" ... an even more useful tool ... "

Noteworthy changes make the 1997 edition of the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia an even more useful tool than the 1996 edition recently reviewed here [RoR, August 1996]. The search capabilities and the interface remain basically unchanged. Additional buttons added to the main screen make it easier to move back and forth through a list of viewed articles, fact boxes, maps, etc. These features are similar to the sequential and leapfrogging features in Web browsers such as Netscape and Microsoft Explorer. That similarity meshes well with the 1997 edition's most significant new feature, its interactive links to World Wide Web resources. These join Grolier's existing (and expanding) links to CompuServe¨ resources. (To take full advantage of these users need to subscribe to CompuServe and provide access to an Internet service provider; neither is supplied with the encyclopedia.) For example, when the "online" button is activated from the article about the World Wide Web, users connect to a page that lists the World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org/pub/www) and the World Wide Web FAQ (http://www.boutell.com/faq). A brief descriptive statement sketches the purpose and scope of each site and identifies its reading level. Sites have been chose judiciously. The three linked to the article on La Traviata expand upon the article's text, providing easy access to the full text of the libretto in Italian http://copper.ucs.indiana.edu/~lneff/libretti/traviata. html); a hypertext synopsis, photos, a video clip, and scores (http://copper.ucs.indiana.edu/~lneff/libretti/traviata. html); and a synopsis and discography from the New York City Opera (http://plaza.interport.net/nycopera/education/traviata. html). The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Aviation (http://macwww.db.erau.edu/www_virtual_lin/aviation.html), one of the two sites linked to the article on aircraft offers a fleet of additional links on the subject. The editors have done a good job of identifying relevant sites, but have more to do. For example, the article on Jack Kemp does not identify his role as the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Users can (and definitely should)update the WWW links monthly through a very easy downloading and file substitution/updating procedure. The editors plan to add 1,000 sites each month. Presumably sites soon to be added will include a judicious selection of political sites related to the fall election. Even though the number of people connected to the Web continues to grow by leaps and bounds, there remain many homes and schools that do not have a connection. The Grolier editors must be careful not to rely too heavily on Web sites as an updating mechanism but should, as in the case of the La Traviata links, use them to enrich access to information. For example, the article on Whitewater on the CD-ROM concludes its coverage with events from the spring of 1994; online links to CNN and PBS Web sites carry the burden of updating the Whitewater saga from then to Susan McDougal's being photographed in shackles and leg irons for refusing to testify further about her knowledge of the case.

The atlas has been expanded greatly and now includes 1,200 maps. These political and thematic maps provide significant information and include hot links from place names to related articles. However, until the resolution of VDTs equals that of high-quality cartographic printing, electronic maps will not be the equal of their print counterparts. As useful as these many maps are, users of this or any other electronic encyclopedia are well advised to keep a good general purpose world atlas at hand if they really want to understand an area's geography.

Other improvements merit brief mention. The number of interactivities has more than tripled from 30 to 94. The 1996 edition's "Pathmakers" features is gone, replaced by more useful "Guided Tours." Each of the sixteen guided tours consists of a selection of the encyclopedia's articles, pictures, sound clips, etc., on a topic. Topics so treated include American Women, the 1950s, insect, monsters and giants, Russia in the twentieth century, and the World of Islam.

Another added feature is the ability to play a synthesized speech version of the text of articles. Users activate this feature by clicking on the icon of a speaker below the text window. This will help those whose reading knowledge lags slightly behind the text's writing level as well as those who are visually impaired.

All of these improvements make Grolier a more informative, more versatile, and more continuously up-to-date general information source. Librarians and consumers in the home market can rest assured that the industry's fierce competition will bring future enhancements to Grolier and its rivals at competitive, attractive prices. The 1996 edition was very good; the 1997 edition is even better.

Posted with permission.