Desk Set

Ready Reference for the Digital Librarian

General Encyclopedias:

Bartleby (2011). Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/
Bartleby is a conglomerate of resources that have been placed together and are very search able. You can choose which reference you would like to search or you can search by key term. It is a free web site, however they do have a bookstore if you find something you would like to purchase. The site contains poetry, biblical reference, atlases and much more.

Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.) . Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/
This encyclopedia is a conglomerate of over one hundred dictionaries and encyclopedias. You can do general searches that will search all of their resources or you can browse a specific source. Additionally, you can narrow your search based upon the type of result you want. You can also browse by the topics listed at the top of the page. This site is a free site.

Encyclopedia Americana (Vols. 1-30) (2006). Danbury, CT: Grolier Inc.
This encyclopedia provides more than 450,000 articles written by experts in easy to read language. It does include handy search features like, fact boxes, chronological tables, and bibliographies if readers want further reading.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online. (n.d.) . Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/
This encyclopedia is a great resource for all kinds of inquiry. At the top is a search bar which you can use for a specific search. Or you can use the subject tabs to browse for information. At the bottom of the page you will rind research tools like a world atlas, country comparison and time lines. Finally on the bottom right you will find specific links to specific pages for kids,teachers, librarians and administrators. For more access and better information users can become paying members.

Fact Monster (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.factmonster.com/
Fact monster is a site geared for school aged children. Students can browse topics based upon topic, or they can search the site base upon search terms. Additionally, at the bottom is a reference desk set up with homework help, dictionary, almanac and atlas. The encyclopedia section of this page has a cite feature. When you find the page you want to use it will generate the citation for you.

Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia (Vols. 1-29) (1993). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
This encyclopedia is a widely used reference for students and general readers. More than 250,000 articles are included from researchers and well known sources in their field.

Open-site (n.d.). Retrieved from http://open-site.org/
Open-site is a free online encyclopedia. It is similar to Wikipedia. It is edited by volunteer editors and any user can apply to become an editor. When using the search feature you can search only on the site or you can expand your search to include web results. They have a top pages section where you can browse by popular subject. It is not as user friendly or aesthetically pleasing as Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (n.d.) . Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. You can search the encyclopedia easily and key terms that are highlighted are links to pages regarding that information. This encyclopedia has a lot of general information however because it is not a peer reviewed authoritative source, it would not be appropriate for citing in research paper. It may be a good place to start for understanding a topic or to find general information.

World Book Online (n.d.) . Retrieved from http://worldbookonline.com/wb/Login?ed=wb
World book is a subscription based encyclopedia. They have speciality encyclopedias for libraries, schools and speciality sites. The encyclopedias are comprehensive and are very searchable. Free trials are available.