encyclopaedia [n.]

[alt. encyclopedia] a book or set of books giving information on many subjects or on many aspects of one subject, typically arranged alphabetically.
[Now also includes online formats of various kinds]
- ORIGIN pseudo-Greek enkuklopaideia, for enkuklios paideia ‘all-round education’.

Oxford Dictionaries

A broad collection of encyclopaedias is included covering many areas. These extend from general coverage with quality encyclopaedias such as Britannica, to specific topics such as Mathematics, Philosophy, Plants and Health.

No specific search engines have been included on the page, as encyclopaedias can be accessed as quickly via the links provided. There are also direct access points via most browsers, with several having the option to add your own choices.

Some of the choices listed are not encyclopaedias in the form of original print versions. This does not, however, make them any less useful,

As with any online source of information, ensure you use the highest quality sources available and be prepared to work with several sources to confirm what you have found is accurate.

Encyclopaedias

Benchmark Encyclopaedias

• Britannica, Encyclopaedia
  The best encyclopaedia in the world and on the web. Also try their School & Library site.
• Columbia Encyclopaedia
• Encyclopaedia Smithsonian
  ‘Search over 2 million records, with 210 500 images, video and sound files from dozens of Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries’.
• Wikipedia
  A continually evolving and expanding encyclopaedia developed by contributors from around the world. Not always perfect because people are continually adding and modifying, but it is a living document.
• World Book Encyclopaedia
  One of the three big encyclopaedias, especially in schools.

Computing, The Internet & Technology

• Educypedia
  ‘An information resource about scientific and educational material : electronics, science, engineering, encyclop[a]edia and information technology’.
  A Huge Listing !
• Encyclopaedia of Technology
  Virtually all terms used in information technology - whether you are a Luddite or not.
• NetHistory
  Alphabetical listing to discover the history of the internet.
• The Encyclopaedia of Television
  ‘Includes more than 1 000 original essays from more than 250 contributors and examines specific programs and people, historic moments and trends, major policy disputes and such topics as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandal. It also includes histories of major television networks as well as broadcasting systems around the world and is complemented by resource materials, photos and bibliographical information’. Fantastic coverage.
• Webopedia
  Dictionary and information about anything to do with computing and the internet.
• Whatis?
  ‘The leading IT encyclopaedia and learning centre’.

Financial Encyclopaedias

• International Financial Encyclopaedia
  What all those strange terms and ideas used in the world of finance actually mean.
• Investopaedia
  An encyclopaedia on how to read financial pages, how to invest, understanding economic indicators and more, in the financial field. Opens on Tags page.

General Encyclopaedias

• AllRefer.com
  Channels for Reference and Health. ‘Provides a comprehensive collection of reference, encyclopaedia, health, gazetteer, country studies and educational databases. Includes more than 150 000 articles on topics covered under health, history, science, people, places, arts, sports, plants, animals, technology, philosophy, religion, literature and more’.
• Encyberpedia
  An enormous collection of information from all areas of research. Extremely easy to use. Also access plainer version here.
• Encyclopedia.com
  ‘Encyclopedia.com features more than 100 trusted sources, pronunciation keys, word origins, abbreviations, including encyclopaedias, dictionaries and thesauruses with facts, definitions, biographies, synonyms, and more’.
• Encyclopaedias on the Web
  Links to a range of encyclopaedias covering many subject areas.
• Free Internet Encyclopaedia, The
  Visit to appreciate what has gone into this compilation with information, subject oriented guides, FAQs and more.
• Freeality
  Not an encyclopaedia in itself but a database linked to other online encyclopaedias to provide information.
• Free Online Encyclopaedia Resources
  Reasonable listing with several well annotated.
• General and Special Online Encyclopaedias
  Extensive lists of links covering both these areas.
• Information Please
  Online encyclopaedia, dictionary, almanac and more.
• Qwiki
  The Information Experience. Still in its alpha phase. ‘Qwiki is working to deliver information in a format that’s quintessentially human - via storytelling instead of search’. The alpha version suggests it will develop intyo an exceptionally worthwhile resource for the future.
• Refdesk : Encyclopaedias
  Like the remainder of the site, the listing is both extensive and useful.

Specific Encyclopaedias

• Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia
  17 000+ articles included.
• Compton’s Encyclopaedia
  Free Trial available.
• Grolier’s Encyclopaedia Online
  Not the best known, but a reasonable encyclopaedia.
  Now need to be able to log in to access this site.
• H2G2
  Started by Douglas Addams of Hitchhiker fame. A continually expanding collection of information about ‘life, the universe and everything’, created by contributors. Some interesting, some strange, some very informative - also called the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
• Probert Encyclopaedia
  A huge storehouse of information, with the only apparent weakness, a more difficult than usual way of accessing it. Persevere though. It is worth it.

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Mathematics Encyclopaedias

• Encyclopaedia of Mathematics
  Everything from abacus to zero in the world of Mathematics.
• Wolfram Mathworld
  An encyclopaedic collection for Mathematics. Includes definitions and explanations and can be searched by topic or alphabetically.

Medical & Health Encyclopaedias

• Healthopedia
  ‘A medical and health consumer information resource containing comprehensive and unbiased information in patient-friendly language from trusted sources’.
• Medical Encyclopaedia
  A wide ranging coverage of all things medical.
• Medicine Net
  Diseases and cures that can be applied.
• Natural Remedies Encyclopaedia
  ‘The most comprehensive source of natural remedies, herbal treatments and prevention of disease’. Claimed to have ‘Home remedies for over 500 diseases and disorders’.
  Warning - still check with a doctor !
• The Herbal Encyclopaedia
  Individual details of herbs and their usage, including medicinal usage.

Myths & Legends

• Encyclopaedia Mythica
  Myths and beliefs from around the world. A significant collection of mythology, folklore and legend. A search engine helps you find what you are seeking.
• Lady Gryphon’s Mythical Realm
  Mostly Arthurian.
• Mythology
  ‘Through these pages, find out about the gods and goddesses of different cultures around the world, and the works of art people have created to give them expression’. Mythology from the Ancient World through Norse to Aztec.

Scientific Encyclopaedias

• AccessScience
  ‘The new generation of AccessScience gathers and synthesizes vast amounts of information, and organises it to give you fast, easy and accurate access to authoritative articles in all major areas of science and technology. It’s easier than ever to find what you’re looking for and put it to use quickly’.
• Encyclopaedia of Life
  ‘Welcome to the first release of the Encyclopedia of Life portal. This is the very beginning of our exciting journey to document all species of life on Earth. Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about all life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world’.
• Encyclopaedia of Life Sciences
  Claimed to be ‘the most ambitious reference work ever to be published in the biological sciences’. Even if you do not subscribe you can access 3 000+ articles as well as the other features.
• Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science
  This is the first volume [ignore the Vol. 2 as listed on the title page]. You can access Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science Vol. 2 here. Readable online through Questia.
• Insectclopedia
  Database of information about all aspects of the insect world.
• Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes
  ‘This is an effort to computerize current knowledge of molecular and cellular biology in terms of the information pathways that consist of interacting molecules or genes and to provide links from the gene catalogues produced by genome sequencing projects’.
• Natureserve Explorer
  ‘An authoritative source for information on more than 70 000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada. Explorer includes particularly in-depth coverage for rare and endangered species’.

Plants

• Encyclopaedia
  Includes both ‘Botanical Name listing of Plants [and] Common Name listing of Plants’.
• Encyclopaedia of Plants and Botanical Dictionary
  ‘The encyclopaedia of plants’ with a huge range of information about all aspects of plants, botanical names, pests and diseases, … .
• Plant Encyclopaedia
  ‘The Plant Encyclopaedia is a vast database of nearly 40 000 plants. You can search by any number of options including scientific name, common name, and plant category’.

• Satellite Encyclopaedia Online
  [4 000 pages of technical knowledge]
  ‘This is the online edition of The Satellite Encyclopedia, devoted to unmanned artificial Earth satellites. The encyclopedia is subscription based,’.
• Science Encyclopaedia
  ‘From basic concepts to complex scientific theories, the JRank Science & Philosophy website has the answers. We sought out the best information to answer common questions about science and how things work, and compiled it together to create a thorough and comprehensive reference resource for science’.
• ScienceZine
  ‘ScienceZine is an encyclopedia of articles on the major branches of science, nature & technology, aimed at teenagers, parents, teachers, home educators, hobbyists, and anyone with an interest in science’.
• Weather Encyclopaedia
  All you ever wanted to know about the weather.
• WeatherPaedia™ - The Weather Encyclopaedia
  Our aim is ‘to create the most complete and definitive source of information about the past and present of Weather. Our Goal : To be your source for Weather related information’.

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Social Sciences Encyclopaedias

• Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
  Nearly 2 000 links and multiple search options.
• Encyclopaedia of Psychologyy
  Compiled by Stanford University with mirror sites including University of Sydney. Provides extensive information, including archives.
• Encyclopaedia of the Orient
  Countries from Algeria to Yemen, both for the present and the past.

History Encyclopaedias

• HyperHistory
  ‘HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting 3 000 years of world history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic lifelines, timelines, and maps’.
• IISD Research Library : Sustainable Development
  ‘IISD Research Library. Connecting people to knowledge and ideas about sustainable development’. Not exactly an encyclopaedia, but the next best thing.
• LookLex Encyclopaedia
  ‘Encyclopaedia of The Orient’. Covers multiple countries and looks at a wide range of data from each.
• The Encyclopaedia of World History
  Now from Google Books. This looks at periods of world history using a book chapter format. A second encyclopaedia on the same topic is the Oxford Encyclopedia of World History

• Peakware World Mountain Encyclopaedia
  ‘Here you can explore the mountain ranges of the world, and network with other rock climbers, mountaineers, hikers and backpackers’.

Specific Topics

• Artcyclopaedia
  5 000+ artists with an emphasis on the classical painters.
• Cambridge History of English and American Literature
  ‘An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes’. Another Bartleby presentation.
• Calendopaedia
  An initial section on calendar comparisons, an extensive menu of calendars from around the world, finally, a menu of topics. Described on the site as The source of data on calendars.
• Credo Reference
  Free reference site which actually goes beyond an encyclopaedia, allowing you to search in a number of topic areas from Art to Thesauri including encyclopaedias. A fabulous resource.
  Previously Xrefer.
• Fotopedia
  ‘Building a photo encyclopedia that lets photographers and photo enthusiasts collaborate and enrich images to be useful for the whole world wide web’.
• Holocaust Encyclopaedia
  Some information requires RealPlayer.
• Home Improvement Encyclopaedia
  Organised by Better Homes and Garden’s group.
• How Stuff Works
  An encyclopaedia of the everyday world. Find how things work.
• Infed
  ‘Exploring the theory and practice of informal education, lifelong learning and social action’.
• Library Spot
  Links to a gigantic world of online reference works on all areas of learning.
• Symbols.com
  ‘An online encyclopaedia of Western signs and ideograms’. Graphic and word indexes.
• The Catholic Encyclopaedia
  ‘The Catholic Encyclopedia, as its name implies, proposes to give its readers full and authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine’.
• The Literary Encyclopedia
  ‘Over 650 distinguished contributors, more than 1 500 completed entries and indexed entries on 5 150 writers, 13,000 works and 1275 topics’. More links to other literary information.

World Information : Encyclopaedias

• Atlapedia Online
  An encyclopaedia of world information on world countries from A - Z, world maps in both physical and political formats and teaching resources for use in the classroom.
• Canadian Encyclopaedia Online, The
  Articles, retrospectives, interactive maps, games and more. Searchable by keyword.
• CIA World Fact Book
  If anyone knows, they should. Huge numbers of facts on everywhere and everything.

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