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

[Tom Morris]

On 14 March 2012 00:22, phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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?
>

Anecdotal data point: as a kid, I was a reference book nut, although
never had a decent encyclopedia. My parents bought me a copy of the
Guinness encyclopedia, a colourful one-volume title. 'Twas amazing,
but very stubby. Philosophy got all of four pages, as did
Christianity, the death penalty got half a page, and human rights got
a whole page. 20th century theatre got a whole two pages, and 20th
century cinema got the next two pages.

The best bit was the scientific diagrams: really detailed, colourful
drawings of car engines and different types of nuclear reactor.

Thematic organisation was definitely one of the benefits of the
encyclopedia: it started with 'The Universe' and described cosmology
and the Big Bang and stars, and then moved on to the Earth and geology
and volcanoes, and then trotted onto biology and medicine, detouring
into economics, sociology and law, then onto engineering, then to
religion and philosophy, then finally the arts: visual, musical and
theatrical.

I still keep it near my desk, but I have to admit, I usually grab my
laptop or smartphone and go to Wikipedia or Wiktionary (even though my
local library gives me Britannica access, and my university library
gives me OED access - all the logging-in faff isn't worth it).

-- 
Tom Morris
<http://tommorris.org/>