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

[Risker]

On 13 March 2012 20:22, phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> 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?
>
>
Yes, I'll miss the heavy, fascinating old books.  To this day, nothing
seems better on a stormy day than to curl up with a hot cup of tea in a big
cozy chair, with some kind of book filled with facts - an encyclopedia
volume, an almanac, an atlas... I learned how to read with our old set of
encyclopedias - they were old even when I was reading them - but they
exposed me to so many new ideas and instilled in me a thirst for knowledge
that has never quite been quenched.

Much as I love the internet - and Wikipedia - there is something different
about holding a book in one's hand, about the sense of discovery that is
innately different when physically turning a page. We use different parts
of our brain to read printed matter as compared to computer screens, and
studies are continuing to better understand how this affects the manner in
which people learn and retain knowledge.  It's an interesting commentary
about our society that in just over two generations our Western culture has
gone from the "dream" of families having their own reference library to
considering such printed materials obsolete.

Risker