This update to a previous digest briefly describes the Internet computer network, the physical connections and communication protocols that make it possible, and the applications and information resources the network provides. The applications covered include electronic mail and listservs, the world wide web, telnet connections with remote library catalogs or databases, and file transfer protocol (FTP). Often barriers of distance, time, and cost that are significant with other forms of electronic communication are not as significant on the Internet because it accesses systems quickly regardless of proximity and because institutional users are not usually charged by level of use. Moreover, getting connected to the Internet is often not even as expensive as getting cable television. The Internet continues to evolve through formal standards development and individual or corporate software creation and enhancement. (BEW)