Citation
Blakesley Lindsay, E. (2002), "The Encyclopedia of Arda: An Interactive Guide to the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 284-285. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.4.284.11
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Given the current Lord of the Rings craze, this site will prove popular and useful for many libraries. It is packed with information, definitions and maps related to Tolkien’s writings. The site creator calls the site “a personal project … a tribute to and a celebration of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien”. The beautifully‐designed site looks very professional, and it includes thousands of entries. The site is still in progress, but the amount of information available now is overwhelming.
The site uses a left‐frame navigational approach, with three major areas of content: resources, alphabetical indexes, other indexes. User guides, FAQs and general information topics are also provided. A recent addition to the site, the “Movie‐goer’s guide”, provides detailed information on major discrepancies between the book and the film and also offers a list of errors the film made.
The resources include a chronicle of Arda, which provides a timeline of events for user‐specified dates; a glossary of “old and rare words”; a list of more than 200 links for other Tolkien‐related Web sites; and an interactive calendar which allows users to convert a modern date to the dates of the Shire Calendar (regular and adjusted), the Calendar of Bree, the Calendar of NÇmenor, the Stewards’ Reckoning, and the Reckoning of Rivendell.
The alphabetical indexes allow users to search directly for names and terms from Adanedhel to Zirak. Links for each letter of the alphabet lead to listings of all available topics. The other indexes section includes links for races, places and miscellaneous topics, such as animals, languages and songs. Whichever index is used, each entry includes a chart of data regarding its meaning, race, time and/or location as appropriate, as well as a guide for pronunciation. In some cases, brief essays regarding the character or the event are included. All pertinent names, places and dates are hyperlinked within entries for ease of searching.
This review was first published in Reference Reviews Volume 16 Number 4 2002.