Maran Illustrated Computers/Maran Illustrated Computers Guided Tour/Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics/Easy Computer Basics: See It Done. Do It Yourself.

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Author: Gordon, Rachel Singer1,2

Computer Media

Maran, Ruth & Kelleigh Johnson.
Maran Illustrated Computers.
Thomson. 2005. 295p.
ISBN 1-59200-874-7. pap. $24.99.

Maran, Ruth & Kelleigh Johnson.
Maran Illustrated Computers Guided Tour.
Thomson. 2005. 233p. ISBN 1-59200-880-1.
pap. $24.99.

Miller, Michael.
Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics.
3d ed. QUE. 2005. 386p. ISBN 0-7897-3430-3.
pap. $19.99.

Miller, Michael.
Easy Computer Basics: See It Done. Do It Yourself.
QUE. 2005. 246p. ISBN 0-7897-3420-6. pap. $19.99.

Public libraries especially have ongoing demand for basic PC guides; any of these gentle introductions is a suitable update for older titles. Absolute Beginner's Guide targets new PC buyers, walking them through everything from setting up a new system to instant messaging and managing digital photos. This nice reference shows the range of things one can do with a computer and answers many common questions. Instructions are straightforward and illustrations plentiful, but the overall result may overwhelm absolute newbies. For medium and larger libraries. For absolute beginners, the full-color, heavily illustrated Easy nicely shows the basics, from the parts and how they hook up to connecting to the Internet and protecting a PC; unobtrusive tips and notes add info. Step-by-step instructions and minimal verbiage make this a nonthreatening guide for all libraries.

Also for absolute beginners, Maran Illustrated Computers and Maran Illustrated Computers Guided Tour contain almost entirely the same text. Guided Tour, however, uses the Maran cartoonish floppy disk character as a "tour guide" and is slightly larger in format (with larger fonts), while Maran Illustrated Computers contains a concluding chapter on "multimedia and handheld devices" and an illustrated glossary that Guided Tour lacks. In each, topics about how computers work and what you can use them for are organized into two-page, full-color, heavily illustrated spreads. Each also includes basic, if limited, coverage of multiple PC operating systems and of Macs, making them more inclusive than Easy or Absolute Beginner's, which cover only Windows PCs. Either is appropriate for all public libraries, but don't buy both unless you're looking for duplication.

Banish your fear of mice, cords, and cables

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By Rachel Singer Gordon

Rachel Singer Gordon is Consulting Editor, Information Today Books; webmaster, Lisjobs.com; and author of The Accidental Library Manager (ITI, 2005)