Select a topic related to your chosen general information need.
1. Examine the treatment accorded your topic in at least:
a.
Encyclopedia Britannica
b. 1 general multi-volume print encyclopedia
c. 1 general single volume adult desk encyclopedia
d. 1 juvenile encyclopedia
e. 1 specialized encyclopedia appropriate to your topic
2. During the examination, consider the following (paying particular attention to the electronic EB).
a. relative depth of coverage
b. relative ease of use
c. nature of emphasis and presentation
d. route of access to the information; e.g. alphabetic entry, subject index, etc.?
e. other elements of the work that seem important to you from the viewpoint of the
general information seeker
3. Select a general encyclopedia yearbook for examination. Are there kinds of information that you did not expect to find in this source? Why do you suppose the editors have included such material? Is there anything in the yearbook relevant to your information need?
4. Think about the contribution that electronic access and multimedia features add to the value of the encyclopedia as a general reference tool. What do they offer? Is there anything lost in the electronic versions of the Britannica? Compare the Electric Library’s version of the Columbia Encyclopedia with that of Bartleby. What does this tell you about the use of online electronic resources?
5. Try hard to think of a few questions that you would not expect to answer using an encyclopedia.
(If you haven't had the opportunity to explore Encarta or one of the other interactive CD-ROM encyclopedias, be sure to take one of the multimedia encyclopedias for a test drive (use the IS network rather than the concise online version of Encarta for this). In what ways does hands-on experience alter your expectations?)
Rev.10/01