Encyclopedia Americana 3.0.Grolier Online. c2002. Online encyclopedia encyclopedia, compendium of knowledge, either general (attempting to cover all fields) or specialized (aiming to be comprehensive in a particular field). Encyclopedias and Other Reference Books . Pricing from $228 in combination with other Grolier Online encyclopedias An online encyclopedia is an encyclopedia which is accessible by computer over the internet. Specific online encyclopedias include:
This newly redesigned online encyclopedia (which is updated quarterly) offers over 45,000 articles, complete with bibliographies and Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the links as well as article-to-article links, along with many new fact boxes, tables, maps, flags and images. There are now four main sections to choose from, accessible from the home page as well as through tabs at the top of each page: the encyclopedia database, which can be searched by word, term, or advanced search, or browsed by subject area, such as Arts, History, or Sports; Profiles; Editors' Picks, and the Americana Journal. The articles are on the brief side but authoritative, suitable for middle school age on up; the search term the user selects is helpfully highlighted in red within the article when it pops up. The "Profiles" section offers biographies of "the famous, the infamous in·fa·mous adj. 1. Having an exceedingly bad reputation; notorious. 2. Causing or deserving infamy; heinous: an infamous deed. 3. Law a. , and the highly influential," while the Editors' Picks section provides introductions to research topics, such as Palestine or the Gothic novel gothic novel European Romantic, pseudo-medieval fiction with a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror. Such novels were often set in castles or monasteries equipped with subterranean passages, dark battlements, and hidden panels, and they had plots involving ghosts, , "offering insights, Web sites, and article links." The topics change weekly. The expanded Journal is a terrific feature, consisting of a searchable database Refers to databases on the Web that are searchable by typing in a query. The term is quite redundant because all databases are searchable. In fact, that is one of their major features. of current events, illustrated with AP photos. About 250 news blurbs are added each week, written and edited by Americana staff. Each entry has links to a wide variety of online newspapers and journals, and the Journal can be searched by keyword as well as by date or date range. The "front page" highlights stories of the week, and a Teachers' Guide offers suggestions for classroom use. While the encyclopedia section isn't as comprehensive or as well designed as Encarta's, the Journal section, with its easy access to articles on current events, makes this product well worth considering in both public and school libraries. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT |
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