The multi-volume technical encyclopedia has been a standby in academic library collection for many years but technology is catching up with this type of work. The cost and length of time needed to publish a multi-volume encyclopedia in a rapidly changing area such as electrical engineering is making it more difficult for libraries to justify the high cost of such encyclopedias. Wiley has attacked this problem on two fronts. First they have used information technology to shorten the production and publication enabling them to publish the entire encyclopedia at once and secondly they are providing an online version of the encyclopedia that will be updated with new materials that in the past would have been published in yearly supplements. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering attempts to cover all of the key areas of electrical and electronics in approximately 1,400 articles.
Articles range in length from a few pages to over thirty pages.
All articles are signed and include a bibliography or reading list. Some articles also reference web based information resources. In addition to the core areas, the editor has included materials on photonics, communications, computers, networks, computer engineering, engineering management, and business-related materials. Internet related topics also receive good coverage. The editor, John G. Webster, and two electrical engineers searched online databases to create a list of possible article topics.