Software Reviews : Microsoft Bookshelf 1996/1997 Edition Publisher: Microsoft Corporation,One Microsoft Way,Redmond,CA 98052 USA;telephone : [phone]. Year of Publication: 1996 Materials: CD-ROM disk,User's Guide Price: $54.95 System Requirements: Hardware—486-33 SX CPU,5 megabytes of hard disk space,4 megabytes of RAM,double-speed CD-ROM drive,and SuperVGA monitor and Video Board (Audio Board,Mouse,and Headphone or Speakers are highly recommended);Software—Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 Effectiveness: Excellent User Friendliness: Excellent Documentation: Excellent

Abstract

Bookshelf is a comprehensive multimedia reference work including nine books: The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1996, The American Heritage Dictionary (third edition), The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, The People's Chronology, The Original Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, the National Five-Digit Zip Code and Post Office Directory, The Microsoft Bookshelf Internet Directory 96, and The Concise Encarta 96 World Atlas. Overall, there are 2,500 images, over 5 hours of sound, 150 video and animation clips, and over 80,000 pronuncia tions included. The design of the software allows for easy searching and cutting-and-pasting of information across the books included, as well as full integration with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Works.