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Encyclopedias

Although the Internet could be viewed as one giant encyclopedia, there is an important difference: much on the Internet is written by sources with dubious credentials. When you need background information for a school paper or a research project, you need to trust your sources. Nearly all of the information on this page comes from SurfNetKids.com, which also has other recommendations for searching.

  • Britannica.com Although only paying subscribers can access the full text of the hard copy Encyclopedia Britannica, visitors will still find plenty to enjoy at the free Britannica.com. You can access the collection of condensed articles by keyword search, by browsing alphabetically, or by subject. History buffs will enjoy Britannica's Heritage, a look at how our knowledge has evolved over the last two centuries. For example, a 1768 Britannica map of the Americas showed California as an island. And no, this wasn't a projection of what might happen in a major earthquake.
  • EBSCO Middle Online Package (requires login) The six databases of the Middle Online Package offers the most complete collection of full-text reference resources available for middle schools. This full-text package contains databases designed for students and educators.
  • Encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com is composed of 50,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia. Each entry is short but includes hyperlinked references to other encyclopedia articles, as well as links to periodicals and images in the fee-based Electric Library. A single click of the "Search Encarta" button (on the right-hand side) performs a related search at Encarta.com, making Encyclopedia.com a good place to start your research.
  • Encyclopedia of Life Global access to knowledge about life on Earth. Dr. Edward O. Wilson's 2007 TED Prize speech was the catalyst for the EOL you see today. Mission: To increase awareness and understanding of living nature through an Encyclopedia of Life that gathers, generates, and shares knowledge in an open, freely accessible and trusted digital resource.
  • Encyclopedia Smithsonian Although not strictly a general purpose encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia Smithsonian "features answers to frequently asked questions about the Smithsonian and links to Smithsonian resources on subjects from Art to Zoology." Since there is no search function, the only way to navigate is through the rather eclectic A to Z topic listing. Using your browser Find function to search for specific words (Control-F in both Internet Explorer and Netscape) might be useful on this long index page. Although the interface is chunky, the content is first rate, so don't let it stop you from exploring what the Smithsonian has to offer.
  • Google Scholar Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google Scholar helps you identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research.
  • Information Please It's an almanac. It's a dictionary. It's an encyclopedia. It's a polling place. It's Information Please: one-stop shopping for all your information needs. This site integrates the various Information Please Almanacs (sports, entertainment and general knowledge) with Random House Webster's College Dictionary and the Columbia Encyclopedia. It can be navigated by the integrated search function, or you can browse the almanacs by navigating topics. Be sure to test out the fun and useful HotWords. Highlight any word on any Infoplease page, and then click the Hotwords button for a definition and links to related encyclopedia articles.
  • NoodleTools (requires login) software that teaches students and supports teachers and librarians throughout the entire research process.
  • The United Nations CyberSchoolBus educational resources for students and teachers
  • Wikipedia The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. It has a vast amount of excellent articles, is growing rapidly, and it's free.
  • Cautions on Wikipedia when used for Academic purposes.

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