We’ve always had some sort of encyclopedia in the house. It’s a great place to “get lost”, skipping from one thing to another. When one of our children was driving me nuts, I’d send them to look up something – anything! – and they’d be out of my hair for an hour.
I still have – and use – the World Book my great grandparents bought for my grandfather and his brother when they first arrived in the US from Europe in 1910. Fascinating!
gmartin997: Sounds like your parents were more practical than those of many of us here. I think most parents bought them as a status symbol, to be seen but not touched. My parents wouldn’t let me near them until I was old enough not to want to. In hindsight, it especially made no sense to buy the books when the information would be outdated in a year, but time seemed to move more slowly then, unlike today. Perhaps they couldn’t conceive of information getting old so quickly.
Hmmm. I recall a science fiction story once set on a planet that had used the paper edition of the 1911 (1912?) Encyclopedia Brittanica as its primary reference work—that culture grew and prospered, while many others that had used high-tech digital versions collapsed, once the impossible-to-duplicate computers failed. So paper editions are not entirely useless. They simply need literacy and a light source to function.
jgarrott over 12 years ago
I grew up with a set of Britannica in the house, and by the 4th grade I was reading it for fun. It all depends on what the family learning climate is.
shmlss over 12 years ago
we had worldbook encyclopedia in the 60s growing up, cost $700 then!!
Dani Rice over 12 years ago
We’ve always had some sort of encyclopedia in the house. It’s a great place to “get lost”, skipping from one thing to another. When one of our children was driving me nuts, I’d send them to look up something – anything! – and they’d be out of my hair for an hour.
I still have – and use – the World Book my great grandparents bought for my grandfather and his brother when they first arrived in the US from Europe in 1910. Fascinating!
starthrower50 over 12 years ago
gmartin997: Sounds like your parents were more practical than those of many of us here. I think most parents bought them as a status symbol, to be seen but not touched. My parents wouldn’t let me near them until I was old enough not to want to. In hindsight, it especially made no sense to buy the books when the information would be outdated in a year, but time seemed to move more slowly then, unlike today. Perhaps they couldn’t conceive of information getting old so quickly.
bmonk over 12 years ago
Hmmm. I recall a science fiction story once set on a planet that had used the paper edition of the 1911 (1912?) Encyclopedia Brittanica as its primary reference work—that culture grew and prospered, while many others that had used high-tech digital versions collapsed, once the impossible-to-duplicate computers failed. So paper editions are not entirely useless. They simply need literacy and a light source to function.
iced tea over 12 years ago
The only trouble with buying a set of encyclopedias is: they’re outdated two years later.