Review: Encarta 2003 Reference Library

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Reviewed by
Larry Grosskopf

Software Review of:
Encarta 2003 Reference Library

Larry Grosskopf is a Clinical Psychologist at the San Antonio State Hospital, with an interest in computers. He is married to Marta, and they are raising a well-loved daughter and son. Zoé is 10 and Jackson is eight.

From the May, 2003 issue of PC Alamode Magazine

Encarta 2003 Reference Library is the latest in the Encarta line of encyclopedia programs published by Microsoft. This is very different from the early versions of encyclopedia programs. It is quite extensive but it really is more than just an encyclopedia program. It is a comprehensive encyclopedia, of that there is no doubt, but beyond that, there are features directed at truly making it a “student’s companion.” I am trying to express the functionality of the research tools that come built into the program. There is a vast array of multimedia content along with special homework tools that make this program a real workhorse for students. Please read on for more details about my experience using this program.

What is required to install this product? First of all, you need a multimedia PC with at least a 233-MHz Pentium CPU (300 MHz or above is recommended). The operating system needs to be Windows 98, 2000 Professional, XP or Me. You should have 64 MB of RAM for Windows 98 or Me systems and 128 MB of RAM for Windows 2000 Pro or XP machines. You also need 375 MB of hard drive space at a minimum up to a maximum of 2 GB hard drive space. Additional components include a 16-bit sound card, 1 MB of video memory, an SVGA monitor with a screen resolution of 800 x 600, a quad speed CD-ROM drive, Internet access for some components of the library and Internet Explorer 6.0. There are a few additional requirements mentioned but these are the major ingredients needed.

Reference Library There is so much data included in this reference tool that it takes 5 CD-ROM’s to hold all the information. This makes for a kind of slow install if you download the maximum install, taking up about 2 GB of hard drive space. If you run the minimum install, you only have to use about 375 MB of drive space. I highly recommend installing the program and the content CD’s to your hard drive if you have space because that keeps you from constantly swapping from CD 2 to CD 4 to CD 5, et cetera. Despite the enormity of the amount and kinds of data, the program is well organized, with the opening page separating the types of data. Listed to the right on the page are various “Centers” such as the Article Center, Timeline, Multimedia, Maps, Tours, Homework, Statistics and even a Games Center. Due to space limitations, describing what each of these do and how well they work is beyond the scope of this review. Suffice it to say that this is a very significant and extensive tool.

Some of the basic aspects include:

A basic multimedia encyclopedia; a dictionary and thesaurus
A Single Search “engine” makes finding data on a subject more orderly.
An Interactive World Atlas is designed to help readers gain a better understanding of the world and its people.
A copy-to-hard-drive feature allows you to copy Encarta content data to your hard drive.
The multimedia aspect of the Library includes video and audio clips, photos, maps and virtual tours to enhance the learning process.
Live Streaming Media allows the user to access live MSNBC news, weather information and radio broadcasts from around the world.
Encarta Online Deluxe provides Encarta with online content updates, assuring that recent content is provided to the Encarta Reference Library 2003 program. Recent information is woven into the existing data, replacing outdated content with more relevant and current information. These updates are integrated directly into the Encarta articles, which provide the reader with the most accurate and up to date information. This is a significant addition in my estimation.

There are also skills and abilities built into this program that far surpass what I imagined the “encyclopedia technology” would be able to perform. For example, some of the program's new features include:

The Translation ability, with which Italian, German, Spanish or French can be translated into English and vice versa.
Familiar Quotations from the news media, TV and literature.
Chart Maker is a handy tool that lets the user develop his own graphs or charts for schoolwork assignments.
The Homework Center

The Homework Center is the new feature that most impressed me. Its intent is to help students understand, coordinate and organize the process of completing homework assignments. Activities as varied as a creating a Science Fair project, authoring an essay or poem, or giving an oral report are just some of the topics included in the Homework Center. There are Project Starters that can walk the student (or the parent helping out) through the steps needed to complete a particular project or assignment. Homework Project Starters

In my view, one of the biggest pitfalls to education is that so many students (of all ages) do not know how to learn effectively. To coin a phrase, “learning how to learn” is a lifelong skill that no one can take from you. This Homework Center has the potential to help students in this regard, and as such, it could be worth more than money can buy.

If you are interested in an excellent encyclopedia program that is far more than just an encyclopedia, then you should contemplate purchasing the Encarta Reference Library 2003. This would also be a fantastic reference resource for a classroom or school library. This product is available at local retail stores for $69.95 and at the time of this writing, there was a $10 mail-in rebate offered. On the Internet, a search for Encarta Reference Library 2003 found the same rebate, but some sites were offering it for prices as low as $39.