Encyclopaedia Britannica to end print editions

AP

(AP) CHICAGO - Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. says it will stop publishing print editions of its flagship encyclopedia.

The Chicago-based company said Tuesday that it will continue with digital versions. Company officials say this will be the first time in 244 years that the encyclopedia won't be available in book form. It was first published in Scotland in 1768.

Encyclopaedia Britannica President Jorge Cauz says the company has foreseen "the end of the print set" for some time.

The company says ending the print edition of the 32-volume encyclopedia is the latest step in a move toward digital publishing and expanding its range of educational products.

Cauz says top year for the printed encyclopedia was 1990, when 120,000 sets were sold. He says that number fell to 40,000 in 1996.

[arkajun-2009]

And the dumbing down of America continues.

What's gonna happen when the power goes out, or when a super virus wipes out the computer age?

[rightontarget]

Exactly! There is nothing wrong with modern technology becoming available for convenience but the problem lies in the result being books and the like will become obsolete. People nowadays want everything at the touch of a button or click of a mouse. My friend's cell phone battery died right when she was calling information to obtain a local phone number. Boy was she upset! What did I do? I pulled out the PHONE BOOK and looked it up! DUH!!!!!!!!!!! We have become waaaaaaaaay to dependent upon technology and some day that will come back to bite us you know where!

[Lerianis4]

Print books are going the way of the dodo, and not too soon in my opinion. Fact is that print books are wasteful and, if the media companies would get off having to DRM everything, wouldn't be necessary anymore.

[phwtb100]

A sad day indeed. One can only guess as to what next will leave our lives.

The fact so many, including myself, walk directly past our extensive, and well selected, home libraries to 'google' a subject speaks loud of how our society has so quickly, and completely, gained in its' ability to hasten our exemption from socializing as a whole. Proof positive here, we no longer feel the need to bring words to 'life', nor are we any longer capable of the comprehension it takes to understand the realization of how fast these screens, and other instant, self gratifying tools, are destroying the world as we know it; destroying the world so many worked tirelessly to build; destroying the only world worth handing over to our children.

Something eminently influential can be said of those 'obsolete' old volumes accumulating dust in the den. As long as those remained a testament to the fact of what actually DID happen in history, no one had the ability to re-write it or eliminate it. Straightforward, blunt and truthful those printed words offered to the world a candid reality that the internet, and all the searches you want to run, cannot. It's a simple case of losing those people who took the time to cover every concept and only gaining those people who cannot 'blog' on anything past their own personal agendas.

Not just in the knowledge and functionality that will be lost from this 'event', but the known ramification of another industry dying, with even more people risking the loss of what little they had to begin with, speaks more about our true humanitarian ideals than many will be able to admit... or even realize. When will it all stop? Where will it end? It's great that so many people, especially the wealthy, are willing to jump on the 'newest, hippest' band wagon in support of a family on the other side of the globe, but at the cost of looking over and past those families that have built their home next to yours? How tragic.

Personally, I am deeply saddened that this has happened. True, a sign of the times, but more importantly a SIGN of the times to come. Our children and grandchildren will be much more the worse for this decision and the only ones to blame are those sitting in front of their screens under the assumption that THIS electronic 'reality' is somehow their God-given right, all-the-while 'googling' to find the perfect bedtime story to download for their babies...

[honestabe8]

I just read A.J. Jacobs book called The Know It All, about him reading the Britannica. Very good read, if any one is interested

[endrepubs]

There is something to say for 'accidental' discovery of information. I used to browse through our Encyclopaedia Britannica's all the time as a kid. I learned a lot about stuff I wasn't looking for at the time. this type of learning seems to be a thing of the past as you can' make accidental discoveries on the internet through searches. I do think the internet is great as you can really target a specific subject quickly and I appreciate that, but printed books do offer their own source of value and reliable information as those old print encyclopaedias were thoroughly edited by very knowledgeable scholars. You have to have a buyer beware mentality when searching for info on the internet as this information is not always accurate.

[train99]

Good points. Yes, 'accidental discovery'.

[Shaggy Maggie]

So very true! In grade school and high school, too, by browsing the encyclopedia shelves in the library I added a depth and breadth of knowledge that greatly complimented what I gained in regular classes - and it was such fun. There was wonder in every volume.

[Reader1234b]

All I have to say is we may truly have George Orwell's world (1984) when all information left to us availiable is digital and instantly "updateable".
Books have their value- turn off the neon tube now and then (your TV, your Ipod, Blackberry, PSP, PC, cell phones and laptops) and look at something real now and then, if only for nostalgias sake.

[Reader1234b]

All I have to say is we may truly have George Orwell's world (1984) when all information left to us availiable is digital and instantly "updateable".
Books have their value- turn off the neon tube now and then (your TV, your Ipod, Blackberry, PSP, PC, cell phones and laptops) and look at something real now and then, if only for nostalgias sake.

[bradkt1]

This a shame...but it is definitely a sign of the times.