E-Views and Reviews: Beyond the World Book Basics

By Cheryl LaGuardia -- Library Journal, 12/15/2006

Concerned About Overbranding As I was working on a reference question this week, cruising through databases, I realized I should keep track of the files I was using so searches wouldn't be repeated. Only problem was that I couldn't find the name of the database I was in at that moment. The publisher name was certainly well identified, but I had to look hard to find the product name. Okay, so it just took a few seconds, but I'm used to looking for product names—researchers aren't. In recent weeks I've asked students what they've searched online, and they've replied with publisher, rather than with product, name. In fact, some publisher names are so prominently displayed onscreen, they nearly obliterate the product name. Does this bug you as much as it bugs me?

Quote of the Week In response to my October 1 query asking if your library offers ebooks and if they are getting good use: “In the library of a small, fast-track technical college, ebooks make the collection. In our library, the majority of the ebooks are ordered through Ebrary. Our students like the reader that generates citations. Research done in a ten-week-long quarter is like one-stop shopping, especially when the majority of the students have full-time jobs and many have full-blown families. They want to sit down at workstations, find what they're looking for, and go on. Ebrary is a perfect fit here.”—Sarah Wright, Librarian, Charter College, Anchorage, AK

World Book Online Reference Center
World Book
 www.worldbookonline.com

World Book Online Reference Center (WBORC) comes equipped with the following features: Atlas, Back in Time, Behind the Headlines, Dictionary, Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos (an intermediate Spanish-language encyclopedia), Encyclopedia Articles, Features of the Month, Magazine Articles, a Media Showcase, Pictures and Illustrations, Sounds, Special Reports, Student Resources, Subscriber News, Surf the Ages, Tables, Today in History, Videos and Animations, Web Sites, and What's New. WBORC actually consists of three modules: World Book Kids (based on Student Discovery Encyclopedia), Educators Tools (with ties to state curricular standards), and Research Libraries (focusing on accomplishments in eight branches of knowledge). The file contains over 26,000 articles (everything from the 22-volume print set, plus 8000 more), over 12,000 illustrations and maps, 100-plus videos and animations, 10,000 sounds, and 60,000 cross-referenced links, including more than 7,000 to prescreened web sites. Updated continuously, it is a heckuva resource.

How Does It Work? It works in several ways, with many built-in options. You can change the display interface any time by clicking “Change Display” at screen right, toggling back and forth between the Standard Display (for more mature users) and the colorful, stylized Display for Younger Users (which is just plain fun).

In the Standard Display, you get a simple search box front and center, as well as tabs above it to take you to the Atlas, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and Educators' Tools. At screen top are options for going into World Book Kids, the Spanish-language dictionary, or Research Libraries. Meanwhile, the main real estate is occupied by interesting boxes that draw you into the rest of the content.

Can You and Your Patrons Use It? It's tough to imagine anyone over the age of two-and-a-half who couldn't use some part of this resource. Starting at the homepage with a simple search for “holocaust,” I got 41 items, including an in-depth article describing the Holocaust, with links to articles “Before the Holocaust” and “After the Holocaust,” as well as to Encyclopedia Articles, Books To Read, Web Sites, and Magazine Articles. Sidebars provided direct links to maps of Central Berlin, the location of Nazi concentration camps, and pictures (including the Yad Vashem memorial). The content is written in a broadly accessible style and is easy to find.

The file gets even more impressive in the Research Libraries module, which offers a host of primary sources, statistics, literature across the ages, science and math articles, and more. To give you an idea: the article on Antoine Lavoisier is over 3200 words long and includes passages from several of his works. This is clearly so much more than a basic encyclopedia.

How Good Is It? My only quibble with WBORC is that it was a little difficult to return to the main screen from the Research Libraries; it would be nice if a clear link were added. But that doesn't detract from the overall excellence of this resource. It rates a resounding ten.

What's the Cost? A subscription to WBORC includes World Book Kids as well as the Spanish-language encyclopedia for $700 per year. There is an additional fee for Research Libraries: $100 for two modules of Research Libraries (most libraries do not subscribe to all).

The Bottom Line While I remember the printed World Book of my childhood fondly, I regard WBORC with fervent awe. It is a masterwork that belongs in all libraries.