BC Business
Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops Presses | BCBusinessIn the face of hefty web competition, Encyclopaedia Britannica will go digital after 244 years in print.
After almost two and a half centuries, the publishers of the iconic Encyclopaedia Britannica will stop the presses and go digital. The hefty volumes that once filled a full shelf of many middle-class homes will soon pass into extinction. The publishers of Encyclopaedia Britannica announced Tuesday the 32-volume 2010 edition would be its final print run. In the face of stiff digital competition such as Wikipedia and even Google, the reference books will go online only.
The hefty volumes that once filled a full shelf of many middle-class homes will soon pass into extinction. The publishers of Encyclopaedia Britannica announced Tuesday the 32-volume 2010 edition would be its final print run. In the face of stiff digital competition such as Wikipedia and even Google, the reference books will go online only. One advantage for the masses is the web version of the encyclopedia is significantly less expensive ($70 to access the online version versus $1,395 for the 2010 print edition). And while the publisher has promised frequent web updates and multimedia to accompany entries, it isn’t much comfort for bibliophiles. The announcement isn’t just tragic for bookworms with an unyielding respect for the weighty tomes (no surprise that I fall into this category), but it speaks volumes about the direction of publishing. E-books are quickly changing the book biz. According to the American Association of Publishers, 114 million e-books sold in 2010, and that number is growing exponentially with the popularity of tablets and smartphones. Public libraries also saw e-book lending spike 81 per cent last year. Unfortunately, Encyclopaedia Britannica is just another unexpected victim of the digital revolution.