A trend toward the abstraction of computing platforms that has been developing in the broader IT arena over the last few years is just beginning to make inroads into the library technology scene. Cloud computing offers for libraries many interesting possibilities that may help reduce technology costs and increase capacity, reliability, and performance for some types of automation activities. Cloud computing has made strong inroads into other commercial sectors and is now beginning to find more traction in the library technology sector. The path to cloud computing pushes hardware to more abstract levels. In this article, the author describes the steps an organization can take to manage its computer applications, working his way from the most tangible to the most abstract and using a library as an example. He states that although the most abstract approach of cloud computing may not fit all library technology scenarios, some level of hardware consolidation or abstraction will help gain efficiencies and performance while reducing costs.