Encyclopedias have been around for about 2,000 years, but good luck trying to find a printed edition now. How could something that was so common for generations be essentially non-existent today? As newspaper and magazine publishers discovered, selling anything for a fee can be difficult when you give most of it away online for free.
For the younger readers of this newsletter, encyclopedias were like the internet in print — only more accurate. They were valued sources of information from the experts of the day. The printed and bound versions were found in libraries, schools and other educational institutions. They were also found in many homes.
The encyclopedia salesman was commonly seen walking door to door and selling the benefits of having a full set of these reference materials in your house. At its peak, industry leader Encyclopedia Britannica had about 2,300 employees in the United States and Canada. I remember seeing their well-trained sales staff in our neighborhood as a child.
I asked our office staff if they had encyclopedias in their childhood homes. Those who are 40 or older smiled and nodded. Those 40 or younger looked puzzled. One said she thought they might have had CD-ROMS.
My mother bought an off-brand used set of encyclopedias for our family in the late 1970s. They were miniature-sized but were still quite helpful with classroom assignments and to settle an occasional argument of facts. Unlike information from the Internet, this data was indisputable.
Prior to the Internet, research projects required the use of encyclopedias. I worked at the library during my freshman year in college, and I was amazed how many encyclopedias had articles cut out of them and how many students would become frustrated because they needed that information. The librarians I knew were even-keeled, but this would get them steaming.
Encyclopedia Britannica quit publishing print editions in 1996. After 244 years, the company decided to go digital. The salesmen were laid off, and the multi-volume sets ended. At the time, the remaining 32-volume editions were retailing for $1,395. Today, an online subscription is $74.95 annually or $8.99 per month.
You can pay those fees, or, like many people unfortunately do today, you can roll the fact-finding dice on the Internet for free.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115