Before any dander gets raised, let me proclaim, I love books in book form. And online information is searchable and useable in a way information in books is not.

For instance, the World Book Encyclopedia, which is a multi-volume publication found in the Children's Room of the Ukiah Library comes out yearly and is filled with short, to-the-point articles that are relatively new and accurate. I love the World Book. I often tell even high school students that it is a great place to start their research because they can learn the basics on the subject.

So why have this online? Well, not everyone can make it to the Ukiah Library, and we want our resources available to as many of our people as we can. With your Mendocino County Library card, you can access the World Book Encyclopedia from anywhere in the world where you have Internet access, and with nearly any device you may have with you. Your laptop, tablet, iPad, smart phone and whatever is coming out this week, all work. It is a totally new concept to take your library around the world with you, but you can do that or just stay home.

And obviously, electronic forms (i.e. e-books) are easier to keep up-to-date.

I was amazed at what I found on our World Book database. There are "research tools" to help you write your report dictionary, atlas, today in history and pathfinders and ways to create citations for your report, along with thousands of older, i.e.


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no longer copyrighted books in a variety of languages.

So you can practice your Dutch, Flemish, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese and Spanish by reading e-books. Time lines are also available.

And then, of course, the main dish, the World Book Encyclopedia which you can search by keyword, subject and searchable images, too. It is a great place to start your research. Check out Bookmobile, just a couple of paragraphs. It also asks you which format you would like to have your citation in and you can print the article, save it to a folder you create or email it home if you are on the road.

So if you need to feel a book in your hands, please come to the Ukiah Library, but if you need information, the World Book Encyclopedia is available to you wherever you are with Internet access.

Eliza Wingate is the Branch Librarian at the Ukiah Library, Mendocino County Library, located at 105 N. Main St. in Ukiah. She can be reached at (707) 463-4580.
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/blogs/ci_25940635/library-file-check-out-world-book-encyclopedia-online
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