This was asked some years ago, but some things never change.

[Mind_your_head]

How many people/families have/own an encyclopedia in their house? Even if it's 'old'.

I *love* books....what can I say......

Encyclopedias were/are very expensive....

[BlooInBloo]

1. I did when I was a kid. But google knows a lot more than any encyc set now.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Yes, but it is really out of date n/t

[madmax]

3. An encylopedia is one thing I really wanted as a kid

but, there was no way my Mom could afford it. I guess for kids today whose parents can't afford a computer it's the same thing.

[begin_within]

4. I have the Encyclopedia Britannica from 1959, and all the "Book of the Year" updates

from 1960 through 1986.

[blue sky at night]

5. I have one....

it is call the World Wide Web...everything (almost) at your fingertips. And you are right....it isn't cheap either.

BTW, one of the most important aspects of the above mentioned web:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/


Change, HOPE, OBama!!!

[Aeval]

10. I have heard the internet compared to ...

a giant library in which all the pages have been torn from all the books and scattered around. The information is all there, but there is no organization or evaluation. It must be weeded through and sorted out, and can be overwhelming. As we all know, anyone can say anything on the internet. This is great, but many things are said without supporting facts or qualifications, and it still gets believed! The major difference with a published reference source like an encyclopedia is that it has been checked for accuracy, cites all referenced sources, and is usually objective. This is true of a great deal of info found on the web, but NOT ALL. Not most, in fact... The web is no substitute for print (or at least for online versions of print resources).

Not to mention, you can't beat "book smell."

Okay, putting soapbox away now. Occupational hazard...

[blue sky at night]

14. same can be said about any book, any library.....

we all need to keep a bit of doubt when we read anything....internet is in my back room, library and books need gas, car, and time. Don't get me wrong, I go to the Library at least every two weeks for books, but the internet even helps me find those books. YOUR post rocks, thanks!!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I have every encyclopedia published

on the internet. :)

[MonteLukast]

7. Funk & Wagnalls circa early 70's

I love how they smell-- like an old library smells.

[Mind_your_head]

8. One thiing the web can NEVER do, is "serendipity"......

when you are reading through a book ~ an encyclopedia, let's say ~ you're going to run up against things/information that you didn't intend to find - and THEN you can put 2+ 2 together. I don't know that - for all it's benefits - the internet, or the 'google' - can top such serendipity.

M_Y_H

[enlightenment]

9. We did. My gran taught me to read Dr. Suess when I was four

and handed me my first volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica when I was six. Read every entry through "Ibex" by the time I was eight and discovered horses, ending my young love affair with the knobbly feeling covers and onion skin pages of the encyclopedia. The volumes had their own bookcase; I would sit and read for hours (yes, I was a nerdy kid) - my parent's would parade me out to their friends as their 'little walking encyclopedia' (up through Ibex, anyway).

The Internet is a wonderful resource, but it's just not the same . . .

[loyalsister]

11. 1 1963 discarded volume

[annabanana]

12. I have a big old encyclopedia. .

But it's become a curiosity, a conversation piece..

But thanks to Jiminy Cricket, I can spell it's name!

[nonconformist]

13. We have an entire set of World Book Encyclopedias from the 70's

And the Year Books from 78-82.

They're still in pretty great shape, and even though they're really outdated, my kids read them all the time... just like I did when I was a kid (same set).

I'd love to get an updated set, but they are so terribly expensive, and that's hard to justify when you have access to the internet and encyclopedia computer software. Still, nothing beats curling up in a chair on a rainy Sunday, just randomly flipping through an encyclopedia.