A patron came up to the reference desk the other day and asked me to point him to the encyclopedia.

And I froze for a moment, sure we had a set or two, but not knowing exactly where they would be located. Sure, I knew where the -online- encyclopedia was through DISCUS, but in print? Then I unfroze, led him to the reference section and hoped I could scan the shelves quickly for the encyclopedia. We found two sets and he left a few minutes later, a happy patron.

But that is the first person in two years to ask for a general encyclopedia. So is the usefulness of them limited in this time of online searching, Wikipedia, and even just abundant print specialized reference sources? Part of the answer at the State Library is that we do only adult reference in general, so no sending middle school students to the encyclopedia for their homework. But an encyclopedia is still a good resource for a general overview of a topic with a minimum of wading through irrelevant webpages or books with too much information. Also, they are good to hand to adult readers that may have a lower reading level or where English is not the first language. So what is available at the State Library?

Print

• World Book Encyclopedia 2003 edition
• Encyclopedia Americana 2001 edition
• many, many great reference books with the name encyclopedia in the title such as The food encyclopedia, The water encyclopdia, The ESPN pro football encyclopedia, The South Carolina encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of North Carolina, Encyclopedia of Christianity, Encyclopedia of American gospel music, Encyclopedia of North American immigration, The encyclopedia of censorship, and Encyclopedia of school psychology, just to name the most recent.

Online access through our Online Resources webpage

• Encyclopedia Americana (from DISCUS)
• Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (K-12, from DISCUS)
• The New Book of Knowledge (K-12, from DISCUS)
• Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia

Online on the web

• Wikipedia (edited by the public)
• Columbia Encyclopedia 2001 edition

Just for fun: 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (scroll down the page)