Excerpted from EdWeek Online (see full article by clicking here) At a time when schools are requiring more and more digital resources, the announcement this month that Encylopedia Britannica will cease publishing the print edition of its 32-volume set and focus efforts on digitial offerings. In fact the news of the demise of the printed set after 244 years drew questions about the need for schools, especially in a financially challenging environment, to pay for such reference materials-whether they be online or in print-in an age of seemingly limitless free resources available on the Web. School Librarians say that encyclopedias and other reference materials continue to play a crucial role in K-12 schools. ”There is a real sense of security to be able to direct students to resources like encyclopedias,” said Susi Grissom, the librarian at the 396-student William B. Travis Academy and Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted in the Dallas School District. A Britannica competitor, Encyclopedia Americana, published by the New York City-based Scholastic, ceased publishing its print edition in 2006, moving its efforts online under the Grolier Online umbrella, said Hugh Roome, the President of Consumer and Professional Publishing at Scholastic.
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