Reference Reviews

Reference Unbound

Title: Grzimek's Animal Life
Publisher: Gale
URL: http://animals.galegroup.com/web/grzimeks/home

The migration of the preeminent multi-volume print wildlife encyclopedia into a digital format was long overdue, and the new Grzimek's Animal Life skips any initially primitive stage to incorporate some savvy digital features. A pronunciation clip of the database name on the splash page is the first clue that the designers were not merely replicating the print publication, but introducing entirely new multimedia elements. Not only are the articles supplemented with audio and video files, but there are promises of interactivity through the incorporation of user-generated content to come. A banner at the bottom of the page announces a planned mechanism to allow individuals to contribute to its database of images. The fundamental underlying structure of the encyclopedia - with signed, peer-reviewed articles - provides an excellent scaffold for new media elements.

The front search page of the database showcases four animals on a rotating basis, in addition to a scroll reflecting the conservation status of threatened and endangered species. Both of these content elements, along with the design of the page, suggest a browseable wildlife magazine in digital form. The site is navigable through either a kingdom-based directory or via a keyword search interface, both accessible by scientific and common names. Perfect spelling isn't necessary; once the searcher enters three letters in the datawell, a predictive completion process, which Gale calls SearchAssist, suggests possible terms. There is also an advanced search that allows searchers to limit files retrieved by media type or conservation status, which, since the database is updated annually to reflect the most recent populations, would help in classes investigating endangered species. Many of the photographs are tightly framed and intimate, and there are numerous elements that maximize accessibility. The database offers machine translation into 11 languages, and the English language read-aloud feature also allows for downloading articles in .mp3 format. Searchers can view and print in .pdf or formatted .html, and email or bookmark for persistent access.

At the article level, search terms remain highlighted throughout. Entries contain comprehensive information about each organism's physical characteristics, distribution, habitat, behavior, diet, reproduction, as well as the animal's significance to our own species. Shorter articles are organized by subheadings, while longer pieces are broken into numerous pages represented through a hyperlinked table-of-contents. Particularly interesting are the Quick Facts on each species, which typically include descriptions of physical characteristics that distinguish one species from others. The breadcrumb menu created by the taxonomic structure allows searchers to find subjects common to each order or class. Two unique elements depict relevant information about the species in a visual format. A symbolic yardstick reflects the relative abundance of the population. The species' geographic distribution is reflected on a rotating globe, manipulated through the familiar Google Earth interface. The zooming capacity can be useful when studying more geographically limited animals.

The video clips, many produced by leading ecological and zoological organizations, will ensure that Grzimek's Animal Life is a valuable resource for teacher's lesson planning. The excellent fundament of the encyclopedia is supplemented with hand-selected, hyperlinked articles from more than 900 newswire, newspaper, periodicals and scholarly journals, combining the authority of a traditional reference source with human-indexed articles to add much-demanded currency. From the eerily photographed Protostomia to the wry discussion of recent body mass index trends in Homo sapiens, the database is ambitious and will be well-received by the most demanding students. Highly recommended for school and public libraries.