We are excited to announce that the newly published "Librarian's Introduction to Programming Languages: A LITA Guide" includes a chapter written by our Peter Tyrrell on programming in C#. 

Peter was approached last year by the editor, Beth Thomsett-Scott, who has gathered together chapters by experts on nine different programming languages that librarians might need to know more about.

"There are many books on programming languages but no recent items directly written for librarians that span a variety of programs. Many practicing librarians see programming as something for IT people or beyond their capabilities. This book will help these librarians to feel comfortable discussing programming with others by providing an understanding of when the language might be useful, what is needed to make it work, and relevant tools to extend its application. Additionally, the inclusion of practical examples lets readers try a small "app" for the language. This also will assist readers who want to learn a language but are unsure of which language would be the best fit for them in terms of learning curve and application.

This book is designed to provide a basic working knowledge of each language presented, case studies which show the programming language used in real ways and resources for exploring each language in more detail."

Peter is of course both a librarian and a programmer himself, so was delighted to contribute a chapter to the book.

Summer's here and it's time to get out from behind a screen and hit the beach with a cool drink and a hot book. With that in mind, here, for a change, is a blog post not about technology.

Favourite Mystery Series

After a long day working on technical stuff, I like to unwind with purely escapist fiction. But well-written, thoughtful, escapist fiction, set abroad. I especially enjoy good mystery series, so here are some of my favourites, plus a few other recent reads.

• The Alan Banks series by Peter Robinson (set in Yorkshire, England).
• The John Rebus series by Ian Rankin (set in Scotland).
• The Guido Brunetti series by Donna Leon (set in Venice).
• The Richard Nottingham series by Chris Nickson (set in Leeds, England in the 1730s).
• The Brighton Triligy by Peter Guttridge (set in Brighton, England).
• The Inspector Kaldis series by Jeffrey Siger (set in Greece).
• The Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg series by Fred Vargas (set in France).

Other Fiction

• Songs of Willow Frost and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford.
• The Dinner by Herman Koch.

Non-Fiction

• Olive odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit of the Gods by Julie Angus.
• Ninety percent of everything : inside shipping, the invisible industry that puts clothes on your back, gas in your car, and food on your plate by Rose George.