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Full Text
Keywords
Encyclopedias, Reference, Cultural bias, Wikipedia, Open source
Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine past, current, and future usage of encyclopedias.
Design/methodology/approach - The paper reviews the history of encyclopedias, their composition, and usage by focusing on select publications covering different subject areas.
Findings - Due to their static nature, traditionally published encyclopedias are not always accurate, objective information resources. Intentions of editors and authors also come into question. A researcher may find more value in using encyclopedias as historical documents rather than resources for quick facts.
Practical implications - Academic librarians may begin to invest more selectively in encyclopedias, whether in print or electronic format, and market them differently to students and faculty.
Originality/value - This article explores the academic value of encyclopedias in the twenty-first century.
The word "encyclopedia" comes from a corruption of the Greek phrase enkyklios paideia which literally translates as "complete instruction" or "complete knowledge". As human knowledge increases and evolves, capturing it between two covers becomes impossible. With advances in communication, travel, and scientific research, expecting encyclopedia entries to persist as authoritative fact becomes laughable. The traditional encyclopedia survives as a reference resource due to criticism of open source encyclopedias (e.g. Wikipedia) by historians and academic librarians. While the structure of Wikipedia allows for infinite updates to our expanding, shifting knowledge base, the traditional encyclopedia has value as a historical document. Any explanation of phenomena bound between two covers (or rendered immutable by copyright and license agreement) provides a snapshot of what we had once perceived as truth.
Roman naturalist and philosopher Pliny the Elder published the 37 volume Naturalis Historia, the first encyclopedia of the western world. Pliny intended to record all of the knowledge that ancient Romans had acquired about the world, as he understood it, though he admitted that his work might not be complete due to his own blind spots and distractions (Anderson, 1977). Ancient Greek physician Dioscorides published the first materia medica[1] between 50 and 79 AD. The five-volume De materia medica served as an authoritative medical reference source and textbook in Europe until 1600 (Anderson, 1977). Stylized illustrations and inconsistent botanical descriptions proved impractical to medieval healers attempting to fight the Plague.
Several innovations improved the quality...