Wikipedia has information on almost all
subjects under the sun. So has Encyclopaedia Britannica. After 244 years of
publishing, it seems, Encyclopaedia Britannica that provides irrefutable facts
has lost battle to Wikipedia (and to other online sources) that provides
unconfirmed and many a time bogus information. Britannica will not be printed
any more. However, the encyclopaedia lovers who decorated their libraries shelves
with 32-volume set of the encyclopaedia will be able to access its digital
edition by paying an annual subscription. The complete set of Encyclopaedia
Britannica weighs about 58 kgs while you can access the complete version on an
i-pad that weighs 635 grams without flicking through pages for your desired
topic. Is this an example of online world expanding its horizons in publishing
sector?
The reason for its print run closure, it is
believed, is a drastic plunge in its sales from 1, 20,000 copies in 1990 to
8,000 copies of its latest edition since June 2009. And its total revenue from
online subscriptions to selling printed copies (Since June 2009) is 11m USD and
meanwhile Wikipedia has collected over 60m USD.
A 32-volume set of the Encyclopaedia
Britannica costs around 70,000 RS; an i-Pad edition monthly subscription costs
100 RS and its annual online subscription costs 3500 RS. On the other,
Wikipedia is free.
Wikipedia is flourishing for a few simple
reasons. It is free and easily accessible. Anyone can write articles and edit
articles on the site; corrections are made public after moderation. The site
not only provides information in English but in over 270 languages—ranging from
Sanskrit to French.
More than 400m people visit the site every month. Wikipedia
has over 38, 90,000 articles in English written by over 7, 51,426 contributors.
While the latest edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica has 65,000 articles
written by 4,000 prominent writers including five former USA presidents and 110
Nobel laureates.
The credibility of the content available on
Wikipedia is doubtful because of anonymity of writers. Information on the site can
only be verified through sources referred at the end of articles. The
credibility of content is an important aspect for any reader.
On the credibility of content on Wikipedia,
Founder Jimmy Wales says: "You shouldn't really use Wikipedia as the sole
source for anything, ever. You shouldn't use anything as the sole source for
anything, in my view." His statement is apposite for the digital age when
we refer to online sources for our queries. Wales has clearly stated that ‘check
and re-check’ before using any information available on the Web.
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