No More “Encyclopedia Britannica” Print Copies

In this digital world of ours, it's not a big surprise. But it's still sad to hear that Encyclopedia Britannica, probably the standard reference work for over two centuries, will no longer release a print edition of the work.The Encyclopedia was first published in Scotland in 1768, making it the oldest English-language work of its kind. In the 1920's, control of the work moved to the United States [it was operated for two decades by Sears, before passing into private control]. It's currently owned by Swiss investor Jacqui Safra.

The company says it will continue to create digital editions of the Encyclopedia [what with the ability to create links within digital listings, the electronic versions may be more helpful to students and others using the reference work].

Having used the Encyclopedia print version to write a few papers in school, I think I'll miss the hardcover books. But I may just be old-fashioned. Did you ever use Encyclopedia Britannica [or another series like it] to help you get your homework done? Is it a loss to today's [and tomorrow's] students not to have the book before them, or inevitable progress? Jump in with your thoughts, here or on our Facebook page.

[AP/wikipedia.org]