
RSS / XML available. (what is this?)
Internet Public Library: Computers & Internet
(http://www.ipl.org/ref/RR/static/
com00.00.00.html)
A collection of (mostly) high-quality websites, covering all aspects of computers and computing.
Media History Project: Computing
(http://mediahistory.umn.edu/compute.html)
Looks at the general history of computing as well as significant people in the field, the history of hypertext, and the history of the Internet. Hosted by the University of Minnesota.
Webopedia
(http://webopedia.internet.com)
A dictionary of computer and Internet technology terms.
ZDNet Search
(http://www.zdnet.com)
A comprehensive technology site providing news, blogs, white papers, downloads, and product reviews and pricing. RSS / XML available. (what is this?)

Certification

Certification Testing
(http://www.prometric.com)
Thomson Prometric allows you to schedule your certifications exams and find testing sites.
CompTIA
(http://www.comptia.org)
The Computing Technology Industry Association represents the IT community, however, It is best known for it's certification exams. This site provides information about the exams, but to register, you'll need to consult a site like prometric.com (above).

Networks and Security

CERT Coordination Center
(http://www.cert.org)
CERT is a major reporting center for Internet security problems. They provide statistics, staff publications and presentations, as well as information regarding security vulnerabilities, incidents and fixes; security practices and evaluations; survivability research and analysis; and training and education.
Introduction to Network Security
(http://www.interhack.net/pubs/network-security)
A primer for network security providing an overview of security and risk management in general.
Network Computing Online
(http://www.nwc.com)
An archive of articles from Network Computing Online. RSS / XML available.(what is this?)

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