Editorial

Citation

Chalcraft, T. (2008), "Editorial", Reference Reviews, Vol. 22 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/rr.2008.09922aaa.001

Editorial

Over the last few years this column has devoted a fair few inches to Wikipedia, particularly its place in the reference universe. In professional information circles there has been much controversy over whether Wikipedia is a liberating and equalising tool open to all to use and post, or whether it is uncontrollable and unverifiable behemoth open to perversion by those with a point to prove or an axe to grind. To a large extent it no longer matters what the traditional information world thinks of Wikipedia. Recently reaching two million articles (2,041,095 articles to be precise at 9 October 2007 – for updates see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Statistics), its sheer size makes it pivotal in the new reference order, and no amount of carping about quality or authority from reference “traditionalists” will deter the seven percent of internet users who click on it everyday.

What concerns Wikipedia’s critics, of course, is its openness to editing by any Tom, Dick or Harriet. A few weeks before this column was put together press reports suggested plans were being hatched that would see amended and new articles submitted to “trusted editors” before posting. Delving beneath the headlines, these claims seem a little wide of the mark, but it is clear that changes are afoot. At the time of writing the basics of the revised policies under consideration can be viewed at Wikimedia Quality (http://quality.wikimedia.org/wiki/Portal), but essentially revolve around the concept of trusted contributors or editors reviewing and “tagging” articles to indicate their accuracy and reliability. By the time this column is being read these proposals may have been fully tested and developed. Anything that enhances the credibility of Wikipedia is surely to be welcomed. If any concept has the capacity to democratise information creation and dissemination it is the wiki. Refining the process and ironing out the imperfections without compromising the fundamental principles of open posting will take Wikipedia to the next level and cement it as the over-arching encyclopedic reference source for all, including those still sceptical information professionals.

Despite its revolutionary impact, Wikipedia is rooted in the concept of the universal encyclopedia begun by Encyclopédie and carried to perfection by the national/language based giants of Britannica, Americana, Brockhaus, Larousse, Enciclopedia universal and cousins (for an interesting comparison of the scale of Wikipedia and major printed encyclopedias see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Size_comparisons).

Less general, but still “universal”, in that it embraces all topics relating to the Jewish people as well as Judaism, is Encyclopaedia Judaica. First published in 1972 and with a CD-ROM version in 1997, this is now revised and updated in another Thomson Gale shelf-buster of 22 volumes. Reviewed in this issue at length by Stuart Hannabuss (RR 2008/44) in its e-book version, this second edition Encyclopaedia Judaica is one of the landmark reference publishing events of 2007. For Judaism and Jewish history and culture it far exceeds any information Wikipedia can muster (for a useful article on Encyclopaedia Judaica, aptly demonstrating Wikipedia’s currency with coverage and some discussion of the second edition, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopaedia_Judaica).

Another title from the Thomson Gale family is Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism (RR 2008/45). Apparently a completely new work, its three volumes provide over 400 well-balanced articles and, despite some flaws, provides a welcome new reference contribution on a controversial and hitherto not particularly well covered topic. Greenwood is arguably the most prolific of other reference focussed publishers persevering with the multi-volume encyclopedia and here we cover several of the company’s latest offerings, most notably the ambitious (too ambitious?) six volume The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Popular Culture (RR 2008/40) and three, more modest, two volume sets: Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America (RR 2008/05), Icons of Business: An Encyclopedia of Mavericks, Movers and Shakers (a further contribution to the Greenwoods Icons reference series) (RR 2008/21) and Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers (RR 2008/26). There are other encyclopedias of note covered in these columns, including the revised one volume (but five kilo single volume) Encyclopedia of Mammals from Oxford University Press (RR 2008/34) and the two volume Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion from CQ Press (RR 2008/03).

Electronic information sources featured in this issue besides the electronic version of Encyclopaedia Judaica include Lund University’s new Journal Info (RR 2008/02), another addition to the range of sites with information on serial publications; Luminarium: An Anthology of English Literature (RR 2008/29), covering from the medieval to Restoration periods; All Recipes (RR 2008/32), probably one of the largest and best known cookery sites on the web; Internet Mental Health (RR 2008/36), an established and popular site in its field; and MRQE: Movie Review Query Engine (RR 2008/41), one of the most impressive freely searchable film related sources available covering 67,626 films and citing 627,624 articles at the time of review. Finally, while mentioning web-based reference, in this issue we welcome a new feature from Bethany Latham, a longstanding Reference Reviews contributor. In the regular column, “Eye on the net: new and notable”, Bethany will highlight, generally through subject or topical surveys, new and significant sites some of which will be reviewed in subsequent issues.

Tony ChalcraftEditor, Reference Reviews, and University Librarian, York St John University, York, UK