[Foundation-l] [WikiEN-l] Stopping the presses: Britannica to stop printing books

[Nathan]

On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 8:22 PM, phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 3:49 PM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 2010's 32-volume set will be its last.  (Now I want to get one, to
> > replace my old set!)  Future versions will be digital only.
> >
> >
> http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto
> >
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/13/encyclopedia-britannica-halts-print-publication
> >
>
> I don't use it in print, haven't for years, and have been expecting
> something like this for a while, but am still surprisingly saddened by
> it too; there's something about the shelf of volumes that encapsulates
> the world's knowledge that sort of symbolizes the whole idea of a
> library to me.
>
> I've been asked to write a short editorial about this development from
> a Wikipedian's perspective and am curious about (and would love to
> include) other Wikimedian experiences -- did you use print
> encyclopedias as a kid? Was a love of print encyclopedias part of your
> motivation or interest in becoming a Wikipedian? Is there any value in
> them still? Will you miss it?
>
> cheers,
> -- phoebe
>
>
I used to use them all the time when I was a kid, they were pretty
fantastic. I got the same feeling from them I now recognize from Wikipedia
- the tingly and powerful sense that I could look up almost anything and
find out all kinds of cool details, vast amounts of information just
waiting to be absorbed.  By adulthood, I'd acquired a full Britannica set
and several other smaller (and much older) encyclopedias.

But in the last ten years, pretty much since Wikipedia came around, I
haven't had much use for them. Our interactions have been less fulfilling,
mostly consisting of boxing them up and lugging them around every time I
move. Nowadays, the physical encyclopedias are more collectors items and
household decoration than useful reference works -- and as set pieces, they
lack a certain... mobility. I'll always have some nostalgic regard for the
old heavy volumes, but the final transition to a lighter medium was pretty
inevitable.