Editing Encyclopædia Britannica (section)

== Print version ==
[[File:Encyclopaedia Britannica 15 with 2002.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The 15th edition of the ''Britannica''; the initial volume with the green spine is the {{lang|la|Propædia}}; the red-spined and black-spined volumes are the {{lang|la|Micropædia}} and the {{lang|la|Macropædia}}, respectively. The last three volumes are the 2002 Book of the Year (black spine) and the two-volume index (cyan spine).]]
From 1985, the ''Britannica'' consisted of four parts: the {{lang|la|Micropædia}}, the {{lang|la|Macropædia}}, the {{lang|la|Propædia}}, and a two-volume index. The ''Britannica''{{'s}} articles are contained in the {{lang|la|Micro-}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}}, which encompass 12 and 17 volumes, respectively, each volume having roughly one thousand pages. The 2007 {{lang|la|Macropædia}} has 699 in-depth articles, ranging in length from two pages to 310 pages, with references and named contributors. In contrast, the 2007 {{lang|la|Micropædia}} has roughly 65,000 articles, the vast majority (about 97%) of which contain fewer than 750 words, no references, and no named contributors.<ref name="library_association_1996" /> The {{lang|la|Micropædia}} articles are intended for quick fact-checking and to help in finding more thorough information in the {{lang|la|Macropædia}}. The {{lang|la|Macropædia}} articles are meant as authoritative, well-written commentaries on their subjects, as well as storehouses of information not covered elsewhere.<ref name="kister_1994" /> The longest article (310 pages) is on the subject of the United States, and it resulted from merging separate articles on the individual [[US state]]s. A 2013 "Global Edition" of ''Britannica'' contained approximately 40,000 articles.<ref name="store.britannica.com">{{cite web |url=https://store.britannica.com/products/043009100 |title=Britannica Global Edition |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705002524/https://store.britannica.com/products/043009100 |archive-date=5 July 2014 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Store }}</ref>

Information can be found in the ''Britannica'' by following the [[cross-reference]]s in the {{lang|la|Micropædia}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}}; these are sparse, however, averaging one cross-reference per page.<ref name="sader_1995" /> Readers are instead recommended to consult the alphabetical index or the {{lang|la|Propædia}}, which organizes the ''Britannica''{{'s}} contents by topic.<ref name="index_preface">{{Cite journal |last=Goetz |first=Philip W. |year=2007 |title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica |journal=Encyclopaedia Britannica Incorporated |edition=15th edition, ''Index'' preface |location=Chicago, Illinois |bibcode=1991neb..book.....G}}</ref>

The core of the {{lang|la|Propædia}} is its "Outline of Knowledge", which aims to provide a logical framework for all human knowledge.<ref name="propedia_preface" /> Accordingly, the Outline is consulted by the ''Britannica''{{'s}} editors to decide which articles should be included in the {{lang|la|Micro-}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}}.<ref name="propedia_preface" /> The Outline can also be used as a study guide, as it puts subjects in their proper perspective and suggests a series of ''Britannica'' articles for the student wishing to learn a topic in depth.<ref name="propedia_preface" /> However, libraries have found that it is scarcely used for this purpose, and reviewers have recommended that it be dropped from the encyclopaedia.<ref name="library_association_1992">{{cite book | year = 1992 | title = Purchasing an Encyclopedia: 12 Points to Consider | edition = 4th | publisher = Booklist | location = Chicago, IL | isbn = 978-0-8389-5754-7 | author = [[American Library Association]] | others = Revised introduction by Sandra Whiteley}}</ref> The {{lang|la|Propædia}} contains colour transparencies of human anatomy and several appendices listing the staff members, advisors, and contributors to all three parts of the ''Britannica''.

Taken together, the {{lang|la|Micropædia}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}} comprise roughly 40&nbsp;million words and 24,000 images.<ref name="index_preface" /> The two-volume index has 2,350 pages, listing the 228,274 topics covered in the ''Britannica'', together with 474,675 subentries under those topics.<ref name="sader_1995" /> The ''Britannica'' generally prefers [[British English|British spelling]] over [[American English|American]];<ref name="sader_1995" /> for example, it uses ''colour'' (not ''color''), ''centre'' (not ''center''), and ''encyclopaedia'' (not ''encyclopedia''). There are some exceptions to this rule, such as ''defense'' rather than ''defence''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Defense mechanism | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | edition= 15th | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | year = 2007 | volume = 3 | pages = 957}}</ref>{{Original research inline | date=June 2023}} Common alternative spellings are provided with cross-references such as "Color: ''see'' Colour."

Since 1936, the ''Britannica'' has been revised on a regular schedule, with at least 10% of the articles considered for revision each year.<ref name="sader_1995" /><ref name="encyclopaedia_1954" /> According to one Britannica website, 46% of the articles in the 2007 edition were revised over the preceding three years;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eb.com/library/print/eb.html |title=Encyclopædia Britannica: School & Library Site, promotional materials for the 2007 ''Britannica'' |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=11 April 2007 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322035443/https://www.eb.com/library/print/eb.html |archive-date=22 March 2007 }}</ref> however, according to another Britannica website, only 35% of the articles were revised over the same period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com.au/product.asp?prod=HLMPKG07 |title=Australian Encyclopædia Britannica, promotional materials for the 2007 ''Britannica'' |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Australia |access-date=10 April 2007 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830124610/https://www.britannica.com.au/product.asp?prod=HLMPKG07 |archive-date=30 August 2007 }}</ref>

The alphabetization of articles in the {{lang|la|Micropædia}} and {{lang|la|Macropædia}} follows strict rules.<ref name="micropedia_preface">{{Cite journal |last=Goetz |first=Philip W. |year=2007 |title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica |journal=Encyclopaedia Britannica Incorporated |edition=15th edition, {{lang|la|Micropædia}} preface |location=Chicago, Illinois |bibcode=1991neb..book.....G}}</ref> [[Diacritic]]al marks and non-English letters are ignored, while numerical entries such as "[[War of 1812|1812, War of]]" are alphabetized as if the number had been written out ("Eighteen-twelve, War of"). Articles with identical names are ordered first by persons, then by places, then by things. Rulers with identical names are organized first alphabetically by country and then by chronology; thus, [[Charles the Simple|Charles III]] of France precedes [[Charles I of England]], listed in ''Britannica'' as the ruler of Great Britain and Ireland. (That is, they are alphabetized as if their titles were "Charles, France, 3" and "Charles, Great Britain and Ireland, 1".) Similarly, places that share names are organized alphabetically by country, then by ever-smaller political divisions.

In March 2012, the company announced that the 2010 edition would be the last printed version. This was part of a move by the company to adapt to the times and focus on its future using digital distribution.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://blogs.britannica.com/2012/03/change/|title=Change: It's OK. Really.|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=13 March 2012|access-date=14 November 2016|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507183247/https://blogs.britannica.com/2012/03/change/|url-status=live}}</ref> The peak year for the printed encyclopaedia was 1990, when 120,000 sets were sold, but sales had dropped to 40,000 per annum by 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/encyclopaedia-britannica-to-end-print-editions/|title=Encyclopaedia Britannica to end print editions|work=Fox News|agency=Associated Press|date=14 March 2012|access-date=17 February 2022|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924170738/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/14/encyclopaedia-britannica-to-end-print-editions/|url-status=live}}</ref> There were 12,000 sets of the 2010 edition printed, of which 8,000 had been sold by March 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/|title=After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses|first=Julie|last=Bosman|work=The New York Times|date=13 March 2012|access-date=17 February 2022|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124214708/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses|url-status=live}}</ref> By late April 2012, the remaining copies of the 2010 edition had sold out at Britannica's online store. {{as of|2016}}, a replica of Britannica's 1768 first edition is available via the online store.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://store.britannica.com/collections/featuredproducts/products/052700000 |title=1768 Encyclopaedia Britannica Replica Set |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Store |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921032104/https://store.britannica.com/collections/featuredproducts/products/052700000 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref>

=== Related printed material ===
[[File:Children's Britannica.jpg|thumb|''Children's Britannica'']]
''Britannica Junior'' was first published in 1934 as 12 volumes. It was expanded to 15 volumes in 1947, and renamed ''Britannica Junior Encyclopædia'' in 1963.<ref>Britannica Junior Encyclopædia, 1984.</ref> It was taken off the market after the 1984 printing.

A British ''Children's Britannica'' edited by [[John Armitage (editor)|John Armitage]] was issued in London in 1960.<ref>''Children's Britannica''. 1960. Encyclopædia Britannica Limited. London, England.</ref> Its contents were determined largely by the [[eleven-plus]] standardized tests given in Britain.<ref name="EB1988">''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1988.</ref> Britannica introduced the ''Children's Britannica'' to the US market in 1988, aimed at ages seven to 14.

In 1961, a 16-volume ''Young Children's Encyclopaedia'' was issued for children just learning to read.<ref name="EB1988" /> ''My First Britannica'' is aimed at children ages six to 12, and the ''Britannica Discovery Library'' is for children aged three to six (issued 1974 to 1991).<ref>{{cite web |title=Britannica Discovery Library (issued 1974–1991) |url=https://britannicashop.britannica.co.uk/epages/Store.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Britannicashop/Products/CHLD_PRNT_0551 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061220/https://britannicashop.britannica.co.uk/epages/Store.sf/?ObjectPath=%2FShops%2FBritannicashop%2FProducts%2FCHLD_PRNT_0551 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |access-date=11 April 2007 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica (UK) Limited}}</ref> ''Compton's by Britannica'', first published in 2007, incorporating the former ''[[Compton's Encyclopedia]]'', is aimed at 10- to 17-year-olds and consists of 26 volumes and 11,000 pages.<ref>{{cite web |title=2007 Compton's by Britannica |url=https://britannicashop.britannica.co.uk/epages/Store.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Britannicashop/Products/CHLD_PRNT_0710_0715_0696 |access-date=11 April 2007 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica (UK) Limited}}{{dead link|date=July 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

There have been, and are, several abridged ''Britannica'' encyclopaedias. The single-volume ''Britannica Concise Encyclopædia'' has 28,000 short articles condensing the larger 32-volume ''Britannica'';<ref>{{cite web |title=2003 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |url=https://britannicashop.britannica.co.uk/epages/Store.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Britannicashop/Products/SVOL_REF_0302 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061300/https://britannicashop.britannica.co.uk/epages/Store.sf/?ObjectPath=%2FShops%2FBritannicashop%2FProducts%2FSVOL_REF_0302 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |access-date=11 April 2007 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica (UK) Limited}}</ref> there are authorized translations in languages such as Chinese<ref name="TTO Pham Hong Quan">{{cite news |last=Quân |first=Phạm Hoàng |date=25 July 2015 |title=Tên theo chủ: Qua vụ Google và vụ Britannica tiếng Việt |language=vi |trans-title=Naming by authority: the cases of Google and the Vietnamese Britannica |url=https://tuoitre.vn/tin/tuoi-tre-cuoi-tuan/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/20150724/ten-theo-chu-qua-vu-google-va-vu-britannica-tieng-viet/782406.html |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729225754/https://tuoitre.vn/tin/tuoi-tre-cuoi-tuan/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/20150724/ten-theo-chu-qua-vu-google-va-vu-britannica-tieng-viet/782406.html |archive-date=29 July 2015}}</ref> created by [[Encyclopedia of China Publishing House]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=Imperial China: The Definitive Visual History |date=October 2020 |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |isbn=978-0-7440-2047-2 |editor-last1=Jiangshan |editor-first1=Wang |edition=First American |location=New York |pages=3 |editor-last2=Yi |editor-first2=Tian}}</ref> and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]].<ref name="TTO English">{{cite news|title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia rendered into Vietnamese|work=[[Tuổi Trẻ]] News|date=13 January 2015|access-date=11 August 2015|url=https://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/25374/encyclopaedia-britannica-rendered-into-vietnamese|archive-date=5 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211714/http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/25374/encyclopaedia-britannica-rendered-into-vietnamese|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TTO Nguyen Viet Long">{{cite news |last=Long |first=Nguyễn Việt |date=9 July 2015 |title=Chuyện kể từ người tham gia làm Britannica tiếng Việt |language=vi |trans-title=Stories from contributors to the Vietnamese Britannica |url=https://tuoitre.vn/tin/tuoi-tre-cuoi-tuan/cuoc-song-muon-mau/cua-so-khoa-hoc/20150709/chuyen-ke-tu-nguoi-tham-gia-lam-britannica-tieng-viet/774858.html |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823085230/https://tuoitre.vn/tin/tuoi-tre-cuoi-tuan/cuoc-song-muon-mau/cua-so-khoa-hoc/20150709/chuyen-ke-tu-nguoi-tham-gia-lam-britannica-tieng-viet/774858.html |archive-date=23 August 2015}}</ref>

Since 1938, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. has published annually a ''Book of the Year'' covering the past year's events. A given edition of the ''Book of the Year'' is named in terms of the year of its publication, though the edition actually covers the events of the previous year. The company also publishes several specialized reference works, such as ''Shakespeare: The Essential Guide to the Life and Works of the Bard'' (Wiley, 2006).