From VOYA Magazine, August 1997:

 

Where was Ross with his invaluable advice before our library wasted a lot of money? My review copy of this book is already dog-eared from showing it to the other professionals, especially Chapter 5, "Strategies for the CD-ROM." If you are investing in CD-ROMs and want a good basic list, plus others that are nice to have, you cannot go wrong in following Ross's recommendations. I gave the book to my fifteen-year-old son to "kid test" the sites, see how many are still in operation, and get his opinion of the star rating system. I expected the usual teenage response of monosyllabic answers to my questions, but instead I received an exuberant, "There's some really cool sites in this book!" The only problem he encountered was that some sites were constantly busy during prime time. He informed me that most of the sites were still operational and would be for many years because they were from reputable providers.

What sets this book apart from others that are similar in format is the detail Ross provides in considering all aspects of providing frugal cyberspace in libraries. Every audience is addressed--educators, students, specialists, public librarians, and home schoolers. Ross covers equipment concerns, including how to best use old hardware and factors to consider in future purchases. He goes into detail about the largest online service providers, describing what to look for in a service and getting the most for your dollars, discussing user concerns, and explaining that all information could change overnight as competition is increasing and costs are coming down. Other topics include Internet etiquette, logging on, downloading shareware and freeware programs, bulletin boards, professional sites for media specialists and educators, indexing systems, and searching. This is a thoroughly "cool" book from anyone's standpoint, and a must-purchase for your professional collection.

--Colleen Harris.