First published in 1968 and most recently updated in a 17‐volume set (RR 2003/200), Bernard Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia is a popular resource familiar to many. By transferring it to the online environment Gale Cengage has been able to not only update and expand the content, but also offer the information to the reader in a variety of interactive and engaging ways.
The homepage of the web site is appealing and is not overly complicated or busy. By including news items and by spotlighting particular species or facts, Gale Cengage has ensured that the homepage remains topical and engaging. Web pages can be printed, converted to PDF, bookmarked or shared via a variety of social networking facilities. Tools such as interactive maps, videos, audio (in English) as well as the ability of the reader to change the text into one of eleven languages all add to the appeal and flexibility of the online version.
However, there are a number of aspects where I feel the online version falls short of the printed. When I first arrived on the homepage I had a general feeling of “Where do I start?” Unlike a printed encyclopaedia there was no introduction or guidance as to how to use the work. Near the top of the page is the title and simple and advanced search facilities. Some advice here would be useful for the novice user on how to use these search options effectively. The Advanced Search allows Boolean searching in a variety of fields, including the common and scientific names of animals and by author, document number, title, text search, keyword and subject. Searches can be limited by Conservation Status, for example extinct, vulnerable, least concern, or by content type such as Grzimek's, illustrations, video, newspapers or by Habitat such as coniferous forest, ocean, river and stream, etc. If it were not for the advanced search options I would not have been aware that some of the content returned by searches of the Grzimek's web site is not provided by Grzimek's advisors. Whether this external content has been reviewed by the advisors I am still unsure.
As far as I could tell there is no central glossary. Some key words in the text are underlined and by moving the cursor over them an explanation box appears. The novice user may miss this functionality and unfortunately the explanation of terms is not covered by the search facility available. Hence searching for these terms did return items in which the terms occur but none actually provided the definitions or explanations of the terms. Below the search options on the homepage is a horizontal menu starting with “So, how do I pronounce ‘Grzimek's’”? This 58‐second video, narrated by a rather serious presenter, is the closest thing I could find to an introduction. I had hoped the other links in this menu would provide more background information but instead, and rather confusingly, lead out of Grzimek's to other Gale Cengage sites.
Below this first horizontal menu, five species or key facts are spotlighted and along the left of the page is a menu with the seven main sections of the encyclopaedia: Mammals, Reptiles and Birds, Amphibians, Fishes, Invertebrates, Biomes, Evolution. Within each of these sections is an introduction, table of contents and an Animal Finder which seems equivalent to the species index of the printed version. The content is well chosen and informative and is well supported by interactive tools such as maps. A resources section includes references and further reading. Continuing down the homepage are a number of news items. At the bottom of the page in another horizontal menu are links to Meet the Grzimek's Advisors including their role and affiliation and to a web page About Grzimek's, as well as more general links to Gale Cengage. This may be confusing to the user and it would be much better to group the Grzimek links together at the top of the page and have all Gale Cengage links at the bottom to avoid confusion.
The About Grzimek's page gives more background to this online version and confirms that the information is updated and expanded from the recent print edition. Indeed, was it not for this page and the short video a reader could be unaware that this work is based on any previous publication.
Grzimek's Animal Life is a useful and informative resource and will encourage exploration and incite interest and engagement in the user. A free trial is available on request. My advice to those considering purchasing this resource for their library is to try out the free trial on offer and develop advice or a short tutorial to assist their users.
