The ""World Encyclopedia"" is a one-volume reference source on libraries and librarianship worldwide, containing historical and theoretical overviews, nation-by-nation surveys and coverage of the most advanced technologies of the information and bibliographic communities. With some 340 articles by more than 300 contributors from all parts of the globe, the ""World Encyclopedia"" is a million-word resource on the history, structure, concepts, practice, research, training, institutions and people of its fields. The third edition features a full-colour pictorial on five of the world's most magnificent libraries, in addition to black-and-white illustrations accompanying the articles. Other features include a comprehensive index, statistics updated to 1990 and new bibliographic sources for reprinted articles.