Encyclopedia Britannica stops printing books after 244 years

 

Encyclopedia Britannica stops printing books after 244 years, goes completely digital 

Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., formally announced on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 that it will stop printing its books after 244 years and will go digital completely. 

 

According to a press release by Encyclopedia Britannica, the publication of their 32-page edition, which is its flagship encyclopedia, will be stopped, to finally venture into the digital copies. 

Based on their history, the first Encyclopedia Britannica book was published in 1768 in Edinburgh, Scotland while the online version was published in 1994, which represented only 15% of their online income and the remaining from education products such as online learning tools and curriculum products. 

Nevertheless, the company started to publish digitally in 1970s and created the first digital version of the Encyclopedia Britannica for LexisNexis users in 1981; and published the first multimedia encyclopedia on CD-ROM in 1989. 

“The end of the print set is something we’ve foreseen for some time. It’s the latest step in our evolution from the print publisher we were, to the creator of digital learning products we are today.” Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., was quoted. 

“We’re digital, we’re mobile, and we’re social. We’re a very different company from 20 or 30 years ago.” Cauz added, noting that the way Britannica products are created and maintained will remain the same. 

Meanwhile, Encyclopedia Britannica said that the entire contents of the Britannica.com website will be available free for one week starting today and will stop printing the book version once the current inventory is gone.