The Canadian Encyclopedia

Citation

Horne, A. (2002), "The Canadian Encyclopedia", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 431-432. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.6.431.10

It might be said that the full possibilities of a print encyclopaedia are only realised once it has been transformed into an electronic resource. Words on a page are constrained necessarily by their static nature. However, the online user may jump from hyperlink to fascinating hyperlink and explore relationships among topics otherwise lacking obvious connection. Of the many rewards for moving an encyclopaedia to electronic format, the opportunity to lose oneself in extended associations is primary.

The respected The Canadian Encyclopedia (TCE) is one key reference resource that has gained a great deal in its transition from print to CD‐ROM and DVD. Online availability has proven a welcome and natural extension of its other electronic formats. Originally published in 1985 in print, TCE was donated in 2000 to Historica, a foundation “dedicated to helping Canadians learn about their history”. As TCE’s custodian, Historica has made the work freely available on the Internet and intends to continue updating and enhancing its content. TCE, the definitive Canadian encyclopedic reference source, was crafted by more than 4,000 contributing experts. English and French versions exist, as does a junior edition in English.

The site offers two search types, simple and advanced. The simple search is a single search box on the site’s main page; it recognises Boolean operators. A search for “expo and montreal” returns 20 results, several of which lead to TCE junior edition entries. Curiously, the search engine weighting outranks the adult editions: the junior “Expo 67” article appears as the eighth result, but the adult entry is listed first. A search for “louis riel” reversed the weighting: the junior and adult articles for “Riel, Louis” are ranked first and second respectively.

All articles are enhanced with internal hyperlinks to related materials. A subject index is also provided with each article. Different versions of each article can be accessed directly from any other version, and these include: printer‐friendly, English, French and junior. (Junior articles are currently only available in English.)

The advanced search provides a guided search as well as the option to search either for “articles” or “media”. A search for media concerning “halifax” returns a long results list consisting primarily of photographs. Though a very easy‐to‐use and quick search, the results list would have been more helpful if individual results included annotated descriptions such as map, graph, photograph, etc. Key features of the site are its interactive quizzes, student guides, interactive maps, and biographies of “100 Canadian Originals”. One can spend hours exploring Canadian culture and history or find an answer to a question quickly.

One troubling aspect of the site is its currency. Though a 2002 copyright notice appears on article pages, the entry page (where users may choose the English or French versions) includes a 2001 copyright date. Though an encyclopaedia cannot be expected to include every contemporary event, it would be helpful if a definitive date were included, particularly for the junior user. Which entries are current to 2000? Which to 2001?

The Canadian Encyclopedia is a wonderful, highly recommended multimedia tool for anyone interested in Canadian history and culture. It is to be hoped that this rich resource remains free to all.

This review was first published in Reference Reviews, Volume 16 Number 6, 2002.