Website Review

The New Georgia Encyclopedia, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/. Created and maintained by the Georgia Humanities Council in partnership with University of Georgia Press, the University System of Georgia/GALILEO, and the Office of the Governor. Reviewed November 20-22.

The New Georgia Encyclopedia (NGE) was created with the intention of making information on Georgia history easily accessible on one comprehensive website. The site is very readable and contains a vast amount of data on nearly any imaginable topic related to Georgia’s past from Native American history, to Georgia’s founding, to civil rights, to more recent history, and even articles on native Georgian plant and animal life, among many others. From the site’s homepage, users can click on their chosen subject in a list on the left hand side, ranging from “The Arts” to “Transportation.” Each topic is further broken down into categories. For instance, the “History and Archaeology” section is arranged by era, from prehistoric Georgia, to more contemporary events. Clicking on an era results in a list of links to articles related to that particular time period. The links presented in these lists yield compositions written in thoughtful, concise prose by scholars in related fields. The text of each article contains several hyperlinks which provide more specific information on certain details. Most of these links go to NGE pages, but a few lead to outside historical sites. Unfortunately, the articles do not cite sources as one might expect, but they do helpfully provide books and articles readers can consult for further information. Many of the pages also include illustrations and photographs to enhance interest and understanding. The pictures are embedded into the articles as thumbnails, which, once clicked, open a new window wherein the image is enlarged and accompanied by a caption.

NGE is an exhaustive source for Georgia history, and one would be hard-pressed to come up with neglected topics or events. Many of the subjects have broader appeal than simply local history, and many are related to national events. NGE provides a Georgia angle to well-known occurrences. While NGE offers information across the entire spectrum of history, the authors are remarkably unflinching in their coverage of past events. Users can learn about the poor treatment of Native Americans, Georgians’ roles in slavery, and the fight for civil rights, including atrocities committed in the name of the Ku Klux Klan. In addition to topics both broad and specific, NGE users can find information on particular individuals of local and national fame. Under each topic is a list of the influential people of the time period in question. While many are native Georgians, some are Americans of national repute with ties to the state.

The NGE is an excellent resource which would be helpful to scholars at many levels, beginning, most likely, with high school students, or possibly advanced middle schoolers. The NGE attempts to put forth content that is as accurate as possible so as to be a reputable resource for research and education. The website is an excellent model for a comprehensive and engaging history site despite a lack of multi-media content. The interface is extraordinarily user-friendly and the look of the site is quite appealing. Overall, the NGE would be an excellent starting point from which to learn about an extensive array of topics in Georgia history.