Grolier Interactive has added a second disc to the 10th edition of its highly popular Multimedia Encyclopedia. The advertising for this product indicates that this allows for over 3,700 more images, 1,159 more articles, 15 hours of sound, and 100% more videos than the previous version. New features also include an “online knowledge explorer,” which supplements the extensive disc‐based encyclopedia by providing access to four powerful online resources: the Encyclopedia Americana, the New Book of Knowledge, the Grolier Internet Index, and the GME Article Update database. Other new features include six new graphic interface “themes,” improved “Help” and “Quick Tour” features, as well as higher‐quality graphics and sound throughout.
This product was fairly easy to load and use. A 31‐page user’s guide includes quick start instructions, as well as extensive product explanations and easy‐to‐follow tutorials that include “real‐life” examples of topic searching procedures. One can explore the world of today and yesterday in the Atlas, Yearbook, and Timeline features of the encyclopedia. A Guided Tour section includes 31 multimedia tours on selected topics, such as “The American Novel” and “Monsters.” A section called Interactivities combines articles, pictures, animations, movies, and sounds in order to explore a variety of subjects in depth. The seven topics in this section cover Animal Anatomy, Aviation, Famous Buildings, Habitats, Human Body, Solar System, and Space Exploration.
For a multimedia encyclopedia, I found the 1998 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia contained very little multimedia. The majority of multimedia data is images. Although there is a Multiplex Video section with six movies and a Multimedia Maps section, I had a hard time finding multimedia film clips and sound bytes.
One item I did find unique and essential was the inclusion of a 56‐page Activities Study Guide for the Home and Classroom manual. Grolier has included this series of activities for use in conjunction with its multimedia encyclopedia; and it is a wonderful set of introduction/learning tutorials for students ages 10‐16 to use as a supplement to the product. The activities in the book are divided into four groups: Science and Technology; Geography; History and Current Events; and Arts, Sports, and Hobbies. These tutorials exploit all of the resources available within the product and are an excellent way to become familiar with all of its features and menus.
Past versions of this product have been received favorably and have provided much of the expanded coverage and available features in this new version. As a reference and learning tool, I recommend it strongly as a home/school encyclopedia to be used in conjunction with other reference works. Although I would have liked to see more multimedia, the 1998 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 2 CD Deluxe Version is still one of the leading multimedia encyclopedias available to the public and a definite buy for the 10‐16 year‐old age group.
