Title:
Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition
Author:
Various authors by employed by Britannica
Illustrator:
Many photographs, drawings, maps, charts, and other graphics are used
ISBN:
Not applicable
Publisher:
Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica
Copyright:
2010, and remains current
Length:
Not applicable
Description:
Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Academic Edition includes a wealth of information and it is continually updated. Besides the standard information associated with a print version of Britannica, the online version includes the following resources: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus; video collections that can be downloaded for classroom use or viewed online with topics that include geography, history, science, etc.; timelines where information can be arranged in a variety of different manners; “World Data Analyst” offering comprehensive statistics of nations; another tool titled “Compare Countries: Side-by side comparisons of countries” that allows the user to access facts, flags, maps, etc.; a world atlas, including political, physical, and other types of maps of the world; a quotation section making available over 4,000 quotations arranged by author and subject; a resource titled “Gateway to the Classics: Enduring works of the western canon” that provides short stories, plays, etc. The search textbox for conducting a known item search is immediately available at the top of Britannica’s homepage. This location is user friendly and invites the searcher to begin. A button next to the search box offers a tool for advanced search. Citation information is provided for each entry.
Critical Evaluation:
A user may utilize this product effectively without training, but guidance by a librarian or following the “Guided Tour” instructions found on the database’s homepage will increase results and give greater depth to research. Unfortunately, most users will not access a librarian to train them or use the “Guided Tour” function. They will use Britannica Online as they do “Google” or “Wikipedia” and only search by key words. A strong feature is that almost each word in every entry can be clicked twice and the user immediately views a dictionary entry for the word. Each article has links within to other related articles increasing the depth and ease of a search. Another strong feature is “Expand Your Research”, a box included with each article that directs the user to journals and magazines, recommended websites, searches within Britannica, and additional readings. Users have the option of printing an article, saving it in a personal workspace created in Britannica’s database, or emailing. It is a powerful and excellent database to use with high school students when introducing them to college level research.
User Annotation:
A researcher can find accurate information quickly and easily. Also, it’s interesting too look at the homepage every day to see what happened on “This Day in History” and get quick news updates from “The New York Times” and “BBC News” .
Author Information:
The “Contributor Browse” page of the database explains that contributors are “Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and other leading scholars, writers, artists, public servants, and activists from all over the world”.
Genre:
Online subscription database – encyclopedia
Curriculum Ties:
Every area of the curriculum, especially useful for research projects
User Ideas:
If you need accurate research information, need it fast, and need to cite it properly, this is the database for you.
Use the textbox to conduct random searches like you would at “Google”. You never know what you’ll find. I tried it with my last name.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
Secondary school
Additional Books by Author:
Print version of Encyclopedia Britannica
Challenge Issues:
None apparent, but if challenged, deal with challenge by having a challenge policy in place, selection policy in place (ALA policies). Meet with library administration if necessary. Provide positive review(s) from professional publications.
Why this work is included in Peach’s Picks:
Encyclopedia Britannica is a well-known, respected source of accurate information. The online version allows articles to be updated on a regular basis. Five peaches are awarded for the encyclopedia’s thoroughness and ease of use.
Amazon link:
Not applicable
References:
None used other than the database itself.
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