Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica [ ˌ ɪn saɪkləpi ː diə bɹɪtænɪkə ] is an English-language encyclopedia; she claims to be, the human knowledge, the largest possible width in summary form ( The Sum of Human Knowledge ). It is in particular the reputation of reliable information contained in scientific terms.
The Encyclopædia Britannica is a product of the Scottish Enlightenment. It was published from 1768 and published in 1820 by Adam and Charles Black Black in Edinburgh. In 1870 moved to the publisher for the 9th and 10th edition from Scotland to London, and was connected with the newspaper The Times.
For the eleventh edition, the publisher has worked with the University of Cambridge. Then again stood at a moving because the brand and publishing rights had been sold to Sears Roebuck. New Headquarters was Chicago. The current publisher who has also acquired the trademark for the term " Britannica ", the Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.
In 2004, the Britannica contained 75,000 articles with 44 million words. You can still be purchased in paper form in the edition of 2010 (32 volumes, list price $ 1,400 ), Web subscribed ( quick explanations are free of charge ) or to be read as CD -ROM or DVD without internet connection.
The articles of the Encyclopædia Britannica are generally regarded as thoughtful, reliable and well-written. However they do provide a rather Anglo-American world view, which does not always coincide with that of other encyclopedias. The comparison with works of a similar magnitude often shows differences, especially in value-oriented topics. The authors are in many cases well-known scientists or well-known publicists; their authorship is respectively detected.
On 13 March 2012, the publisher announced that the encyclopedia will appear exclusively digital after 244 years.
Edition history
Since the fifteenth edition, the hard copy is presented in three parts, each of which has a different function. The so-called Micropædia with rather scarce articles used for fast search. If that's not enough, you can see the Macropædia very detailed, in-depth articles.
The Propædia is a thematic list of fields of knowledge. Below a level of ten major topics one is led to other sections. There products in the Macropædia and Micropædia are recommended. In addition there are two index volumes, with which you can search for terms from the Macropædia and Micropædia.
The scope of the Britannica grew steadily until the early 20th century, then decreased but slightly. The first CD- ROM edition of the Britannica was published in 1994. 1996, the doorstep selling has been set.
The former chief of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Joe Esposito, said the decline in demand for printed encyclopedias: "The Internet was the final nail in the coffin ". 1996 bought the temporarily living in Switzerland, Lebanese -born investor Jacob Safra the company for $ 135 million and saved them from the off. Part of Britannica as a subsidiary of publisher Merriam- Webster.
The current version of the Britannica was written with the participation of more than 4,000 professionals, including well-known scholars such as Milton Friedman, Carl Sagan, and Michael E. DeBakey and 100 salaried editors. 35 percent of the content should have been re-written within the last two years.
The online version of Britannica Online is currently (June 2012) for £ 49.95 offered annually by subscription. Since the beginning of 2008 as part of an action Arrivals for " Web Publisher" offered that are free for one year. The participants have been notified in March 2009 by e -mail of these special conditions could be extended on request. The owner of such an approach can unlock the Britannica article via a link or by widget from his website, so that everyone can read them free, which calls the page by following this link. However, the page can not be printed. The EB also runs the Twitter account " Britannica ".
On 22 January 2009, the Britannica president Jorge Cauz announced that anyone could expand the Encyclopedia internet from 23 January 2009. The changes would need to be approved by an administrator before they appear in the online version.
On 13 March 2012, the final adjustment of the printed Britannica and after 244 years was given the full focus on digital services known.
Reception
1994 described the New York Times, the Encyclopædia Britannica as "the oldest and most renowned reference book of the nation [ United States ] ".
The American journalist AJ Jacobs in his book & I Britannica. From someone who set out to become the smartest person in the world ( ISBN 3-471-79513-8 ), as he implemented his plan to read the entire Encyclopædia Britannica.