After 244 years in print, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is to no longer be available in hard copy form.
The concise encyclopaedia series began in 1768, and gradually became a must-have household item for reference to pretty much everything in the world. The brand grew and grew until 1990, when it reported its highest ever profits of $650 million that year, with 120,000 copies sold.
Fast forward five years and the fortunes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica began to fall, coinciding with the start of the digital era. Sales fell from 120,000 in 1990 to just 40,000 in 1996. The first major blow was Encarta, a digital encyclopaedia for Microsoft’s Windows computers. Back then the idea of a home computer was extremely exciting, and being able to learn about everything and anything you wanted digitally, with pictures and interactive elements, suddenly took a precedent over books.
The digital era took over, with the explosion of the internet, mobile devices and software. People have been looking to websites like Wikipedia, and more recently, apps, which Encyclopaedia Britannica provides for iOS and Android devices.
Encyclopaedia Britannica hasn’t fallen behind as a company on the whole, and has caught the digital wave, launching DVD and software versions of its encyclopaedias, as well as apps to help children learn.
Eoghan Hughes, PR Manager for Encyclopaedia Britannica, spoke to tech site Pocket-Lint: “We’ve been noticing a downward trend in print sales for a while now but the majority of our operating profits already come from online and mobile products so that’s the natural next step in the company’s transition.”
The demise of Encyclopaedia Britannica in hard copy form is certainly a sad one, but one that seemed inevitable. While a full set of their encyclopaedias are absolutely wonderful, and something we feel every family should have, each set costs around £1000. On the other hand, the 2012 Ultimate Edition on CD-ROM and DVD costs a fraction of the price at £39.99.
If you’ve got a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica books at home somewhere, keep them and treasure them, as one day they’ll be a distant memory and collector’s items.
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Via: Pocket-Lint