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Computing moves fast, and its literature is organized differently from most fields. The important work is published in conference proceedings, not journals. Preprints come out months before either. Textbooks are often a version behind the software. For a project or a paper in the Jarvis Technology Center programs, a good order is a survey paper for the overview, then recent proceedings for the current methods, then the documentation for the tools you will actually use.
A survey paper, one that reviews a whole subfield, is the most useful single source you can find. Add “survey” or “systematic review” to your search before anything else.
Databases and indexes
| Database | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Computing Literature Index | About 1,600 journals plus the proceedings of 600 conference series, with citation counts |
| Proceedings Finder | Conference papers across computing and engineering. It is shared with the engineering guide. |
| Tech E-book Shelf | About 12,000 programming, networking and IT books with unlimited simultaneous readers, updated monthly |
| Vulnerability Notes Archive | Public vulnerability advisories and exploit write-ups, indexed by product and weakness type |
| Halvorsen Search | Everything Porter owns or licenses |
Free preprint servers and open indexes are listed on open resources. If you cite a preprint, check whether a peer-reviewed version has been published since, and cite that one instead.
Books and e-books
| Call numbers | Subject |
|---|---|
| QA 75.5–76.95 | Computer science, programming, software engineering |
| QA 76.73 | Individual programming languages (shelved alphabetically by language) |
| QA 76.9.A25 | Computer and information security |
| Q 334–342 | Artificial intelligence and machine learning |
| TK 5101–5105.9 | Networking and data communications |
Print computing books are on Level 2. Most students use the Tech E-book Shelf instead, which is fine; the print copies mostly support people who think better with a book open next to the keyboard.
Specialized sources
- Datasets. Machine learning projects in CS 4200 need data you are allowed to use. Check the license, how consent was obtained and whether the data contains personal information before you download. The Applied AI Lab keeps a vetted list.
- Security frameworks and controls. Governance and compliance frameworks for CYBR 4100 are covered in the standards and patents guide.
- Offensive security. The library will lend you a book on lock-picking or exploit development. The cyber range in Jarvis is where you practice, not the campus network. The Institute for Applied Cybersecurity sets those rules.
- Software and tools. Licensed software is listed on software licenses and virtual labs.
Citing and getting help
Computing courses generally use a numbered reference style. Cite software and code with its version or commit and the date you accessed it. Cite datasets with their version and persistent identifier. Your syllabus says whether and how generative AI tools may be used and cited; when it says nothing, ask your instructor before you assume.
Deshawn Albrecht is the computing and information sciences librarian. He holds hours on Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Jarvis Technology Center atrium and books consultations in Halvorsen 246 or online. Capstone teams in CS 4900 and CYBR 4900 get a standing invitation to a 60-minute literature-review session in the first three weeks of the term. See also finding evidence in computing.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This computing guide is fictional; the e-book shelf, vulnerability archive and the computing index it names are made up. The databases, call-number shelving, collections and librarians on this guide are invented, so nothing here can actually be searched, borrowed or booked, and none of it describes a real library.