--- THE GRANDMA'S LOGBOOK ---: 'ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA' IS PUBLISHED IN 1768

Today, The Grandma has relaxed at home reading about the Encyclopædia Britannica, that was first published on a day like today in 1768.

An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either from all branches or from a particular field or discipline.

Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are often arranged alphabetically by article name and sometimes by thematic categories.

Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries.

The Encyclopædia Britannica, Latin for British Encyclopaedia, is a general knowledge English-language online encyclopaedia.

It was formerly published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., and other publishers for previous editions. It was written by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition.

The Britannica is the English-language encyclopaedia that was in print for the longest time: it lasted 244 years.

It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, as three volumes. This first edition is available in facsimile. The encyclopaedia grew in size: the second edition was 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810) it had expanded to 20 volumes. Its rising stature as a scholarly work helped recruit eminent contributors, and the 9th (1875–1889) and 11th editions (1911) are landmark encyclopaedias for scholarship and literary style. Starting with the 11th edition and following its acquisition by an American firm, the Britannica shortened and simplified articles to broaden its appeal to the North American market.

More information: Encyclopaedia Britannica

In 1933, the Britannica became the first encyclopaedia to adopt continuous revision, in which the encyclopaedia is continually reprinted, with every article updated on a schedule.

In March 2012, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. announced it would no longer publish printed editions, and would focus instead on the online version.

The 15th edition had a three-part structure: a 12-volume Micropædia of short articles (generally fewer than 750 words), a 17-volume Macropædia of long articles (two to 310 pages), and a single Propædia volume to give a hierarchical outline of knowledge. The Micropædia was meant for quick fact-checking and as a guide to the Macropædia; readers are advised to study the Propædia outline to understand a subject's context and to find more detailed articles.

Over 70 years, the size of the Britannica has remained steady, with about 40 million words on half a million topics. Though published in the United States since 1901, the Britannica has for the most part maintained British English spelling.

Since 1936, the articles of the Britannica have been revised on a regular schedule, with at least 10% of them considered for revision each year. According to one Britannica website, 46% of its articles were revised over the past three years; however, according to another Britannica website, only 35% of the articles were revised.

The alphabetization of articles in the Micropædia and Macropædia follows strict rules. Diacritical marks and non-English letters are ignored, while numerical entries such as 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.

More information: The Guardian

Rulers with identical names are organized first alphabetically by country and then by chronology; thus, 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.

The dominant internet encyclopaedia and main alternative to Britannica is Wikipedia. The key differences between the two lie in accessibility; the model of participation they bring to an encyclopedic project; their respective style sheets and editorial policies; relative ages; the number of subjects treated; the number of languages in which articles are written and made available; and their underlying economic models: unlike Britannica, Wikipedia is a not-for-profit and is not connected with traditional profit- and contract-based publishing distribution networks.

Past owners have included, in chronological order, the Edinburgh, Scotland printers Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, Scottish bookseller Archibald Constable, Scottish publisher A & C Black, Horace Everett Hooper, Sears Roebuck and William Benton.

The present owner of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. is Jacqui Safra, a Brazilian billionaire and actor. Recent advances in information technology and the rise of electronic encyclopaedias such as Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, Encarta and Wikipedia have reduced the demand for print encyclopaedias.

To remain competitive, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. has stressed the reputation of the Britannica, reduced its price and production costs, and developed electronic versions on CD-ROM, DVD, and the World Wide Web. Since the early 1930s, the company has promoted spin-off reference works.