Beyond just the encyclopedia

Updated on: Monday, April 05, 2010

Though in its 242nd year, Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) is a product that fails to age. In fact, what it has recently acquired is a youthful grip on its fans across the globe, who by now have logged on to the information superhighway and added to the information bedlam. “Community use is an idea of this age,” says Jorge Cauz, President, Ency-clopedia Britannica, detailing his company’s plans to go aggressive online.

Though India may be a tiny share of EB’s global operations currently, the company finds the market growing a hundred per cent year-on-year. “There is a huge emphasis on education. Then, the country has a lot of English speakers. Besides, there is an opportunity in the school market, which, in our case, is growing at a steady rate of 25-26 per cent annually.” Britannica already has four school series in Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Computer Science and General Knowledge. All together this is a list of 30 main titles supported by an additional list of nine Teachers’ Books and 10 CDs. All educational materials carry the hallmark of well-researched content. “The current year will see the emergence of a Science series, a Social Studies series, another Mathematics series for Classes 1 to VIII, and more books for Classes IX and X in Computer Science,” says KM Thomas, MD, Encyclopedia Britannica, India. The publisher also has plans for an English Grammar series, a main English, Maths, Science and Social Studies series for the ICSE board.

In the online world, Britannica’s biggest challenger is Wikipedia, and Cauz says EB’s objective is to upgrade the credibility it has earned over the years. “Like Wikipedia and such others, our website too will let members contribute information on Britannica.com. The differences are, one needs to pay to be part of the system. Second, the content uploaded by the member would be reviewed and approved of by the Britannica editors before publishing it online,” he says.
EB’s products are now found across the spectrum of traditional and futuristic media, from print to electronic to Web-based, with its mission to mould itself to deliver what knowledge seekers need in the digital age. Its comprehensive catalogue includes encyclopaedias for all age groups, multi-volume reference products, focused products on art, culture and history, and curriculum support materials, etc.

Its community mission will bring members credit for their work with their name appearing alongside the article they contribute to or edit. If another member points out factual, spelling or other such errors, his or her name would also appear in the article history after the contribution is verified. The membership of this community comes at $70 globally, “but we are flexible in setting the price in India,” assures Cauz. If you are an individual user (like a parent), you have to pay $40. Membership to schools, allowing them full access to the website, comes at a cost of $544 with access given to 200 students.

Part of EB’s strategy in India is moving away from the image of bringing out bulky encyclopaedias and making way for an active online presence. The mammoth knowledge provider is also set to get its own IP address. “Having a server in India will increase the speed at which the website’s page opens on your browser,” says Cauz.

Another area important for EB is higher education. “We have a 100 per cent penetration and 80 per cent penetration, respectively, in the higher education sectors in the US and UK. We now are considering making a dent in India as well,” says Cauz.

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