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A traditional book is a relatively consistent set of information arranged in modules (paragraphs and chapters) and typically read in a linear fashion from beginning to end.
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An encyclopedia on the other hand arranges information in modules of chapter to paragraph size but one expects to read "randomly" or nonlinearly as each module "points" you to other modules.
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The world wide web is similar to encyclopedia generalized to dynamic rather than static links and with information spatially distributed and accessed by Network.
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Note that looking at commercial CD-ROM products, my family evaluates the electronic encyclopedia's (Encarta, Compton, Grolier) as superior by far to electronic (illustrated) books.
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One must enforce standards to allow linked modules to address information in a consistent fashion
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For instance, a distributed physics information resource should use common notation and equations.
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We refer to our Information enterprise as the "Encyclopedia Galactica" to reflect the importance of the nonlinear model and the prescience of the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy.
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