A computer-based clinical reference library (CRL) was developed as a subsystem of the Hewlett-Packard 5600 A patient data management system for use in the 10-bed ICU at the University of Alberta Hospital. The CRL contains 20 information modules and can be accessed at both bedside and central consoles. Information is classified under headings of: definition, incidence, etiology, pathophysiology, pathology, bacteriology, clinical course, diagnosis, treatment, complications, prognosis, and references. The CRL was evaluated by a nonrandomized pretest/post-test, control-experimental research paradigm. Medical students and residents exposed to the system "acquired" significantly more knowledge than their counterparts in a control group. Medical students and nurses used the system for continuing medical education, whereas residents accessed the system for problem-solving. Nurses had strong negative views about the computerized patient data management system and tended not to use the CRL. Correlation between instruction time and gain scores was positive but test correlation coefficients for each subgroup were not significantly different.