Fans of information sources of the page-turning variety, I have some bad news. After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.
The oldest, continuously published encyclopedia in the English language, Britannica has given up the good fight, and decided to dedicate its efforts exclusively to its Web site.
While trees everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief, that this 32-volume, 129-pound collection of information is going green, others are getting a bit nostalgic.
Who doesn’t remember those childhood afternoons spent curled up with your favorite volume? And who has anything but fond memories of being lectured by the librarian about proper enclyclopedia etiquette?
Future generations will have to turn to the cold computer screen instead of experiencing the joy of carrying that nearly five-pound volume back to your work area (after signing it out, of course), only to find that the information you really need is contained in two other volumes.
It truly is a sad day.
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More on the Story: NY Times
…just for fun:
Leave it to Disney to have a song about encyclopedias (warning- the tune is kind of catchy) -
