Information Resources: Print Encyclopedias What is an encyclopedia? A work that contains articles on subjects of knowledge.

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 AAgriculture - science of growing plants for foodAgriculture, 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 AmericaAgrippa, Marcus - Roman general who worked for the first emperor of Rome, AugustusAguinaldo, Emilio - leader in the fight for Phillippine independenceAhmadabad - 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 Indexvolume.

The Index is an alphabetical list of theencyclopedia 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.

ExampleWhen 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 Reviewsb. Outlinesc. Articles

Quiz

An encyclopedia contains:a. Book Reviewsb. Outlinesc. Articles

Quiz

Who writes encyclopedia articles?a. Subject scientistsb. Subject experts c. Subject students

Quiz

Who writes encyclopedia articles?a. Subject scientistsb. Subject experts c. Subject students

Quiz

The person who writes an article on earthquakes will have studied:

a. Geologyb. Encyclopedia article writingc. English literature

Quiz

The person who writes an article on earthquakes will have studied:

a. Geologyb. Encyclopedia article writingc. English literature

Quiz

Which article would be in a volume thatstates the letters S-Sn on the spine?

a. Spidersb. Sofia, Bulgariac. Silver

Quiz

Which article would be in a volume thatstates the letters S-Sn on the spine?

a. Spidersb. Sofia, Bulgariac. Silver

Quiz

You look up American League and it states See Baseball. Whichencyclopedia should you look in?a. Volume Ab. Volume Bc. Volume S

Quiz

You look up American League and it states See Baseball. Whichencyclopedia should you look in?a. Volume Ab. Volume Bc. 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