Encyclopedias survive by going online

2012-02-09 14:49

分享到

 

Encyclopedias survive by going online

The other day, a few of us here at VOA got to talking about occupations that have grown obsolete, or nearly so, in these fast-changing times. Typewriter repair technician for one. And typist, come to think of it.

And here's one that's going, going but not quite gone: reference-book publisher.

Shelves on offices across America are still packed with sets of encyclopedias and thick individual books about geography, history, law, science, and the origin and use of words.

But most of them haven't been cracked open in months or years. They have become historical artifacts - part of the office décor.

Encyclopedias survive by going online

It's not because their users have grown lazy, or because the books' contents are any less valuable. As you might guess, it's because their information is available in a flash in hundreds or even thousands of places online.

If you want to find out abouthoneycombs, for instance, you're not limited to a trusty encyclopedia article, perhaps written 20 years ago. On the Worldwide Web, you can electronically access as much about honeycombs as you feel like reading. Or watching.

Fewer than half the sets of expensive, specialized encyclopedias are being sold today than were 10 years ago. But this hasn't put reference-book publishers out of business. They're making up for lost revenue by selling subscriptions to the electronic version of their works to libraries, universities, hospitals, and law offices around the world. The online encyclopedias are regularly updated and offer visual treats not found in the paper edition.

Their publishers, or perhaps we should say "content creators," have little choice if they want to stay in business. At least they're saving big bucks at their book warehouses, and sparing lots of trees as well.

honeycomb: 蜂窝

Related Stories:

Wikipedia 维基百科全书

Caught in the Web

For many people, first the doctor's office, then the web

Surfing 网上冲浪

(来源:VOA 编辑:Rosy)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
搜热词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn