Encyclopedia Britannica to stop printing books

[MuffyBee]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/13/technology/encyclopedia-britannica-books/
Encyclopedia Britannica to stop printing books
By Julianne Pepitone @CNNMoneyTech
March 13, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- After 244 years, Encyclopedia Britannica will cease production of its iconic multi-volume book sets.

Britannica usually prints a new set of the tomes every two years, but 2010's 32-volume set will be its last. Instead, the company will focus solely on its digital encyclopedia and education tools.

The news is sure to sadden champions of the printed word, but Britannica president Jorge Cauz said the move is a natural part of his company's evolution.

"Everyone will want to call this the end of an era, and I understand that," Cauz says. "But there's no sad moment for us. I think outsiders are more nostalgic about the books than I am."

In truth, Cauz says, the death knell sounded long ago. Though the name "Britannica" calls the print sets to mind, Cauz says they represent less than 1% of the company's total sales.

"The print set is an icon. But it's an icon that doesn't do justice to how much we've changed over the years," Cauz says.

The online version of the encyclopedia, which was first published in 1994, represents only 15% of Britannica's revenue. The other 85% is sales of education products: online learning tools, curriculum products and more.
 ::snipping2::

[seahorse]

http://www.britannica.com/

 


You can buy the last printed edition of the Britannica Encylopedias, on the site above.

I attended a school with the brightest student's alive, all the student's had a set of Encyclopedia's, because it was encouraged by the teachers.

Ninety percent of the school actually went on to College.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-05/encyclopaedia-britannica-sales/54058626/1
Britannica's halt of print edition triggers sales
April 5, 2012

Since Britannica announced last month that it was discontinuing its print editions, the Chicago-based company said sales have skyrocketed. It has sold all but 800 of the 4,000 sets of the 32-volume 2010 edition it had left at a Kentucky warehouse, the company said.

"We were averaging about 60 sets a week and the next thing we knew, we were selling 1,050 a week," Britannica spokesman Peter Duckler said Thursday. "When people thought they were going to be around forever there was no rush to buy one and then suddenly, boom, and now there is a scarcity and it's a collector's item."

Britannica announced March 13 that it would stop publishing print editions of its flagship encyclopedia for the first time in 244 years and instead focus on its online encyclopedia.
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