World Book 2001: An Easy-to-Browse Reference

World Book's 2001 Deluxe Edition is a dependable choice for older students.

Glenn McDonald, special to PCWorld.com

Reference titles have matured to the point that most encyclopedias offer similar content in terms of the number of articles, audio clips, videos, and the like. And World Book's latest edition, the $66 World Book 2001 Deluxe Encyclopedia, is no exception: It compares favorably with other CD-ROM encyclopedias. However, while World Book is a respectable piece of reference software for new users, this edition offers few innovations that would justify an upgrade.

World Book 2001 Deluxe has more than 20,000 articles (including supplementary online entries), 175 videos and animations, and 9000 images. Design-wise, World Book's layout is spartan and practical; the encyclopedia is easy to navigate, though it lacks Encarta's jazzy interface. A toolbar at the top of the screen gives one-click access to the atlas, time lines, and online options. For those still cultivating their vocabulary, double-clicking any word in an article conveniently launches its definition from the built-in dictionary.

Strong Suits

World Book does stand out from its competitors in a couple of ways: One strength is its Homework Wizard, which leads students step-by-step through the stages of writing a report--choosing a topic, making a schedule and an outline, and revising drafts. This feature also lets you create and print note cards and export information into a text file, from which you can then write your report based upon your research.

(A quick complaint: The Wizard dumps created files into a subfolder in Program Files. It would be nice to be able to choose the destination instead.)

The Homework Wizard is a versatile function, since you can also use it to create and insert bar graphs, time lines, and pie charts. If your child frequently forgets to dot i's and cross t's before turning in reports, the Wizard's revision checklist could help: This feature reminds students to read for spelling, grammar, and organization. World Book's homework helpers are similar to the competition's, although Grolier still boasts the best overall research package for younger students.

Another strength is World Book's convenient, efficient tools for casually browsing its vast content. After you use the Timeframe tool to choose a year (or decade, or century) and category (history, geography), World Book sifts through its content and generates a screen with relevant articles, pictures, and other media. For example, choosing "Humanities in the 1820s" results in a list of articles including the rise of Russian opera (with audio clips) and the writing of Edgar Allan Poe. The nifty Just Looking feature lets you choose a subject (life science, say) and a medium (audio clips), and then returns a random assortment of hits. It's a fun way to mine World Book's content if you just want to browse.

For the Young, or Young at Heart

World Book is adequate as a general reference work for adults. Articles are detailed and well organized, and individual topics are written at age-appropriate levels. For example, an article on koala bears is likely to attract curious kids, and so it is written in a relatively simple style, while information on, for example, the Arab-Israeli conflict is given more sophisticated treatment.

When it comes to online functionality, though, World Book proves a mixed bag. The Web search feature is all but useless for serious research. As with the competition, World Book's related Web links are handpicked, but they're not as carefully chosen as they could be. For example, I typed in a query on Scotland, and the first three returns were the poetry of Scotland's James I, birds of Great Britain, and a squid aquarium in Aberdeen. Competitors Encarta, Grolier, and particularly Britannica.com (more on that site later) do a much better job.

More successful is World Book's implementation of its online article update feature. Under the entry for Japan, for example, you can click on related online info and quickly download individual supplementary articles, including detailed background on the recent Asian economic crisis. The articles download transparently and display within the program interface, just as if they were part of the CD-ROM.

New this year for home users is a free one-year subscription to World Book Online, which provides access to a newly enlarged periodical library.

World Book is a good choice for high school students and those looking to browse through an encyclopedia, but Grolier's kid-friendly approach may be more appropriate for elementary- to middle-school-age students. Adults--both casual and business users--will find that the best buy in this category is still Microsoft Encarta. (The equivalent Encarta and Grolier Deluxe packages, for example, each sell for $50.) And to get comprehensive content minus the homework helpers and shiny multimedia elements, you can simply surf over to Britannica.com, which is now available free of charge.