ENCYCLOPEDIAS

An encyclopedia is a book with a collection of information about many subjects. What is an encyclopedia exactly?

Sometimes, an encyclopedia has general information about many different subject areas. Sometimes an encyclopedia focuses on only one subject; for example, the Encyclopedia of Fish.

Sometimes an encyclopedia is only one book or volume. Sometimes, it is many volumes. For example, an encyclopedia may be 2, 5 or 10 volumes.

Or even 30 volumes !

Usually, articles are organized in alphabetical order. But sometimes, information is organized in another way. For example, an encyclopedia about animals might be organized by species.

Usually an encyclopedia is not written by only one person. Many people come together to write an encyclopedia. Who writes encyclopedias?

So, usually information in an encyclopedia is accurate or dependable. People who write articles or entries in an encyclopedia are usually “experts” and well-educated people.

If the author’s name is noted, it usually appears at the end of an article. But, sometimes the author is not noted. The person who manages all the authors of an encyclopedia is called an EDITOR.

Go to the online library catalog : library.hct.ac.ae How do you know what encyclopedias are in the library?

Type “encyclopedia” Click : Search. Choose your location from the drop down menu.

You will get a list of all the encyclopedias in your library. Some of them will be on the regular shelves but some of them will be in the REFERENCE SECTION.

You may only use a reference book in the library. You cannot check it out. You will see the word “Reference” under location.

HCT also has e-book encyclopedias. When you see the e-book icon, just click on it.

You can also get online encyclopedias from the collection of Databases. From library.hct.ac.ae pull down the Resources menu, click Databases and e-books.

Scroll down to Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Choose one and click on it.

This is a great resource for students. It has many videos & an Arabic translation feature. For example, the Britannica Online School Edition.

Mouse over a word & the Arabic will appear. Unfortunately, not all words are translated & sometimes the translation is a bit strange. At the end of an article, you will see an orange color box Turn on Arabic Translator

It shows you how to write the citation for the article in both MLA and APA styles. Another great feature of the Britannica Online School Edition is: To cite this page

Information in this edition is more detailed and the vocabulary is more advanced. There is another version of this online encyclopedia called Britannica Online Academic Edition.

Link to it from the Database page. Do you remember? Go to library.hct.ac.ae From Resources, go to Databases. Here is another online encyclopedia : eLibrary.

Link to it from the Database page. Here is another one : The Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Link to it from the Database page. And, here is another one : The Student Resource Center Gold.

Should an encyclopedia be your ONLY source of information for a research project? Encyclopedias are wonderful books but information in them is usually a summary from other sources. When doing research, it is important to go to the original source.

Because, it takes a long time to write and publish an encyclopedia, it may not have the most recent information on a subject. Online encyclopedias may have more current information than print ones if they are updated regularly.

Ask your teacher or your friendly librarian if you have any questions. I hope this helps you find information in encyclopedias.

Thank you for listening. HAPPY READING !