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Encyclopedias (General)

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 Websites presented in alphabetical order

Britannica.com view detail comment email this

Full text encyclopedia articles are no longer free. You get part of the first paragraph and an invitation to subcribe. Still free are the full text periodical articles from more than 70 magazines and newspapers--including Newsweek , Discover , The Economist , Library Journal , and the Christian Science Monitor ; and news from the New York Times and Reuters . Their guide to the Web's best sites includes more than 125,000 sites, many of them rated.
http://www.britannica.com/
Topics: Internet Guides & Search Tools, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated May 21, 2002


Citizendium: The Citizen's Compendium view detail comment email this

This site is "an open wiki project aimed at creating an enormous, free, and reliable encyclopedia. The project, started by a founder of Wikipedia, aims to improve on the Wikipedia model by adding 'gentle expert oversight' and requiring contributors to use their real names." According to the site, "most of our contributors are 'authors,' not editors, and most lack PhDs. Many lack any degrees at all."
http://www.citizendium.org
Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated Jun 12, 2007


The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert: Collaborative Translation Project view detail comment email this

"This site has been designed to make accessible to teachers, students, and other interested English-language readers translations of articles from the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert in the 18th century." Articles are browsable (by translated title, original title, or subject) and searchable (with options for Boolean, proximity, and bibliography searches). Also provides original French articles. From the University of Michigan Library and the Digital Library Extension Service (DLXS).
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/
Topics: History By Place, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated Jun 12, 2007


Encyclopedia.com view detail comment email this

Search or browse for free more than 50,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia , Sixth Edition, 2001. Links to related Internet sites, search forms, and (for fee) full-text articles provided by the Electric Library.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/
Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated May 21, 2002


Encyclopedia: Yahoo Reference view detail comment email this

"The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia contains almost 52,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), with more than 84,000 hypertext cross-references. Columbia Encyclopedia is among the most complete and up-to-date electronic encyclopedias ever produced." LII Record of the Month for November, 2001.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/
Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated Dec 22, 2004


EncycloZine view detail comment email this

The author calls this eclectic site a "Concise Illustrated Encyclopedia, and a Compendium of Diversions." Topics addressed include puzzles, optical illusions, Hubble telescopes, photos, fractals, Java examples, encyclographs, economics, Web design, computers, the Internet, and much more.
http://encyclozine.com/
Topics: Astronomy, Economics, Internet Guides & Search Tools, Mysteries and More, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated May 21, 2002


Fatally Flawed: Refuting the Recent Study on Encyclopedic Accuracy by the Journal Nature view detail comment email this

March 2006 response to a December 2005 report in Nature magazine "that claimed to compare the accuracy of the online Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikipedia, the Internet database that allows anyone, regardless of knowledge or qualifications, to write and edit articles." The Nature report had found the difference in errors "was not particularly great." This report concludes that almost everything about Nature's investigation was wrong and misleading. Opens directly into a PDF. From Encyclopaedia Britannica.
http://corporate.britannica.com/britannica_nature_response.pdf
Topics: Internet Guides & Search Tools, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated May 30, 2006


Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia view detail comment email this

A free-content encyclopedia that is being written collaboratively by contributors from all around the world. The site is a wiki, "meaning that anyone with access to a ... computer can edit, correct, or improve information." Without editorial oversight, the quality of the content on this site varies dramatically, but it is worth exploring. The English version has hundreds of thousands of entries. Spanish, French, and Esperanto are among the several other languages offered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Topics: Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated Apr 20, 2006


World Book view detail comment email this

This online, fee-based, encyclopedia offers some good, free information. Children can come here for background on selected current news and events. Monthly features include: biographies of famous people born during the month, important dates, and a quiz. The Parent and Teacher Resource Centers includes suggestions for helping children with their studies, along with outside links to study aids, and lesson plans for teachers. Check the Parents section for the Typical Course of Study commonly used or recommended for kindergarten through grade 12. Use the site map to find everything available.
http://www.worldbook.com/
Topics: K-12 Education, Lesson Plans, Ready Reference & Quick Facts, Ready Reference & Quick Facts

Last updated Oct 24, 2005




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