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Library Journal Review
The Women's Movement in the United States is the first title released in ABC-CLIO's "Interactive Encyclopedia" series, which combines a multimedia CD-ROM with a companion public-access web site that includes a variety of resources and activities for students and teachers (http://encyclopedias.abcclio. com/WomensMovement). Comprised of some 700 articles relevant to the history of women in the United States from Colonial times to the present, the disc also includes approximately 600 high-quality photographs, video and audio clips, documents (nonfacsimile), and statistical tables. A list of sources is available from a pull-down menu, although, according to the credits, the content is largely derived from four ABC-CLIO printed publications: The ABC-CLIO Companion to Women's Progress in America by Elizabeth Frost-Knappman; The ABC-CLIO Companion to Women in the Workplace by Dorothy Schneider; Women and the Military and An Encyclopedia, and Encyclopedia of Women and Sports, both by Victoria Sherrow. Alphabetically, the list of entries range from abolition to Zemsky Listy (an early-20th-century Chicago-based immigrant paper run by women), with an interesting, if sometimes quizzical selection of topics in between. It would be helpful if the disc contained an introduction defining the scope of its material. In the preface to Frost-Knappman's book, she indicates that the women included are those "whose achievements were unusual for their time." This same delineation on the disc would alert users that the material is not all-inclusive. Efficient navigation through this content-rich disc begins with the initial menu screen, which offers six points of access: full-text search of all the entries (with Boolean operators); alphabetical browsing of entry titles; index to subjects and groups of related entries; thematic groupings (domesticity, education, military, popular culture, politics, workplace, feminism, and social issues); nonprint media; and a time line. The well-written entries are substantial, although they do not include bibliographies. Hypertext links to other relevant entries are included in the body of the text. All media related to an entry is indicated by a graphical icon, which links to the media item. Media entries include acknowledgments and can be printed, exported to a file, or copied to the clipboard with relative ease. A black-and-white photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt pasted easily into a word processing document and was of remarkably good quality. Additionally, there are several convenient "housekeeping" features: a notebook (WordPad) to which material can be copied and pasted; a bookmarking capability; a "trail" feature, which is a sequential list of all entries visited during a search session; and a valuable "how to cite" section that illustrates how to cite the variety of material included on the disc. The Bottom Line: The Women's Movement in the United States is a very appealing resource, both content- and price-wise. The only other comparable title is Women in America, part of Primary Source Media's "American Journey" series. Although similar in purpose, the entries in The Women's Movement are treated in more depth and include a rich variety of illustrative multimedia formats. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.ÄBarbara Burg, Research Svcs., Harvard Coll. Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
System requirements: Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98; 16 MB RAM (32 MB recommended); at least 45 MB free hard disk space. These programs are the first in ABC-CLIO's Interactive Encyclopedia series. They contain essays and various media on themes all related to social or women's issues. American Social Issues has more than 800 entries organized under eight themes: crime, discrimination, education, environment, family, labor, pacifism, and sexuality. The Women's Movement in the United States has nearly 700 entries on topics related to domesticity, education, the military, popular culture, politics, feminism, social issues, and the workplace. Each of these sections contains relevant historical and contemporary information and may include an overview, biographies, documents, related events, related movements, related organizations, and a glossary. The documents section offers only information about the document, though several of the essays in this and other sections have links to full text or excerpts from primary-source documents themselves. In addition to the thematic sections, users can access a subject index, list of entries, time line, media (captioned black-and-white and color pictures, video, sound, primary source documents, and tables), a companion Web site, and a list of cited sources. Topics covered are varied. On the social issues disc, they include the Anita Hill case, the Brady Handgun Violence Act, the dust bowl, Marian Wright Edelman, the Kent State shootings, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Ralph Nader, and the V-chip. The women's movement disc includes the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the ACLU, the Seneca Falls Convention, the Tailhook scandal, and the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. The Triangle fire entry features a video reenactment, a photograph of the building, and the New York Times article reporting the fire. Both discs have entries for some topics--such as Jane Addams, the Baby M case, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Ladies Home Journal sit-in--although treatment is not the same. Navigation is easy and intuitive. Users can do Boolean searching using a preset template or browse the subject index or list of entries. Searching can be done through the entire program or limited to one or more segments. The entries can also be viewed as an annotated list. Hot links are embedded within the text, and users can easily revisit a site from their navigation trail or by bookmarking it. All text, pictures, and tables are printable and can also be exported or copied to another application. The time line is also printable, an unusual but valuable feature. A password-protected preferences section allows the teacher or librarian to set printing, saving, and word processor options. The companion Web sites, directly linked from the tool bar, include a teacher resources section with lesson plans and class activities, related Web sites, and tips for using the computer and Internet in the classroom. The student resources section includes activities, material summarized from the CD-ROMs, related Web sites, and writing and Internet search tips. These companion sites extend the programs for all users. The various features should make the programs useful in a school setting. Although much of the information can be found in other sources, its availability on two easily searchable discs will make these Interactive Encyclopedia titles favorites with middle-and high-school researchers.
