The Britannica company has taken many steps to try and help the once best selling books get back on the shelves, but with the age of technology upon us, it was to little to late. There is still an online version of the information collection. Sadly, they knew that it would come to this one day, but they were surprised it came so fast. Wikipedia has been the underlying cause of the the collapse of the printed encyclopedia. This is because it is not only free but also, nearly all homes have a computer. Students find it easier to type a word into a search bar and click enter and get millions of answers for what they are looking for, instead of going to the library and searching for a heading in a book where there will only be a paragraph under your topic. It is faster and you get more than one view on the topic. The Encyclopedia has seen its fair share ups and downs but this down may be one that it will not recover from.
Good summary of the AOW, Aly! Also you've stated a strong and straightforward opinion which is also good. I share your opinion, Wikipedia has a lot of advantages than the printed version of EB and besides, the world is changing, there are new technology devices every day. The printed edition of EB can't keep up with the new trends of digital and free sources of information.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. Students don't want to travel to a library, search for the right book, and then try to find the little information that is in the book. It is so much easier to search the internet and get hundreds of responses in seconds. The times are definitely changing. If this is happening to Encyclopedias, what will happen to other books especially now that we have Nooks and Kindles? Will libraries themselves eventually close?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Toma - great summary! There were specific questions in the article I wanted you to address, and was looking forward to your answer to this one: 'Can it [Wikipedia] be relied upon to deliver highly accurate facts or can it be trusted as far as Jimmy Wales can be thrown by a baby midget?' I thought for sure you'd make references to your own abilities to throw a baby midget - that seems like the type of verbiage you'd use!
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is time for the encyclopedia to move on and get with the new technology. Now there are faster and easier ways to find information then looking through big books to find a snip it of what you want. The encyclopedia was good while it lasted but has seen the end of its days. Nice job.
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