Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Edited by Steve Jones, one of the leading scholars and founders of this emerging field, and with contributions from an international group of scholars as well as science and technology writers and editors, the Encyclopedia of New Mediawidens the boundaries of today′s information society through interdisciplinary, historical, and international coverage. With such topics as broadband, content filtering, cyberculture, cyberethics, digital divide, freenet, MP3, privacy, telemedicine, viruses, and wireless networks, the Encyclopedia will be an indispensable resource for anyone interested or working in this field.

Unlike many encyclopedias that provide short, fragmented entries, the Encyclopedia of New Mediaexamines each subject in depth in a single, coherent article. Many articles span several pages and are presented in a large, double-column format for easy reading. Each article also includes the following:

A bibliography Suggestions for further reading Links to related topics in the Encyclopedia Selected works, where applicable

Entries include:

Pioneers, such as Marc Andreesen, Marshall McLuhan, and Steve Jobs Terms, from "Access" to "Netiquette" to "Web-cam" Technologies, including Bluetooth, MP3, and Linux Businesses, such as Amazon.com Key labs, research centers, and foundations Associations Laws, and much moreThe Encyclopedia of New Media includes a comprehensive index as well as a reader′s guide that facilitates browsing and easy access to information.

Recommended Libraries

Public, academic, government, special, and private/corporate

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Comprehensive Index
• List of Entries
• A Reader's Guide
• Introduction
• Encyclopedia of New Media
• Bibliography
• Contributors
• Name Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This accessible and easy-to-navigate one-volume encyclopedia covers the ever-changing world of "new media," which includes communication technologies from World War II to the present. Editor Jones (chair, communications, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) has selected a wide range of topics and themes that highlight the dramatic changes in communication and media, especially in the last 30 years, presenting important developments, organizations, and people. The 250-plus signed entries have been classified into 12 general thematic categories (art, music, and performance; business and commerce; cyberculture; hacking; legal topics; networks and networking; open-source software; organizations and labs; people; social issues; technology; and writing) and cover a variety of subjects, ranging from Brian Eno's contributions regarding electronic music, content filtering, and object-oriented programming to emoticons, computer viruses, and the increasingly popular MP3s. Beyond basic descriptions of the terms, the contributors put each subject in its social and historical context, thus providing a broader understanding of the impact it has had on communication and the media. Entries are usually one to two pages long and include a bibliography, suggestions for further reading, and a list of related topics. Biographical entries also include a list of the subject's selected works and occasionally a black-and-white photo. Also useful is a detailed bibliography, a comprehensive index, and a list of all 40 contributors and their affiliations. For academic and larger public libraries.-Michele McGraw, Hennepin Cty. Lib., Edina, MN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 10 Up-From "Cookies" to "Copyleft," "Blogs" to "Wireless Networks," "Brian Eno" to "Steven P. Jobs," this comprehensive map of modern media's technological and sociological terrain makes an essential guide for library users bewildered by the seismic changes that the past few decades have brought. Sandwiched between opening alphabetical and topical tables of contents, and a reasonably thick index, approximately 250 signed articles are arranged in a single alphabet; each one is a serious, specific topical or biographical study, enhanced by closing lists of scholarly sources and a generous number of cross-references. Along with articles about ARPANET, Vannevar Bush's prescient 1945 essay "As We May Think," and other nods to the antediluvian past, hot-button subjects of current interest such as the Communications Decency Act or the MP3 controversy receive detailed treatment, and entries on "Gender and New Media," "Telecommuting," and "Race and Ethnicity and New Media," among others, broaden the focus. Despite its stingy selection of murky black-and-white photographs, this volume merits serious consideration, even for midsize collections, as a major and well-organized source of new or hard-to-find information on a mind-bending array of topics.-John Peters, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Scholars and students finally have a reference work documenting the foundations of the digital revolution. Authoritative and well organized, edited by communication professor and prominent new media scholar Jones, the encyclopedia's scope follows his wise tenet that any definition of the subject matter "derives from an understanding of history, technology, and society in combination." In this spirit, the signed articles by more than three dozen contributors, mostly academics, provide clear, critical overviews of the people, products, events, social implications, trends, texts, and concepts related to contemporary innovations in communication and information technology. Selected bibliographies, suggested readings, and cross-references to related subjects appear throughout, and thorough indexing bridges any perceived omissions among individual entries. Were it not the only reference book to cover this emergent field, Jones's encyclopedia would still likely be the best. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All collections. D. Orcutt North Carolina State University

Booklist Review

The introduction to this work starts with "What is new media? There is no single answer to be given." One is left with the feeling that new media is whatever the editor (a professor of communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago, president and founder of the Association of Internet Researchers, and coeditor of the journal New Media & Society) deemed appropriate, which is hardly surprising given that this is still an emerging field. It is safe to say there is something for everyone within the just over 250 entries, which typically run from 500 words to about 2,500 (for Internet and Multimedia). There are the Internet-related terms one would expect to find (ARPANET, World Wide Web), but there are also entries for artists (Nam June Paik) and musicians (Brian Eno) as well as for specific works (The Soul of a New Machine). Many of the entries are biographical, including those, such as Steve Case and Bill Gates, who will be familiar to general readers, and those, such as feminist historian Donna J. Haraway and software engineer Pattie Maes, who may not. A work of this nature will inevitably cause some to question what should or should not have been covered. For example, the latest file-stealing service du jour (KaZaA) has but one page reference in the index (referring to the article Napster) and is not mentioned at all where it would more appropriately appear, in the entry Peer-to-peer. In addition to a name index, a general index concludes the volume, helping, for example, to steer a user with initials in mind (ISPs) to the right spot (Internet service providers). A topical list divided into 12 categories is at the beginning of the work. All entries conclude with useful bibliographies, which, not surprisingly, feature a large number of Web citations. One expects some dead links for such entries, and this was indeed the case for a few randomly checked, though there were not very many, and only one typo was spotted within these links. Somewhat puzzling is the lack of Web addresses in spots where they would be expected. Most notable in this regard is the entry The New Hacker's Dictionary, which opens by stating it is "available online as well as in book form" but fails to cite a single Web entry in its bibliography. Both it and the entry for The New Hacker's Dictionary's current author, Eric Raymond, completely overlook a page of links to Raymond's writings at [http://catb.org/~esr/writings]. Can this information be found on the Web? Of course--but only after wading through hundreds of hits and likely not in as clear and concise form as what appears here. Although some explanations may get a bit too technical for a computer novice, most will be understandable for the interested layperson. Recommended for all academic and public libraries that don't mind the fact that many entries will be dated very quickly.