Draft:Outline of encyclopedias

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to encyclopedias:

Encyclopedias have existed for around 2,000 years and have evolved considerably during that time as regards language (written in a major international or a vernacular language), size (few or many volumes), intent (presentation of a global or a limited range of knowledge), cultural perspective (authoritative, ideological, didactic, utilitarian), authorship (qualifications, style), readership (education level, background, interests, capabilities), and the technologies available for their production and distribution (hand-written manuscripts, small or large print runs, Internet). As a valued source of reliable information compiled by experts, printed versions found a prominent place in libraries, schools, and other educational institutions.

What type of thing is an encyclopedia?

An encyclopedia can be described as all of the following:

Compendium – concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. A general encyclopedia can be referred to as a compendium of all human knowledge.
Educational resource – a work intended to teach or instruct.
Knowledge organization system –
Publication – a work issued for public distribution.
Reference work – document, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information.

Types of encyclopedias

Types of encyclopedias, by scope

General encyclopedia – encyclopedia that is universal in scope, covering the whole of knowledge. Examples include Wikipedia, the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the World Book Encyclopedia.
Specialized encyclopedia – an encyclopedia restricted to a specific area of knowledge, field, or academic discipline. An example is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Types of encyclopedias, by media employed

Encyclopedias are distributed in the form of:

Print encyclopedia – encyclopedia in book form, usually in multiple volumes. An example is the World Book Encyclopedia.
Digital encyclopedia –
- Online encyclopedia –
  - List of online encyclopediass
- Knowledge bases –

Specific encyclopedias

History of encyclopedias

List of encyclopedias by date (through 1900)
History of specific encyclopedias

Former encyclopedias

List of encyclopedias by date (through 1900)

Former online encyclopedias

Crnogorska Enciklopedija
Encarta
- Encarta at the Wayback Machine (archived October 31, 2009)
GNE
Interpedia
Enciklopedio Kalblanda
Nupedia – free content predecessor of Wikipedia, online from 2000 to 2003. Following a peer-review model, it only produced 25 approved articles. That has since been assimilated into Wikipedia.
Probert Encyclopaedia
Susning.nu
Veropedia

Former printed encyclopedias

History of relevant technologies

The role of encyclopedias in AI

Persons influential in encyclopedias

Encyclopedist – person who writes, edits, or compiles an encyclopedia. Some influential encyclopedists include:

Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC – 27 BC) –
Pliny the Elder (23 AD – August 25, 79 AD) –
Martianus Capella (4th and 5th centuries AD) – Latin prose writer of Late Antiquity, from Apuleius—in the Roman province of Africa. He authored the encyclopedic work De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. The work was read, taught, and commented upon throughout the early Middle Ages and shaped European education during the early medieval period and the Carolingian renaissance.
Mortimer J. Adler (December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) – director of editorial planning for the 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and designer of the Outline of Knowledge presented in its Propædia volume.
Larry Sanger (July 16, 1968 – ) – co-founder of Wikipedia, and the founder of Citizendium.
Jimmy Wales (August 7, 1966 – )– co-founder of and spokesman for Wikipedia.