Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO), also known as Oxford Bibliographies, is a web-based

compendium A compendium ( compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a specific ...

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

annotated bibliographies and short

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

entries maintained by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

History

Oxford Bibliographies Online launched in 2010 following 18 months of research by Oxford University Press (OUP) on the way students and scholars accessed information. According to OUP, learning on a new topic was often hampered and confused by an overabundance of information that left people without a clear starting point. The launch version of Oxford Bibliographies Online covered four subject areas –

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

Islamic Studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

, and

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

– and cost US$29.95 per month to access for institutional subscribers. By 2017 it had grown to more than 30 subject areas. At its debut, it was described as "an Anti-Google" and a more authoritative and trustworthy alternative to "

crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...

knowledge repositories like

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...

Organization

Oxford Bibliographies Online is divided into several dozen subject areas, each curated by an editor-in-chief and an editorial board composed of "15 to 20" scholars of that subject. Subject areas are, in turn, divided into an expanding number of entries, each of which is authored by a member of the editorial board and subject to a process of peer review. Each entry provides a brief, encyclopedic overview of a given subject, followed by an annotated bibliography of the key literature on that topic. According to Oxford University Press, entries are reviewed annually and updated as necessary. New entries are added monthly.

Access

Libraries can selectively subscribe to all or certain subject areas, allowing their patrons to access those sections to which the institution has purchased a subscription. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, for instance, public library patrons can access the

Victorian Literature Victorian era, Victorian literature is English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). In the Victorian era, the novel became the leading literary genre in English. English writing from this era reflects the major transform ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Irish Literature subject areas of Oxford Bibliographies Online by using their

library card A library card can refer to several Plastic card, cards traditionally used for the management of books and patrons in a library. In its most common use, a library card serves similar functions as a corporate membership card. A person who holds a ...

as a log-on credential if their library subscribes. According to Oxford University Press, pricing is based on the size and type of the library.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=July 2017 Oxford University Press British online encyclopedias 2010 establishments in England

History

Organization

Access

See also

References

External links