In addition to the content from the complete encyclopaedia, the academic edition of Britannica Online includes Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, and the Britannica Book of the Year. It also includes a searchable internet directory of more than 60,000 selected and rated links.
As a multidisciplinary resource, Britannica Online is relevant to most subject areas, and is suitable for general post-16 education.
Content description
Britannica Online Academic Edition contains the complete content of the encyclopaedia, plus the content form Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, and the Britannica Book of the Year.
The online resource includes:
- over 108,000 articles
- over 35,000 graphics, animations, illustrations and 4,000 audio and video clips
- over 750 journals and magazine titles supplied by EBSCO and ProQuest
- free initial and bi-monthly online training sessions
- 20 comprehensive spotlights which cover general interest topics including World War II, Shakespeare, and the Olympics with many containing study guides
- over 60,000 web links selected by the editorial team to promote further research
- a workspace feature which allows lecturers and students to save and retrieve content using a personalised username and password
- double click dictionary and thesaurus with over 550,000 entries including audio pronunciation guides
- over 4,000 quotes that can be searched by keyword or browsed by subject and author
- 220 full-text works by 140 of the western world’s most influential and best known authors
- over 24,000 biographies on the most influential figures throughout history
- an upgraded atlas which combines Google functionality with Britannica scholarship
Subject areas
This is a multidisciplinary resource, with particular relevance to english, science, mathematics, history, technology, philosophy, religion and geography.
Academic level
General post-16 education.
Timeline
1768 to the present.
Reviews
Britannica Online is for me one of the finest resources available to our students … With its appealing interface and easy to use navigation, it’s everything I like about a good website. Because it is Britannica Encyclopedias I am confident that the articles and sources it uses are authoritative and up to date and why I recommend it above other rival electronic encyclopedic tools.
- LRC Team Leader, Riverside College Halton
Britannica Online Academic Edition is a superb resource as one of the first points of reference for many of our students.
- Librarian, Uxbridge College
Britannica Online Academic Edition is a good all round and informative resource. It has a user-friendly layout and it allows easy navigation. It is an ideal complement to any Library and Education establishment.
- Librarian, Lincoln College
Selection policy
Content is selected by an editorial board of advisors. The board includes Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners, scholars, writers, artists, public servants, and activists.
Comparable resources
Credo Reference
Other institutions subscribing
149 further education colleges subscribed to the 2006-2008 agreement.
Cost
| |
Cost for further education |
Cost for higher education |
| JISC band |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
| A |
|
|
|
£3,100 |
£3,224 |
£3,353 |
| B |
|
|
|
£2,500 |
£2,600 |
£2,704 |
| C |
£923 |
£969 |
£988 |
£2,000 |
£2,080 |
£2,163 |
| D |
£788 |
£827 |
£852 |
£1,600 |
£1,664 |
£1,730 |
| E |
£641 |
£673 |
£693 |
£1,300 |
£1,352 |
£1,406 |
| F |
£417 |
£438 |
£451 |
£1,000 |
£1,040 |
£1,081 |
| G |
£320 |
£336 |
£346 |
£750 |
£780 |
£811 |
| H |
£251 |
£264 |
£272 |
£500 |
£520 |
£540 |
| I |
£171 |
£180 |
£185 |
£400 |
£416 |
£432 |
| J |
£107 |
£112 |
£116 |
£300 |
£312 |
£324 |
Notes
- - prices do not include VAT
- - JISC Collections charges a £30 administration fee on invoices over £600
- - year one runs from 01.08.08 to 31.07.09
- - year two runs from 01.08.09 to 31.07.10
- - year three runs from 01.08.10 to 31.07.11
Subscription and licensing terms
Our subscription page has instructions for subscribing to Britannica Online Academic Edition.
This agreement is for three years, from 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2011. Institutions can subscribe at any time, but will be committed until the end of the agreement.
Functionality and standards compliance
Full text linking
For more details, please email enqBOL@britannica.co.uk
Federated searching
Britannica Online support Amazon A9 OpenSearch technology and z39.50.
MARC records
MARC records are not available for this resource.
Search options
Users can browse by subject, alphabetical listing, and by the index. Searches are by keyword, and can be limited to text, video, or media.
Post-search options
Users can save articles to a specialised area for use later in their session.
Usage statistics
Statistics showing total searches, total articles downloaded, total of ancillary material downloaded, and total hits are available.
Authentication
Authentication via the UK Access Management Federation will be available from August. Currently, authentication is by IP address, Athens, username and password, and referral URL.
Personalisation of the resource
Subscribers can have their logo used to brand the resource, and users can save articles to a specialised area for use later in their session.
Accessibility
This resource complies with priority two of W3Cs Web Accessibility Initiative.
Library support information