HOW TO USE BRITANNICA ONLINE

Why Use Britannica Online?

Encyclopedia Britannica has long been recognized as an excellent starting point for information on just about any subject.  With over 73,000 articles written and edited by trusted experts in their fields, you can relax, knowing that the information found in Britannica is accurate.  And now you can access this treasure trove of information online, where each article is regularly updated and reviewed, giving you the most up-to-date information on your topic.

Accessing Britannica Online

In order to access Britannica Online from off-campus, you will need an NCLIVE username and password.  You can obtain these by visiting the library in person, calling us at (252) 638-7272, or e-mailing the library at libraryc@cravencc.edu.  You must be currently enrolled at CCC and have a valid library card with OUR library.  If you call or e-mail, please be prepared to give us your library card number.

Finding Information in Britannica Online

There are a number of ways to find information in Britannica.  You can use the Subject Browse link, where you'll find articles sub-divided by category.  The A-Z Browse link lists all 73, 000 subjects covered by Britannica in alphabetical order.

If you want to find information on a topic quickly, use the Search box at the top of each page.

This will lead you to an article on your topic.  You may also get a list of several other entries that are related to or mention your topic in some way.

Anatomy of a Britannica Page

When you view an article in Britannica, it will look similar to the one pictured above.  Let's break it down, shall we?

The text of the article appears in the center of the page.  If it's a particularly long article, then only the introduction will appear in the middle of the page.  Longer articles are divided into sections.  These sections appear on the left side of the page, under Table of Contents.  If you are only interested in a certain section of the article, you can go directly to it by clicking that section's name.

On the right side of the page, you'll notice the Expand Your Research page.  This will link you to additional websites and magazine articles on the topic you're researching.  It will also suggest books on the subject as well.  This is great for those assignments where you must have a certain number of resources for your paper.

Back on the left-hand side, you'll notice links to Pictures and Media.  You can click the Pictures link to see all of the pictures Britannica has relatd to the topic.  Pictures will also be placed throughout the article's text, and you can click them as they come up.

Media refers to audio and video clips.  These are usually short clips that will enhance your understanding of the subject.  We'll talk more about audio and video later.

Saving Information

There are multiple ways to save and store information that you find on Britannica.

WORKSPACE

You can save multiple entries from within the website itself, by using the workspace feature.  Simply click on the workspace tab on your upper right hand side of the screen.

Create a username and password.

Select a name for your project. 

From now on, anytime you find an article you want to use, click the save to workspace option, and it will be saved for you.  This is great for quickly finding articles that you'll want to refer to again and again.

PRINT PAGE

This allows you to print the specific page that you're on.

PRINT ARTICLE

This lets you print the full article, even the pages that you're not on.

E-MAIL ARTICLE

This allows you to e-mail the article to yourself or to others.  This feature is particularly useful for group projects and distance education classes.

Video Clips in Britannica Online

In addition to print material, Britannica has informative video clips as well.  Not only do these clips enhance your knowledge of a situation, they can enhance your school projects and presentations.  A popular way of using these clips is to download them and embed them in Powerpoint presentations.

To see a listing of video clips, go to Britannica's home page.  On the left side, you'll see a link for Video Collection.  You can choose to look at Video Clips, which last under ten minutes, or Extended Play Videos, which run anywhere from ten minutes to an hour.

If you want to search the video collection for a specific topic, click the Advanced Search link at the top of the home page.

Type in your search term, and press the Multimedia button.  This will search both pictures and video.  Videos will be clearly marked.

Video is available in one of two formats: Windows Media and MPEG-4.  MPEG-4 requires that you have the Quicktime player on your computer in order to view.

You can download the video simply by right-clicking on the Download Video link in the upper left-hand corner.  You can also e-mail the clip or save it to your workspace, just as you would for a print article.

Citing Articles and Video Clips in Britannica Online

At the top of each page that contains an article or video clip is a Cite Article link that will show you how to cite it in MLA or APA format.

Other Special Features of Britannica Online

In addition to the 70, 000 informative articles that are the backbone of Britannica, there are special features as well.

BUILT-IN DICTIONARY/THESAURUS 

On the front page, type in the word you want to look up in the search box.  Then press the button next to Merriam-Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus, and click Go.

You'll be taken to the dictionary definition first.  Click the thesaurus button to see a list of other words that mean the same as the word you type.

WORLD ATLAS

Use this feature to find maps and articles on nations from around the globe.

TIMELINES

This allows you to see an overview of important developments in various topics like literature, medicine, etc.

COUNTRY COMPARISON

This feature allows you to compare any two countries in terms of their history, people, culture, development, government, population, etc.

YEAR IN REVIEW

Look back on all the milestones of each year, dating back to 1993.

NOTABLE QUOTATIONS

Find famous quotes by author or by subject.

GATEWAY TO THE CLASSICS

Contains dozens of great works from science, philosophy, government, and literature.

BRITANNICA DAILY

This section, located in the middle of the home page, contains constantly updated news from around the world, as well as a This Day in History feature, a Biography of the Day, and regularly updated blog entries about current events.

These are the basics of using Britannica Online.  If you have any questions that were not answered here, call 252-638-7272 or e-mail: libraryc@cravencc.edu.  We'll be glad to answer them.

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