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Since the advent of internet we have seen many changes in our lifestyles, especially the prospect of acquiring information instantly has become a big part of our lives. Similarly the digital millennium gradually eradicated the culture of reading from hard copies and tablets, smartphones, notebooks, palmtops replaced them — pardon me for being old fashioned but somehow all this sounds saddening as nothing can replace the experience of reading a book and likewise consulting a hard cover encyclopaedia has a charm of its own, but sadly The Encyclopaedia Britannica officially declared its 2012 print edition to be the last print as a consequence of declining sales.

And the reason is quite obvious as in a world of ever changing information where a fact gets outdated instantly, no one would want to buy a $1400,  32-volume encyclopaedia, rather one would simply use Wikipedia the open source encyclopaedia where society collectively contributes all the information, though critics claim it to be unreliable, Wikipedia has single handedly become the reason of Britannica’s gradual death.

Folks at Statista have made an infographic, analysing the economic effects of Wikipedia on Britannica’s sales and changing trends. Are you saddened at the demise of Britannica’s print version? Do let us know in comments if you think paying for its online service is reasonable or is Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia a better option?

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