Book excerpt: Computers for Librarians is aimed primarily at students of library and information management and at those library and information service professionals who feel the need for a book that will give them a broad overview of the emerging electronic library. It takes a top-down approach, starting with applications such as the Internet, information sources and services, provision of access to information resources and library management systems, before looking at data management, computer systems and technology, data communications and networking, and library systems development. It also provides an interesting set of case studies, which help to put theoretical and technical issues into context. Computers for Librarians can be read as a survey of where we are in terms of the electronic library, but it is also intended as an educational resource, and includes self-learning aids such as learning objectives, keywords and review questions for each chapter.