Encyclopaedia Britannica Goes Out Of Print

WMDogma

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Encyclopaedia Britannica Goes Out Of Print

[img_inline src="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/65/65544.jpg"]
The oldest published encyclopedia series is being shut down after nearly two and a half centuries of publication.

Remember in high school how you always had that one teacher who required your history paper references to be specifically from some dusty tome or worn-looking encyclopedia? Those days may officially be gone forever, as after 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica will cease printing physical copies of its iconic book series.

"It's a rite of passage in this new era," explained Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., said in an interview with the New York Times. "Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. [Britannica's] web site is continuously updated, it's much more expansive and it has multimedia."

With fierce competition coming from websites like Wikipedia, it's not too much of a surprise that Encyclopaedia Britannica is switching its focus to more modern, digital methods of providing information on various topics. Only about 8000 of Britannica's 2010 edition sets have been sold, compared to 120,000 in 1990. And while still popular with many schools and libraries, not everyone's interested in hauling around around a 100+ pounds of knowledge when a smartphone can connect you to the same amount of info.

Source: New York Times [http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/?src=me&ref=general]

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Seraj

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Nov 27, 2010
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This is a sad, sad day.

That book was more of an icon than a tool. Having that in your library was a must.

I shall seal my copies and treasure them ;_;
 

Mumorpuger

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Apr 8, 2009
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Wow, that's really sad. I think I'll look into purchasing a set. Shoot... hang onto it for enough generations and it'll be worth a fortune.


Edit: And here's why I said "look into:" $1,395.00 USD!

That's already a fortune to me in this world of student loans.
 

mad825

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Mar 28, 2010
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Would be nice to have one..If I could afford one.

Trying to of something witty to say...So, the Encyclopedia Britannica has finally become a part of history in itself.
 

gigastar

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Sep 13, 2010
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Ah, well, another casualty of Wikipedia's dominance.

Though i am impressed that it lasted this long against the Wiki [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wiki/Wikipedia?from=Main.Wikipedia].
 

imnot

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Apr 23, 2010
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gigastar said:
Ah, well, another casualty of Wikipedia's dominance.

Though i am impressed that it lasted this long against the Wiki [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wiki/Wikipedia?from=Main.Wikipedia].
I literaly managed to drag myself off that darn site a few minuites ago! Thanks to you I won't get any sleep tonight, you Nwah!

OT: Tis a sad day for books.
 

gigastar

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Sep 13, 2010
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SirBryghtside said:
gigastar said:
Ah, well, another casualty of Wikipedia's dominance.

Though i am impressed that it lasted this long against the Wiki [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wiki/Wikipedia?from=Main.Wikipedia].
Oh, a page on TVTropes about Wikipedia... dammit, now I'll be stuck here!

...hey, what's that first link all abou-

WHAT UNGODLY MADNESS IS THIS [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipe-tan]
Thats a Moe Anthropomorphism [Moe Anthropomorphism].

Hope you had isomnia. :D
 

Scarim Coral

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Oct 29, 2010
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This is a sad day. They will regret switching to digital format if there was a emp large enough to wipe all electronic useless of the entire world.
 

KeyMaster45

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Jun 16, 2008
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I'll be honest, I can't remember the last time I looked in an actual encyclopedia since many of my professors discouraged using them as citations. They never explained why, just a "no encyclopedias" rule.(possibly because our sets were always 5-6 years out of date, in one case a full decade.)

Still, can't say I'll shed tears over this since it's bound to save a few million trees.
 

Mydnyght

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Feb 17, 2010
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GOD! First I hear that "Man Vs. Wild" gets cancelled (although I never watched it), and now this?

WTF is this world coming to?!?!?!
 

Danpascooch

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Apr 16, 2009
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Mydnyght said:
GOD! First I hear that "Man Vs. Wild" gets cancelled (although I never watched it), and now this?

WTF is this world coming to?!?!?!
These are dark days for all of us, when I heard Man vs. Wild was cancelled, I almost lit myself on fire and dove into an orphanage. Now Encyclopaedia Britannica is getting cancelled!?

HOW MUCH HORROR MUST ONE MAN ENDURE!
 

Realitycrash

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As long as they keep it online and of course store away some original copies, I don't mind. I do mind if they shut it down, though.
 
Aug 17, 2009
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SirBryghtside said:
gigastar said:
Ah, well, another casualty of Wikipedia's dominance.

Though i am impressed that it lasted this long against the Wiki [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wiki/Wikipedia?from=Main.Wikipedia].
Oh, a page on TVTropes about Wikipedia... dammit, now I'll be stuck here!

...hey, what's that first link all abou-

WHAT UNGODLY MADNESS IS THIS [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipe-tan]

That's on the real Wikipedia? With all of the bloody pictures, it looks like Encyclopaedia Dramatica for God's sake.


On Topic: Well, at least when the bombs hit the demise of digital storage will wipe out history from here on out so that the aliens will think the world ended half way through Jean Chrétien's run as Prime Minister.
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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So sad, but understandable. The dead tree version is a universe more expensive than the DVD version. (I'm led to believe that back when they first released a CD-ROM version they were the same price - HA!)

While I don't read them much any more, I wore the ever-loving daylights out of the World Book my parents bought me for school. Had enough sentimental value that I busted my ass taking them with me when I moved. Don't regret it for a second. (Came with a big dictionary, too. That poor pair of books. One part of it is half a cover short from sheer wear. If ever there was a paragon of well-loved books, that one would be it.)
 

The Rogue Wolf

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Not unexpected. These days there's not a whole lot of people who can afford to plunk down one and a half grand for a shelf full of dead trees, especially these days when the Intarwebz can be accessed for a (literal) fraction of the price.
 

dagens24

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I don't understand how this is sad; we've used science to make something that was a staple of human knowledge for 244 years obsolete. This is a milestone towards human technological progress.