Jimbo:
There are pages for alphabetic browsing. http://www.encyclopedia.com/browse/browse-Aa.asp
Auppose [the Wikipedia print edition] snagged the same 55,000 topics as Columbia? How big would the resulting text be?
Wouldn't selecting the exact same 55,000 topics as Colombia be a possible copyright infringement? Choosing an appropriate selection of topics for a concise encyclopedia is a creative act...
-Martin