The Encyclopedia Britannica is the well-known authoritative encyclopedia for general reference queries. It was originally established in 1768 and is now published in both print and electronic versions.
A print version of the EB (14th ed., 1929) is available at RR57-RR58. For more up-to-date searching, the Library offers access to the Britannica 97 CD-ROM.
Getting started
EB 97 is a CD-ROM for use on Reading Room Computer 3 only.
You will need to ask the librarian in the Reading Room for the CD-ROM. Place the CD-ROM in the CD tray in computer 3 and close the tray door. Use only the upper drive. Now click on the ‘Britannica 97 CD-ROM’ icon on the computer desktop. This should open the EB 97 introductory screen.
The introductory screen displays a search box for basic searching, together with a set of links to various key features of the resource, e.g. search tips, ‘Propaedia’ topical outlines and the ‘Nations of the World’ index of entries arranged by country.
Advanced features
As well as basic searches, you can also use EB 97 to undertake natural language searches (using plain English rather than technical terminology) and Boolean searches (combining or excluding terms). You can also gradually refine your search results to find the precise information you are looking for. Full instructions are provided in the ‘How to search’ section, accessible via a link on the EB 97 introductory screen.
Getting help
EB 97 includes a detailed ‘Help’ section accessible via a link on the introductory screen. You can also ask a librarian in the Reading Room for further assistance.