Page 177 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Information Sources and Services

Notes 8.5 Summary

An encyclopaedia is a book, or series of books, that contains general information about
many topics and subjects.
The term encyclopaedia is now applied to any reference work of one or more volumes
consisting of articles pertaining to all branches or some special branch of human knowledge,
usually arranged in alphabetical order.

Encyclopaedias can be general, containing articles on topics in every field.
General encyclopaedias often contain guides on how to do a variety of things, as well as
embedded dictionaries and gazetteers.

There are also encyclopaedias that cover a wide variety of topics but from a particular
cultural, ethnic, or national perspective, such as the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia or
Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Encyclopaedia is best used for finding answers to background questions related to general
information and self-education for both the specialist and the layman.
In order to organize the collection in the reference section effectively, they are divided
into two main categories, namely, general and special or subject encyclopaedias according
to their scope, purpose and coverage.

Some encyclopaedias have become entirely available online, with no corresponding print
version.

8.6 Keywords

Encyclopaedia: An encyclopaedia is a book, or series of books, that contains general information
about many topics and subjects.

General Encyclopaedia: They can serve as a gateway to understand the most profound or intricate
knowledge human beings have yet produced.

Librarian: A librarian is an individual who may be guide or a research scholar to a subject
encyclopaedia as a stepping stone to a more extended research.

Macropaedia: It is a form of book containing knowledge in depth has lengthy articles. It covers
major topics of human interest and is intended to educate the serious readers

Micropaedia: It is a study guide that contains brief information for ready reference and acts as a
detailed index to the set by giving volume and page reference to articles in the macropaedia.

National and Regional Encyclopaedias: They are inclined to deal elaborately with the history,
geography, art, customs, and culture, and social, political, and economic conditions of a particular
country.
Propaedia: Propaedia is a guide to the set that gives outline of knowledge and is a schematic
introduction to article in Macropaedia.
Special Subject Encyclopaedia: It is rather common for the reference librarian to receive queries
regarding specific subjects.

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