Encyclopedia Britannica now online only, print version to stop

The famous Encyclopedia Britannica now available online only, print version to stop now.

The Encyclopedia Britannica has announced that after 244 years, dozens of editions and more than 7m sets sold, no new editions will be put to paper. The 32 volumes of the 2010 installment, it turns out, were the last. Future editions will live exclusively online. Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, suggested that the encyclopedia was already something of a relic within the company itself, which has long since moved its main business away from its trademark publication and into online educational tools.

Wikipedia English has 3.9m articles. The comprehensive Britannica has about 120,000. Wikipedia is free. The DVD Britannica, which includes two dictionaries and a thesaurus, costs $30 on Amazon. Individuals will also be able to sign up for an annual $70 subscription (universities will be charged about $1 per student).

Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, said: “The company has changed from a reference provider to an instructional solutions provider,” and said that only 15 per cent of its earnings comes from the Encyclopedia. With suggestions that there was less of a place for the Encyclopedia Britannica in the instantly-accessible Wikipedia age Cauz insisted that it still had a lot to offer.

Resource –  guardian