Information Resources: Print Encyclopedias

What is an encyclopedia? A work that contains articles on subjects of knowledge.

Who writes the articles? Subject experts. For example, an article on nuclear power is written by someone who is educated in chemistry or physics.

Encyclopedia Editors Also, the articles of an encyclopedia are organized and checked for accuracy by its editors. accuracy - conformity to the truth; freedom from mistakes.

What are the different types of encyclopedias? General Encyclopedias Contains articles that span all general knowledge, including the arts, sciences, people, places, animals, etc. Subject-Specific Encyclopedias Contains articles that relate to a single subject, such as African art or Chemistry.

How are encyclopedias organized? In alphabetical order by the topic of the article.

Sample from Volume A Agriculture - science of growing plants for food Agriculture, Department of - U.S. governmental department responsible for U.S. agriculture. Agrimony - common name for 18 species of woodland plants found in North and South America Agrippa, Marcus - Roman general who worked for the first emperor of Rome, Augustus Aguinaldo, Emilio - leader in the fight for Phillippine independence Ahmadabad - major city in western India

How are encyclopedias organized? Encyclopedias are divided into multiple volumes. Each volume contains the articles with topics that begin with the letter or letters identified on the volume’s spine.

Index Most encyclopedia sets have an Index volume. The Index is an alphabetical list of the encyclopedia articles that indicates the volumes and page numbers where the articles begin.

Example Index Agriculture…vol.1, p.22 Agriculture, Department of…vol. 1, p.26 Agrimony…vol.1, p. 28 Agrippa, Marcus…vol.1, p.28 Aguinaldo, Emilio…vol.1, p.29 Abmadabad…vol.1, p.29

Cross-References Print encyclopedias have cross- references, which direct you to look for information somewhere else in the encyclopedia set. Example When you look up American Revolution in Volume A it states “See Revolutionary War in America.”

Reference An encyclopedia is known as a Reference text. A Reference text contains authoritative information. Authoritative information is information you can reasonably trust.

Quiz An encyclopedia contains: a.Book Reviews b.Outlines c.Articles

Quiz An encyclopedia contains: a.Book Reviews b.Outlines c.Articles

Quiz Who writes encyclopedia articles? a.Subject scientists b.Subject experts c.Subject students

Quiz Who writes encyclopedia articles? a.Subject scientists b.Subject experts c.Subject students

Quiz The person who writes an article on earthquakes will have studied: a.Geology b.Encyclopedia article writing c.English literature

Quiz The person who writes an article on earthquakes will have studied: a.Geology b.Encyclopedia article writing c.English literature

Quiz Which article would be in a volume that states the letters S-Sn on the spine? a.Spiders b.Sofia, Bulgaria c.Silver

Quiz Which article would be in a volume that states the letters S-Sn on the spine? a.Spiders b.Sofia, Bulgaria c.Silver

Quiz You look up American League and it states See Baseball. Which encyclopedia should you look in? a. Volume A b. Volume B c. Volume S

Quiz You look up American League and it states See Baseball. Which encyclopedia should you look in? a. Volume A b. Volume B c. Volume S

Quiz Who checks to make sure that the information in encyclopedia articles is accurate? a. No one. b. Editors. c. Teachers.

Quiz Who checks to make sure that the information in encyclopedia articles is accurate? a. No one. b. Editors. c. Teachers.

Quiz An encyclopedia is known as a reference text. That means it contains what type of information? a. Aggressive b. Arbitrary c. Authoritative

Quiz An encyclopedia is known as a reference text. That means it contains what type of information? a. Aggressive b. Arbitrary c. Authoritative