Preparing Encyclopedias for CD-ROM

Abstract

Searching and browsing in paper-based reference works and encyclopedias is especially difficult when you need to browse through multiple volumes. Creating a hypertext system with a complete set of reference works or a complete encyclopedia on it can make it a lot easier for someone to find the information he or she is searching for. To make it easier and better for the user, such a hypertext system should contain the following search mechanisms: Search on (partial) keywords. Sometimes it may make sense to distinguish different types of keywords: generic, names, dates, etc. Search on (partial) topic titles. The system should be able to produce an alphabetical list of topic titles to browse through and select from. Search of topic titles within subject fields. The system should be able to produce an alphabetical list of all topic titles of a selected set of subject fields. Subject fields could be as wide as physics or as specialized as chaos theory, which may be a subset of the first. Browse subject fields. A hierarchical list of the available subject fields. Hypertext links from references to the related parts of the reference work or encyclopedia. Free text search. Because this can be very slow, due to the possibly large volume of text in which to search, it might be a good idea to have the user select a subject field first. History list. To give the user an overview of all topic already seen, and to retrace his steps.