Encyclopaedia Britannica halts print edition, goes digital only
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, maker of the 32-volume reference set school children turned to before there was Google, will no longer publish a print publication. Instead, it will focus all its efforts on continuing to grow its digital product, the company announced Tuesday.The reasons for the decision are many and obvious: A digital-only encyclopedia is easier (and cheaper) to update, and it doesn't have physical space constraints, so editors will no longer have to decide what articles have to be cut when new articles need to be added.
It is also easier to search, and it can have multimedia elements and hyperlinks. And perhaps most importantly, the digital space is where the reader is at these days -- fourth graders haven't had to go to the library to look up desert animals or Saturn for more than a decade. But for those who have a deep nostalgic fondness for those stately tomes, the news comes as an unwelcome reminder of how obsolete the printed word has become in our digital world.
The editors of the Encylopaedia Britannica anticipated the heartbreak the announcement might cause with a blog post titled "Change. It's Okay. Really."
"For 244 years, the thick volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica have stood on the shelves of homes, libraries, and businesses everywhere, a source of enlightenment as well as comfort to their owners and users around the world," the company wrote. "They’ve always been there. Year after year. Since 1768. Every. Single. Day. But not forever."
In another blog post, Jorge Cauz, president of the Encylopaedia Britannica, explained that its mission as stated by its three Scottish founders is to bring scholarly knowledge through a rigorous editorial process to as many knowledge seekers as possible. "I would like to point out that no single medium, neither books nor bits, is at the core of our mission," he wrote.
Throughout its history the Encylcopaedia Britannica has boasted an impressive and eclectic list of contributors including Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, skateboarder Tony Hawk, 110 Nobel Peace Prize winners and five U.S. presidents.
From DIGG
Print Series Team
17 March, 2012
