Email Users Handbook: A Beginner's Guide

Surprisingly, the first electronic mail (email, also e-mail) message was sent in 1972 when computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sent one to himself. Traffic has picked up since then; the Internet market research firm eMarketer reported that in the year 2000, people sent over 1.6 billion noncommercial email messages each day in the United States alone.

This handbook provides all the information necessary for anyone to feel comfortable using this electronic form of communication: the basics for beginners, and numerous tips for advanced users. The first part of the book focuses on getting started (finding an Internet Service Provider, computer requirements, and so on) and then provides an entertaining discussion of email procedures, including etiquette do's and don'ts, avoiding spam and viruses, privacy concerns, notes for the handicapped, and observations on email use in libraries. Next is a systematic how-to coverage of eight email systems, including four popular Web-based systems (Hotmail, Mail.com, Netscape Mail, and Yahoo! Mail) and four standalone systems (Eudora, Juno, Netscape Messenger and Outlook Express). The how-to section features straightforward directions and helpful illustrations.

The late Grant Burns was assistant library director with the Frances Willson Thompson Library at the University of Michigan-Flint. He contributed articles to Library Journal and Library Quarterly.