Britannica Still Rules, Despite Wikipedia
The Encyclopaedia Britannica stopped publishing its print version in
March of 2012. Although Wikipedia has
become a popular place to look for information, according to the Wall Street
Journal more than 500,000 people are still willing to pay to use the online
version of Britannica. The oldest English-language encyclopaedia
still being produced, it enjoys a reputation for general excellence and
authoritative references and illustrations for people, places, institutions and
concepts.
The Toronto Public Library
subscribes to the online version and it includes the content of the print
version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
There is a prominent link to Britannica Online for Kids from the home page and
the guided tour is an great place to learning about this
database.
Some interesting features
include the biography of the day, this day in history, the Britannica blog and
top news stories from the New York Times web version and BBC News.
The Research Tools section includes primary sources, e-books, a video
collection, media collection, a world atlas, notable quotations and a Spanish
English dictionary. Explore the history
of topics from art to technology from thousands of years ago to the present day
in the Timelines section.
World Data Analyst offers up-to-date statistical information for countries,
and graphs and charts can be created with this tool. Canada in Focus presents a wide-ranging
collection of articles covering the most significant people, places, and
history of Canada.
Once inside an article,
Britannica provides links to expand you research to other journal articles,
websites and additional readings. Vocabulary
help is provided when you double-click on a word for definitions and pronunciation. Students will also like the citation feature
at the bottom of articles which allow you to choose from four styles to cite
the source in a bibliography.
Access the Encyclopedia Britannica from the A-Z List of All Databases on the Toronto Public Library's website. Sign in using your library card and PIN number.
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