The Printed Version of the Encyclopedia Britannica is no More
By Steve Kinsman, 16th Mar 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutNewsMedia
After 242 years, the Encyclopedia Brittanica has ceased publication.
Encyclopedia no more
The venerable gold standard of reference volumes, the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the oldest continuously published encyclopedia in the world, as of this year, will no longer be published. The 2010 edition was the last to be printed. After selling more than seven million sets, the encyclopedia most respected for its high standard of accuracy and literacy is now a thing of the past. For 244 consecutive years over dozens of editions, the Britannica has been the reference work used by business, industry, academia and students the world over as the authoritative reference work on thousands upon thousands of subjects.
Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., says that only 15% of its revenues this year will come from sales of the printed encyclopedia, and that the company will concentrate strictly upon publishing on the internet. But even there, Britannica takes a back seat to wikipedia, which has 3.9 million articles on the net, as opposed to the Britannica's 240,000. "The company has changed from a reference provider to an instructional solutions provider," says Cauz, whatever that means.
Comments
16th Mar 2012 (#)
Thanks for sharing . I first used Britannia Encyclopaedia when i was 16 , now i can see the technology effects .
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
Thank you arman123.
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16th Mar 2012 (#)
Well the computer is a lot handier just type and click and presto answer. Nice one Steve.
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
Thaty's exactly why it's not being printed any longer. Thanks, Mikey.
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16th Mar 2012 (#)
A sad, sad, day. It makes me think we should write a song "The day the book died".
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
I think you should write that Peter. Thanks for your comment.
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
Sadly, it proved no match to Wikipedia in the end. Thanks, my friend.
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
Thank you Buzz.
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
OH wow--I knew this day would come but not so soon. i grew up with those...
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
I did too. Thanks for commenting rama devi.
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
I fear that this may be the beginning of the end for so many books as technology takes over. Ironic thing is, if we lost all power, we could not even access the internet, yet with a torch, you can still access a book!
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17th Mar 2012 (#)
How right you are Songbird. Thank you, Songbird.
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29th Mar 2012 (#)
Guess who tried to sell "Encyclopedia Brittanicca?" Now I have grown up, I have a complete set of "The Great Books". Thank you, Songbird. I feel kind of sad about it. I wonder how "The Great Books" are surviving, if at all.
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