Ukrainian Electronic Encyclopedias

Sa？etak This article describes contemporary Ukrainian electronic encyclopedias, proposes their general review and characterizes their main types and the thematic and typological peculiarities of both online encyclopedic products and electronic versions of printed reference books, as resources which also contribute to the creation of an extensive network of Ukrainian electronic encyclopedias and their integration into the global network of electronic encyclopedias of various types and thematic contents. In Ukraine, the rapid process of creating electronic encyclopedias, as multimedia analogues of printed reference books as well as independent works on CDs, DVDs or their network versions began at the onset of the 21st century. Today, there is a noticeable tendency towards a constant qualitative improvement of online encyclopedias not only from a technical point of view (in particular, this refers to the speed and convenience of finding information, hypertext links, or the insertion of digital audio or video fragments, animations, and elements of virtual reality), but also from the point of view of content – scientifically valid, accurate, and proven facts