ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Internet Reviews

Sara Amato is electronic services and Web development librarian at Bowdoin College, e-mail:samato@bowdoin.edu

The Encyclopedia Mythica: An Encyclopedia on Mythology, Folklore, and Legend. Access:http:// www.pantheon.org/mythica/. Encyclopedia Mythica contains more than 5,900 definitions of gods and goddesses, supernatural beings, and legendary creatures from cultures all over the world. These definitions, with links to 300 illustrations and maps, provide information well suited for the needs of high school or undergraduate students interested in the areas of mythology and folklore. Users of Encyclopedia Mythica may view an impressive list of 81 awards won since the encyclopedia’s beginning in 1995, including the Britannica Internet Guide Award (February 15, 2000) and the Silver Platter Award (July 27, 1999).

Encyclopedia Mythica is well constructed and very easy to search. Users may browse through an alphabetical list of entries or select topics from four major areas: mythology; folktales; image gallery; and genealogy tables. Search features include a full-text search engine, which allows the use of Boolean operators and wild cards. Results may be sorted either by relevancy or alphabetically by title. An advanced search feature allows users to search other sites, such as Britannica Online and Perseus and Argos.

Determining authority can be tricky with Encyclopedia Mythica, as information is taken from a variety of sources and most entries are not signed. A list of resources used in creating some of the articles is available and include standard sources in the field, such as Joseph Cambell’s series on the “Power of Myth” and Edith Hamelton’s “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes.” Other entries are written by the encyclopedia’s editorial staff and founder, Micha F. Lindemans. Anyone interested in contributing to the encyclopedia is encouraged to do so.

Of special note is the “Miscellanea” section of the Encyclopedia Mythica. Here, users will find a variety of interesting tools, including a pronunciation guide, a list of links to other mythology and folklore related sites on the Web, and a list of Greek deities with their Roman counterparts. Help in searching is readily accessible on each of the search screens and also available within the “information” section of the encyclopedia.

Currently, the areas most comprehensively covered by the encyclopedia are Ancient Greece and Rome. However, progress is being made in providing information on a variety of cultures from all areas of the world, making Encyclopedia Mythica a valuable and exciting source for anyone interested in mythology and folklore.—Faye Christenberry, University of Kansas, Fchristenberry@ukans.edu

Academy of American Poets. Access:http://www.poets.org/index.html.

The Academy of American Poets has a Web site that has a variety of features that could interest an academic library, depending on what other literary resources are made available to your patrons. This is a good, general starting point for someone who is just starting to explore poetry, but it is not a resource with in-depth or detailed research information. This is not a commercial product, nor is it produced by an educational institution. The purpose of this site is to promote poetry, primarily for poets, educators, and publishers.

Special features of this site include a section with audio clips located in the “Listening Booth.” Here one can listen to individual poets read their poetry. There is also a section with “Current Exhibits," which are basically thematic essays with links to related Web pages on individual poets. There are currently about ten exhibits with two more on the way.

If one is seeking a source for detailed biographical information on poets, this may be the site for you, depending on how many “clicks” you want to execute to locate information.

The Academy has a section entitled “Find a Poet,” which is an alphabetical list of more than 320 poets. This section is definitely a work in progress; not all poets have a Web page and new pages are added weekly. There is no information concerning criteria for selecting poets for inclusion, but in reviewing the list, they are not limiting their focus to American poets. The list is international in scope, and includes poets from a variety of time periods—William Shakespeare, Robert Browning, Robert Frost, Rita Dove, and Seamus Heaney, to name a few.

The “Find a Poet” section includes pages on individual poets with brief biographical information and links to more information. As a minor point, some biographies include birthdates with month and day, and others do not. Using Robert Frost as an example, the biography includes only the year he was born, but selecting the link to the biographical connection to Literature Online (Addison Wesley), one finds his birthdate was March 26.

As the basic biographical information is not difficult to locate, it would be nice if each biography was consistent in format and content for each poet. Each poet’s page does include a photo with the brief biography. Of particular interest is the inclusion of full text for selected poems. Included in each page is a selected bibliography of writings and links to Web sites with more information.

The biographical pages on individual poets appear to have been written by different individuals, but as no credits are given for the individual contributions, this may be a perception rather than a reality. Because each entry is varied in content, it is the assumption of the reviewer that the entries are compiled by different individuals. Another issue with lack of credits is that there isn’t any information to provide evidence of authority and accuracy for the information provided.

This site is potentially a good starting point for someone who is just starting to explore poetry and is interested in comparing styles and gathering some general information. The exhibits section allows a visitor to identify names connected with particular aspects of poetry, such as the exhibit “Poets of the Harlem Renaissance.”

The information included in the exhibit is cursory at best, but it makes connections with the poets and the time period. The “Literary Links” section includes links to a variety of Web sites with full-text poetry, a benefit those who want full text, but want to pinpoint resources without having to use a search engine, which can provide an overwhelming list.

Since the purpose of this site is to promote poetiy, there are additional features aimed at promoting poetry to educators and would-be poets. Included is a section on National Poetry Month, which is in April each year. As a noncommercial site, it is evident that this is more a “labor of love” than a product they are trying to sell and promote. There are minor issues related to adding a statement on selection criteria and providing information on contributors, however, their main purpose is not to provide a scholarly resource for the academic. As a gentle suggestion to the producers, the site would benefit from a thorough review of the site navigation. There are links from the “Listening Booth” to biographies, but not all biographies link back to available audio clips in the “Listening Booth.” Occasionally a visitor ends up in a section with no way to get back to the “Find a Poet” section except by going to the homepage.

The site is not a large site, and these are minor criticisms, but, if addressed, would improve the site overall, and make it more user friendly for those individuals who wish to explore poetiy.—Terri Fishel, Macalester College, fishel@macalester.edu ■