Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana:
A brief overview
Description:
The Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana (also called Enciclopedia Espasa,
or Enciclopedia Espasa-Calpe, after its publisher)
is a Spanish encyclopedia comprising the following parts:
- The Body: 72 volumes (numbered from 1 to 70) published from 1908 to 1930 (in alphabetical order from A to Z)
- The First Appendix (1930-1933): 10 vol. published from 1930 to 1933. (in alphabetical order from A to Z)
- First Annual Supplements 1934-2002, 32 vol. Published biannually and organized thematically. An index was published in 1996 to help to find information between 1934 to 1996.
- Second Appendix (1996). A single vol. published in 1996. (in alphabetical order from A to Z)
- Third Appendix (1934-2002). 8 vol. published in 2004. Called Complemento Enciclopédico (in alphabetical order from A to Z). It is a comprehensive summary of all vol. from the First Annual Supplement.
- Second Annual Supplements (2003-2014). Published biannually and organized in alphabetical order from A to Z. Last volume published 2014.
- Encyclopedia stop publication in 2014.
(1)Last vol. 2014
Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana. Tomo conmemorativo Enciclopedia : última actualización
Barcelona: Planeta. 358 p. : il. ; 30 cm + 1 memoria USB + 1 carpeta
Edición conmemorativa del cierre de la Enciclopedia en versión impresa./ La Memoria USB contiene las claves de acceso a PlanetaSaber, Portal de acceso exclusivo para socios que contiene más de 147.000 artículos enciclopédicos, 1.800 Grandes Artículos Temáticos y 1.500 textos escolares complementados con una valiosa selección de imágenes y elementos audiovisuales que los ilustran. Los recursos audiovisuales suman más de 17.000 fotografías, 208 vídeos, 243 animaciones, 146 interactividades, 545 mapas y más de 700 audios que enriquecen el contenido textual. También contiene el Libro del año 2013 en formato E-pub./ La carpeta contiene una lámina de Antonio Mingote
The most important concept you need to be aware is that only minor revisions have been made to the original volumes. This means that the information included in the old volumes can be considered "primary sources".
If you need to find information about a contemporary topic, you need to consult the most recent suplements.
Examples:
- If you are researching the events happens in Spain in 1980's, you should consult the vol. 22-26 of the 1st Annual Suplement. Since these volumes are indexed in the 1996 index, you can quick search for your topic in this index.
- If you are researching for events during the end of the 20th century, you can consult the specific Annual suplement or the 3rd Appendix published in 8 volumes [(1934-2002)(A to Z)].
- If you need help finding information in the Espasa, please visit the Reference Desk at Baker-Berry Library.
Some reviews about the Espasa:
The
Encyclopaedia Britannica includes an entry about The Espasa where you can read the following:
"Spanish and Spanish-American biography and gazetteer information are especially strong. Major articles—e.g., on countries—are quite long and include lengthy bibliographies of international scope. Although coverage is considered universal, the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America are particularly well covered. A volume devoted to Spain is separately revised and reissued approximately every 10 years.
Special features of Espasa include reproductions and descriptions of paintings and other works of art, entered under titles; colour plates, for each country, of uniforms, flags, and coins; geographical, historical, geological, and statistical maps; and city and town plans, even of obscure and remote places not usually available in guidebooks. Espasa also functions as a language dictionary, giving etymologies and word equivalents in French, Italian, English, German, Portuguese, Catalan, and Esperanto. "
In Encyclopaedias: Their History Throughout The Ages you can read: "This work is remarkable for its detail: maps and plans of even remote and obscure places; reproductions and descriptions of works of art entered under their titles; lengthy bibliographies, international in scope; full dictionary treatment of individual words with, in many cases, foreign equivalents; and usually affording full scope to lengthy treatment of important subjects." (201).
If you want to find more historical background about the Espasa, consult the:
Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana : el siglo de la Espasa. Editoras, Marisa Javierre González y Carolina Reoyo González. Madrid : Espasa-Calpe, 2005. ISBN 8467005335.