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After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:41 pm
by BoSoxGal
After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses
By JULIE BOSMAN
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
A set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the shelves of the New York Public Library.After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.
Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered reference books that were once sold door-to-door by a fleet of traveling salesmen and displayed as proud fixtures in American homes will be discontinued, company executives said.
In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighs 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.
“It’s a rite of passage in this new era,” Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., a company based in Chicago, said in an interview. “Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. The Web site is continuously updated, it’s much more expansive and it has multimedia.”
In the 1950s, having the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the bookshelf was akin to a station wagon in the garage or a black-and-white Zenith in the den, a possession coveted for its usefulness and as a goalpost for an aspirational middle class. Buying a set was often a financial stretch, and many families had to pay for it in monthly installments.
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We had a set, that my parents purchased by installment sometime in the early 70s. I used it a lot during my school years to research subjects, and sometimes would read from it just for fun.
They wanted me to take it off their hands when I went into college, but it was massive and I had no place to store it - so it was donated to a local library. It was a beautiful set of books, to be sure. Sad to think they've gone the way of the dinosaurs.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:48 pm
by Crackpot
They quickly went out of date and contained very limited information. I'm pretty sure half of the volumes on my moms shelf have never been opened.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:01 pm
by Rick
My laptop weighs considerably less...
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:02 pm
by kristina
My grandparents had the 1913 edition (probably bought shortly after they married) and it's still in its original glass-fronted case at my parents' house. It went through a fire sometime in the 1920s, and you can still smell smoke when you open any of the volumes.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:05 pm
by liberty
I plan on keeping my 1972 World Books on the shelf.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:10 pm
by BoSoxGal
kristina, despite the smoky smell, I'll bet that set would fetch a high price from the right collector!
liberty, I think that's the same set my folks purchased.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:26 pm
by Liberty1
liberty, I think that's the same set my folks purchased.
That's about the same vintage my parents had too.
These books were one of my primary reading materials growing up, I used to love to just grab one and read through random subjects.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:33 pm
by The Hen
My family never had a set and I was as jealous as hell of those that did.
This was an inevitable end for the Britanicas, though still sad.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:06 pm
by Andrew D
In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia ....
Really? Competition from Wikipedia?
Although many Wikipedia articles are thoughtful and well-sourced, many others are just crap. With
Britannica (if one is using the latest incarnation), one can always be confident in the content. That is not to say that all
Britannica articles are complete and unbiased; it is to say that
Britannica articles are carefully peer-reviewed.
Whereas with Wikipedia, one always must hunt down the sources -- when there are sources -- to make any rational determination about whether the article is reliable. And many of them are not.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:14 pm
by Gob
I would think the competition, especially for students and school kids, would come in the ease of access, (not to mention cut'n'paste,) of Wiki, rather than its accuracy.
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:36 pm
by dales
Anyone want a complete set of 1949 E. B.?
Re: After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Pres
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:53 pm
by BoSoxGal
The further article discusses rate of error in E.B. v Wiki; E.B. offers online access with subscription. Probably worth the modest cost for families with students.