misc.books.technical Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


Archive-name: books/technical
Last-modified: Aug 1, 1995

For any additions/corrections email rathinam@worf.infonet.net

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1) Where can I find currently published books?
2) Where can I find out-of-print books?
3) How can I access On-line university catalogs and the Library of Congress
   catalog through internet?
4) Addresses/phone numbers of publishers
5) Email addresses / phone numbers of technical bookstores
6) What is the ISSN?

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1) Where can I find currently published books?

The United States's most complete bookstore is the combination of BOOKS IN
PRINT and the U. S. Post Office.  BIP will tell you the price and the
publisher's address.  Send them a check for the price and they will be happy
to send you the book.  We do it all the time.  Some publishers grudgingly
send a note with the book saying "Next time please include N% for postage
and handling," but that is unusual.  Nobody has ever refused to send the
book and at least once they sent a check with the book because if ordered
direct, they gave a discount.  We rarely order through a bookstore because
it is so much easier to order the book and have it sent to us directly.
(This is probably not true for mass-market paperbacks where the handling
charges would be more than the book!)

What is BOOKS IN PRINT?

Just about every public library and every bookstore in the country has, for
public use, a multi-volume reference work called "Books in Print."  It is
just about what the title claims it is.  It is a listing by title, by
author, and by subject of every book currently listed by publishers as being
currently in print in the United States.  (There may be editions for other
countries as well.)  It tells you the list price and the publisher.  It also
has a volume of out-of-print books and a separate volume that lists the
mailing addresses of the publishers.  The local B. Dalton keeps it at the
information desk.  Almost any bookstore or public library will have a set that
they would be happy to have you look at.

There is a similar reference set called "Paperback Books in Print."  I am
not sure what it would list that would not be listed in its bigger cousin,
but that reference might also be of interest.  In Britain, there is "British
Books in Print."

Credits: Mark Leeper

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2) Where can I find out-of-print books?

If you just want to borrow it, ask your library about inter-library
loans--chances are good they can find it for you in a library they have
reciprocal agreements with even if they don't have it themselves.

For used books, there is BOOKMAN'S, the used book trade magazine.  Lots
of books are advertised there that haven't been in print for decades.
You may be able to find the annual bound copy of BOOKMAN'S PRICE INDEX
(the used book dealer's pricing bible) in your local library.  There's
no guarantee that the book you want will still be for sale if you go
that way, but it is a good way to plan your budget.

Most used book stores participate in an informal network (not a computer
network) of clearinghouses on information about used books.  It is usually
possible within a few days to locate copies of used books with indications
of their condition. The service usually costs between nothing and two
dollars a book. 

A few professional book finder services are listed below:

    Books by Modem (Service connecting Readers to Dealers)
    Boston, MA
    617-923-4990 (modem)
    617-923-4991 (voice)

    C. Dickens
    Lenox Square Mall
    3393 Peachtree Road
    Atlanta, GA  30326  USA
    1-800-548-0376 (voice)
      404-364-0713 (fax)
    Search fee: US$3.00 per book (January 1994 status)

    Knollwood Books
    PO Box 197
    Oregon, WI  53575-0197
    608-835-8861 (voice)

    Lincoln Book Search
    PO Box 5
    Foster, RI 02825 USA
    1-800-292-8969 (voice)
    401-647-2825 (fax)
    Search fee: US$3.50 per book (January 1994 status)

    Powell's Technical Bookstore
    33 North West Park
    Portland, Oregon, 97209 USA
    1-800-225-6911 (voice, Technical Bookstore)
      503-228-0505 (fax, Technical Bookstore)
    1-800-878-7323 extension 217 (voice, Out of Print Department)
      503-228-4631 (fax, Out of Print Department)
    Search fee: US$2.00 per book (January 1994 status)

    Robert Shaw
    150 W 26th St. #810
    New York, NY  10001-6813
    Send a large SASE

    Trans-Orbital Resources
    1637 E. Valley Parkway
    Box 177
    Escondido, CA  92027
    Send a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE)

    Hoffman Research Services
    Ralph Hoffman               Owner-Manager
    PO Box 342
    Rillton, PA 15678
    412-446-3374 (voice)
    email address -   hoffsearch@aol.com
    Search fee:  None


One way of getting out-of-print titles is to get in touch with
University Microfilms, Inc. (or other such companies).  They'll
print a copy of a book from microfilm, generally within 3 weeks
of your order.  They take care of the copyright issues & royalty
payments, and you get the book (although the printing quality is
what you'd expect for a photoreprint from microfilm). They're a
standard resource for librarians.  A 106-page book was recently
quoted as US$30.00, with a US$6.00 surcharge for cloth binding
(default is paperbound) - another example of the pricing is a
1970 book, currently out of print, about 350 pages, quoted at
$150 -  so be sure to check with the company.  And of course, not
all books are available for reprinting--they've obviously
specialized in academic books.

University Microfilms, Inc.
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, MI
48106 
313-761-4700
800-521-0600
800-343-5299 (works in Canada)

As a last resort, out of print US Government literature may be 
requested from microfiche copy from the NTIS. Considering the 
source media is microfiche, these can be fairly good quality 
reproductions. This method can be expensive (NTIS does not publish 
a rate table, but a fair starting guess is US$0.10/page). The NTIS 
will offer discounts for orders of multiple copies (i.e. 25% for 5 
or more).

    National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
    US Department of Commerce
    5285 Port Royal Road
    Springfield, VA 22161
    703-487-4650 (8:30AM - 5:00PM EST)

Credits: Al Whaley, Mark Leeper, gregb@oclflt

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3) How can I access On-line university catalogs and the Library of Congress
   catalog through internet?

The lists of online library catalogs are available for anonymous 
ftp on ftp.unt.edu, in the directory library. Read the aaareadme.txt file 
for an index. The file you probably need is libraries.txt or libraries.ps
From this list, you can get the directions for accessing the on-line
catalog of the university nearest you.

One extensive university catalog accessible by telnet:  

The University of California
MELVYL Catalog
melvyl.ucop.edu or
31.1.0.1, 31.0.0.11, 31.0.0.13, 31.1.0.11 
for journals and books.

The Library of Congress catalog is dra.com or  192.65.218.43
I have heard it is not comprehensive, and not as big as MELVYL.

Credits: Yoshiyasu Takefuji
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4) Addresses/phone numbers of publishers

Cambridge University Press
GBR:	The Edinbourgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, GBR.
HongKong:	P. O. Box No. 98629, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Hong Kong.
USA:	Cambridge University Press, 
	40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211
	Phone: toll-free 800-872-7423

The MIT Press
	55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
	Phone orders: (800) 356-0343  -or-  (617) 625-8569
	Customer service: (617) 625-8481
	E-mail orders:  mitpress-orders@mit.edu
	E-mail inquiries:  mitpress-order-inq@mit.edu
	Catalogue requests:  mitpress-catalogs@mit.edu
	European office: The MIT Press, Ltd.
	14 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2LP, U.K.
	Tel: (071) 404 0712  Fax: (071) 404 0601

MORGAN KAUFMANN PUBLISHERS, INC.
        Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 340 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94104
        Phone: 800-745-7323, 415-392-2665, Fax:   415-982-2665 (BOOK)
        email: mkp@mkp.com

PRENTICE HALL
USA:	Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
	Phone: (800) 526-0485
	email:	books@prenhall.com(Internet)
		catalogs@prenhall.com
Japan:	Phone: (81) 3-238-1050

Library Solutions Institute and Press
	(A publisher of Internet learning and training books.  The Web 
	space contains complete descriptions of the books and an order
	form.  There is an automatic 5% discount for Web orders.)
	WWW:   http://www.internet-is.com/library/
	Email: library@internet-is.com
	Phone: 510-841-2636	Fax: 510-841-2926
	2137 Oregon Street, Berkeley, CA 94705.


Kluwer Academic Publishers
USA:	Kluwer Academic Publishers
	Order Department, P.O. Box 358 Accord Station, Hingham, 
	MA 02018-0358 
	Credit Card Customers call: (617)871-6600
	Fast Convenient Service: Fax (617)871-6528 or
	Email:kluwer@world.std.com

Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
USA:    ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHING COMPANY, JACOB WAY, READING, MA 01867
	617-944-3700, FAX 617-944-7273 (CORPORATE & PROFESSIONAL)
	Editorial inquiries: {JohnW, KateH, SimonY, JennJ}@aw.com
	Marketing/Publicity inquiries: {KimD, PradeepS}@aw.com and
	Book orders: BExpress@aw.com (someone will contact requestor
	for credit info, please _do_not_ send credit info over the net.)

	BENJAMIN/CUMMINGS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 390 BRIDGE PARKWAY, REDWOOD
	CITY, CA  94065-1522. 415-594-4400, FAX 415-594-4488 GENERAL USE

Argentina: ADDISON-WESLEY IBEROAMERICANA, BILLINGHURST 897 PB-A, BUENOS
	AIRES 1174, ARGENTINA 
	54/1/865 3384, TELEX 033 24670 MARINE AR, FAX 54/1/805-5625

Australia: ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHERS, PTY. LTD., 6 BYFIELD STREET, NORTH
	RYDE, N.S.W. 2113, AUSTRALIA.   Tel. 61/2/878/5411,  
	TELEX 790 71919, CABLE ADIWES SYDNEY, FAX 61/2/878-5830 (GENERAL USE)

Brazil: ADDISON-WESLEY IBERAMERICANA, S.A., SOUTH AMERICA, AVE. BRIGADEIRO
	LUIZ ANTONIO 2344, CONJUNTO 114, 01402 SAO PAULO S.P., BRAZIL 
	Tel. 55/11/283-0035, TELEX 391 1125506 LFC, FAX 55/11/284-1683

Canada: ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHERS LTD., 26 PRINCE ANDREW 
	PLACE, PO BOX 580 DON MILLS, ONTARIO  M3C 2T8 CANADA
	416/447-5101, TELEX 986 743, FAX 416/443-0948

England: ADDISON-WESLEY EUROPEAN/PACIFIC PUBLISHING GROUP,
	Finchampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG11 2NZ, ENGLAND 
	44/734/794-000, telex:  851 846 136, Cable:  ADIWES WOKINGHAM, 
	Fax:  44/734/794-035 General

France: EDITIONS ADDISON-WESLEY FRANCE, 41, Rue de Turbigo, 75003 Paris,
	FRANCE,  Tel:  33/1/4887/9797, Fax:  33/1/4887/9799

Germany: ADDISON-WESLEY VERLAG GmbH, Wachsbleiche 7-12, 5300 BONN 1, GERMANY
	Tel:  49/228/69 40 46, 47, 48, 49, Fax:  49/228/69 40 40  

Italy:  Addison-Wesley Masson SpA, Via Stututo, 2/4, 20121 Milan, ITALY
	Tel:  39/2/636/7431,7432, 7433, Fax:  39/2/636/7442

Japan:  ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHERS JAPAN LTD., 1-2-2, Sarugakucho,
	Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo  101, JAPAN,  Tel:  81/33/291-4581, Telex:  781
	33239  AW TOKYO, Fax:  81/33/291-4592, Cable:  ADIWES TANASHI,  

Jordan: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., P.O. Box 830410 Zahran, Amman, JORDAN
	Tel:  962/6/699 119, Telex:  22262 TRV SRV JO, Fax:  962/6/648517

Korea:  ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHING CO., Sam Ma Building, 3rd Floor, 403-16
	Seo Kyo Dong, Mapo-Ku, Seoul, 121-210, KOREA
	Tel:  82/2/335/7987, Fax:  82/2/335/7988 

Mexico: ADDISON-WESLEY IBEROAMERICANA, S.A., Boulevard de las Cataratas
	No.3, Colonia Jardines del Pedregal, 01900 Mexico D.F., MEXICO
	Tel:  525/660-2695, Telex:  383 1771 410, Fax:  525/660-4930

Netherlands: ADDISON-WESLEY EUROPEAN AND PACIFIC PUBLISHING GROUP,
	Concertebouwplein 25, 1071 LM Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS  
	Tel:  31/20/671 72 96, Fax:  31/20/664 53 34

Singapore: ADDISON-WESLEY SINGAPORE PTE.LTD, 15 Beach Road, 05-02/09/10
	Beach Centre, 0718, SINGAPORE.  Tel:  65/339-7503, 
	Telex:  RS  20904 ADWES, Fax:  65/339-9707

Spain:  ADDISON-WESLEY IBEROAMERICANA, ESPANA S.A., Espalter 3, Bajo, Madrid 
	28014, (ESPANA) SPAIN, 
	Tel:  34/1/429 2910, 429 2961, Fax:  34/1/369 3918 

Taiwan: ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHING COMPANY, 88 Suite 7-2, Sin-Sheng South
	Road, Sec. 3 Taipei, TAIWAN  R.O.C.
	Tel:  886/2/363/2145, Fax:  886/2/363/1811 
        
Springer Verlag
Japan:	Springer Verlag
	Phone: 03-3812-0331
	3-30-10, Hongou, Bunkyou-ku, TOKYO 

Oxford University Press
Japan:	Oxford University Press
	Phone: 03-5995-3901
	2-4-8, Kaname, Toshima-ku, TOKYO

Routledge, Chapman & Hall
USA:	Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 
	29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001-2291

O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
        103A Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA  95472
        (707)829-0515,
	800-998-9938 in the US and Canada, 
        FAX 707-829-0104
        Questions about prices and ordering:  
        nuts@ora.com
        Questions or comments about technical content:  
        bookquestions@ora.com
        Subscribe to the O'Reilly e-mail mailing list:  
        book-info-request@ora.com

SSC, Seattle, WA, 206-367-8649, FAX: 206-527-2806, sales@ssc.com

Credits: 
Osamu Saito, Teresa A. Ehling.
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5) Email addresses / phone numbers of technical bookstores
(Just in case your city doesn't have a good bookstore - if it does, look 
there - and don't forget to check any used book stores in your locale).
 
Name, city, state, phone, Fax (if available), email (if available)
		WWW site (if available).


Computer Literacy Bookshop, San Jose, CA,  408-435-0744,
        http://www.clbooks.com/
	Fax: 408-435-1823, orders@clbooks.com,
	service@clbooks.com, info@clbooks.com 

Quantum Books,  Cambridge, MA, 617-494-5042, Fax: 617-577-7282
	quanbook@world.std.com 

Total Information, Rochester, NY,  800-876-4636

Softpro, Burlington, MA, 617-2730-2917, Fax: 617-273-2499,
	softpro@world.std.com
TECHbooks Beaverton, OR, bip@techbook.com (send the word "help" 
	in the subject line)

OPAMP Technical Books, Los Angeles, CA, 800-468-4322

Stanford University Bookstore, bookstore@sierra.stanford.edu

Powell's Technical bookstore, Portland, OR, 1-800-225-6911

Book Scientific, New York, NY, 800-621-1220

Trojan Bookstore (one of the best w/ great tech book selection!)
       University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles, 
       CA 90089, (213) 740-BOOK[2665]

Mail order bookstore for Europe and Middle East:
    Open Windows (UNIX Book Service),
    35 Bermuda Terrace, Cambridge CB4 3LD, England.
    Phone: +44 223 313273  [UK: 0223-313273]
    Fax:   +44 223 461391  [UK: 0223-461391]
Email enquiries to JLD1@cus.cam.ac.uk will be passed on to the bookstore.

Technical Book Company, 2056 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA  90025 
    voice:  310 475-5711    fax:  310 470-9810     

San Diego Technical Books, 4698 Convoy St, San Diego, CA  92111       
    voice:  619 279-4990    fax:  619 279-5088 

Toronto Computer Books (tcb@io.org)
   521 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Y4
   Telephone: (416) 925-2088    Fax: (416) 925-3471

Cucumber Information Services, Inc.
   Unix/C/INTERNET  Mail Order Books
   497 South Stonestreet Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850
   Phone: 800-223-8649 (UNIX),  301-251-8649 (UNIX)
   Fax:   301-251-0069
   orders@cucumber.com, catalog@cucumber.com, info@cucumber.com

The Bookpool
	bookpool@panix.com
	(email the line "send info" for information)
	FAX 718-638-8202

ASUCLA Student's Store
	Technical Books Division
	308 Westwood Plaza
	Los Angeles, CA  90024
	310-206-0763
	1-800-456-0019
	email: mceleste@asucla.ucla.edu


Reiter's Scientific, Medical, & Technical Books, Washington, D.C., 
     1-800-537-4314, 202-223-3327, Fax: 202-296-9103, books@reiters.com
     (Catalog  http://199.120.204.1/reiters/index.html)
Washington Law & Professional Books, Washington, D.C., 
     1-800-537-4314, 202-223-5543, Fax: 202-223-5546, law@reiters.com



The Electric Bookstore Inc. (Tom Tschritter, Manager 
					tom@electric.interlog.com)
	P.O. Box 47632, 939 Lawrence Avenue East, 
	Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3C 3S7
	Telephone (416) 510 1247
	Facsimile (416) 510 1246
	E-Mail   books@electric.interlog.com
	URL  http://www.cadvision.com/bookstore/electric.html

University Book Store, Madison, WI,
     Phone: 800-993-BOOK or 608-257-3784
     Fax: 608-257-9479
     http://www.univbkstr.com
     info@univbkstr.com (auto-reply with more addresses),
     orders@univbkstr.com
     techbooks@univbkstr.com
  
Hoffman Research Services
     [See under question 2 above for more information.]       


Credits for part of the list:

J.L. Dawson, Monty Solomon, Tom Rubinstein, Martha Anderson, etc.


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6) What is the ISSN?

The format of an ISSN is nnnn-nnnc, where c is a check digit.

The ISSN is a sequentially computer generated number, which has no
publisher link as with ISBNs.  A serial is assigned the next number to
come up in the sequence regardless of publisher.

In the U.S. they are allocated by the Library of Congress, the same
department that registers copyrights.

In the UK, the people responsible are The British Library at Boston Spa -

The British Library, ISSN UK CENTRE, Boston Spa, Wetherby, 
    West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ, UK.
    Tel: 0937 546958/59   Fax: 0937 546979      Tlx: 557381           

Credits: Adrian Wontroba, John R Levine

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