The
Encyclopædia Britannica is a general
English-language encyclopaedia published by
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., a
privately held company. The articles in the
Britannica are aimed at educated adult readers, and written by a staff of about 100&_160;full-time editors and over 4,000&_160;expert contributors. It is widely perceived as the most scholarly of encyclopaedias.
[1][2]The Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in print.[3] It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland and quickly grew in popularity and size, with its third edition in 1801 reaching over 21 volumes.[4][5] Its rising stature helped in recruiting eminent contributors, and the 9th edition (1875–1889) and the 11th edition (1911) are regarded as landmark encyclopaedias for scholarship and literary style.[4] Beginning with the 11th edition, the Britannica gradually shortened and simplified its articles in order to broaden its North American market.[4] In 1933, the Britannica became the first encyclopaedia to adopt a "continuous revision" policy, in which the encyclopaedia is continually reprinted and every article is updated on a regular schedule.[5]
The current 15th edition has a unique three-part structure a 12-volume Micropædia of short articles (generally having fewer than 750&_160;words), a 17-volume Macropædia of long articles (having from two to 310&_160;pages) and a single Propædia volume intended to give a hierarchical outline of human knowledge. The Micropædia is 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 other, more detailed articles.[6] The size of the Britannica has remained roughly constant over the past 70&_160;years, with about 40&_160;million words on half a million topics.[7] Although publication has been based in the United States since 1901, the Britannica has maintained its traditional British spelling.[1]
Over the course of its history, the Britannica has had difficulty remaining profitable—a problem faced by many encyclopaedias.[3] Some articles in certain earlier editions of the Britannica have been criticised for inaccuracy, bias or unqualified contributors.[4][8] The accuracy in parts of the present edition have likewise been questioned,[1][9] although such criticisms have been challenged by the Britannica's management.[10] Despite these criticisms, the Britannica retains its reputation as a reliable research tool.
