Editing Encyclopædia Britannica (section)

==== 1974–1994 ====
<!-- "Encyclopædia Britannica Fifteenth Edition" (and several alt spellings) redirect here. See MOS:HIDDENLINKADVICE -->
In the fourth era (1974–1994), the ''Britannica'' introduced its 15th edition, which was reorganized into three parts: the {{lang|la|Micropædia}}, the {{lang|la|Macropædia}}, and the {{lang|la|Propædia}}. Under Mortimer J. Adler (member of the Board of Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica since its inception in 1949, and its chair from 1974; director of editorial planning for the 15th edition of ''Britannica'' from 1965),<ref>Mortimer J. Adler, ''A Guidebook to Learning: for the lifelong pursuit of wisdom''. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1986, p. 88.</ref> the ''Britannica'' sought not only to be a good reference work and educational tool, but to systematize all human knowledge. The absence of a separate index and the grouping of articles into parallel encyclopaedias (the {{lang|la|Micro-}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}}) provoked a "firestorm of criticism" of the initial 15th edition.<ref name="kister_1994" /><ref name="15th_criticism">{{multiref2|{{cite news | last = Baker | first = John F. | title = A New Britannica Is Born | work = [[Publishers Weekly]] | date = 14 January 1974 | pages = 64–65}}|{{cite news | last = Wolff | first = Geoffrey | title = Britannica 3, History of | work = [[The Atlantic Monthly|The Atlantic]] |date = June 1974| pages = 37–47}}|{{cite news | last = Cole | first = Dorothy Ethlyn | title = Britannica 3 as a Reference Tool: A Review | publisher = Wilson Library Bulletin |date = June 1974| pages = 821–825 | quote = ''Britannica 3'' is difficult to use&nbsp;... the division of content between {{lang|la|Micropædia}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}} makes it necessary to consult another volume in the majority of cases; indeed, it was our experience that even simple searches might involve eight or nine volumes.}}|{{cite news | last = Davis | first = Robert Gorham | title = Subject: The Universe | work = [[The New York Times Book Review]] | date = 1 December 1974 | pages = 98–100}}|{{cite news | last = Hazo | first = Robert G. | title = The Guest Word | work = [[The New York Times Book Review]] | date = 9 March 1975 | page = 31}}|{{cite magazine | last = McCracken| first = Samuel | title = The Scandal of 'Britannica 3' | magazine = [[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |date = February 1976| pages = 63–68 | quote = This arrangement has nothing to recommend it except commercial novelty.}}|{{cite news | last = Waite | first = Dennis V. | title = Encyclopædia Britannica: EB 3, Two Years Later | work = [[Publishers Weekly]] | date = 21 June 1976 | pages = 44–45}}|{{cite news | last = Wolff | first = Geoffrey | title = Britannica 3, Failures of | work = [[The Atlantic Monthly|The Atlantic]] |date = November 1976| pages = 107–110 | quote = It is called the {{lang|la|Micropædia}}, for 'little knowledge', and little knowledge is what it provides. It has proved to be grotesquely inadequate as an index, radically constricting the utility of the {{lang|la|Macropædia}}.}}
}}</ref> In response, the 15th edition was completely reorganized and indexed for a re-release in 1985. This second version of the 15th edition continued to be published and revised through the release of the 2010 print version. The official title of the 15th edition is the ''New Encyclopædia Britannica'', although it has also been promoted as ''Britannica 3''.<ref name="kister_1994" />

On 9 March 1976 the US [[Federal Trade Commission]] entered an opinion and order enjoining Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. from using: a) deceptive advertising practices in recruiting sales agents and obtaining sales leads, and b) deceptive sales practices in the door-to-door presentations of its sales agents.<ref>{{cite web |title=In the Matter of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. et al. |url=https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/commission_decision_volumes/volume-87/ftc_volume_decision_87_january_-_june_1976pages_400-541.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025095028/https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/commission_decision_volumes/volume-87/ftc_volume_decision_87_january_-_june_1976pages_400-541.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2015 |access-date=11 December 2015 |pages=421–541}}</ref>