Citation
Blum, J.M. (2002), "Early English Books Online", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 282-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.4.282.8
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Early English Books Online (EEBO) is a collection of electronic versions of books listed in Pollard Redgrave’s Short‐Title Catalogue (1475‐1640), Wing’s Short‐Title Catalogue (1641‐1700) and the Thomason Tracts (1640‐1661). Eventually the collection will consist of over 125,000 titles. EEBO contains works such as Shakespeare’s sonnets from 1609 and A Midsommer Nights Dreame from 1600, Aesop’s Fables printed in 1502, Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, as well as works by Chaucer, Bacon and Newton. Other items such as pamphlets, calendars and prayer books are also included for their research value.
According to promotional materials for the database, the range spans “from the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare”. Another page states “substantial coverage of printed material found in England between 1473‐1700”. For users just wanting to take a peek, there are 200 items available at no cost. This section is called Featured Content, and a link can be found at the top of the home page. Here readers can look at some of the most significant pieces in the collection.
Searching the collection is easy. The screens are uncomplicated, with examples of all the functions given up front. For example, Keyword in Any Field gives “philosophy” as an example; for Author Keyword, “Shakespeare” and “Locke, John” are given, and so on. An advanced search is also available for users wishing to search by more than one field at a time. All graphics are presented as PDF files using Adobe Acrobat. This format is widely used, and the program required to read them is available free as a download. Links to Adobe Acrobat can be found throughout EEBO. Students familiar with other Bell & Howell products such as ProQuest Direct will find the symbols used and result screens familiar and easy to navigate. All images are available in a multitude of sizes, which are given in percentages of scale so that users can see the image at its actual size.
Early English Books Online is so unique that it would be a wonderful addition to any research collection. Unfortunately, the price may prove prohibitive to all but larger institutions serving graduate‐level students in the humanities, especially literature and philosophy. It is definitely worth taking a look. This is a joint review with Internet Resources for Latin America.
This review was first published in Reference Reviews Volume 16 Number 4 2002.