What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia?
The launch and rapid domination of Wikipedia as a reference tool for the Internet was as dramatic as it was unexpected. Wikipedia broke so many of the rules of reference publishing, which, even if not formally codified, had been widely accepted for many years: the use of (usually named) authorities...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Linköping University Electronic Press
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146641 |
| _version_ | 1818623832647270400 |
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| author | Michael Upshall |
| author_facet | Michael Upshall |
| author_sort | Michael Upshall |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The launch and rapid domination of Wikipedia as a reference tool for the Internet was as dramatic as it was unexpected. Wikipedia broke so many of the rules of reference publishing, which, even if not formally codified, had been widely accepted for many years: the use of (usually named) authorities as expert contributors, and the presence of moderating editors to ensure balanced struc-ture. All this appeared to have been swept away with Wikipedia, and, not least because Wikipedia content is given away rather than sold, the competition between Wikipedia and most general-purpose encyclopedias was a sad and rather one-sided affair. One by one the existing commercial print general encyclopedias admitted defeat; among the latest is Brockhaus, the leading German encyclopedia brand, which ended publication early in 2013. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T18:47:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d0e8b121315d44549727d90585f029d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-1525 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T18:47:20Z |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | Linköping University Electronic Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-d0e8b121315d44549727d90585f029d52022-12-21T22:20:47ZengLinköping University Electronic PressCulture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research2000-15252014-06-016364164610.3384/cu.2000.1525.146641What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia?Michael UpshallThe launch and rapid domination of Wikipedia as a reference tool for the Internet was as dramatic as it was unexpected. Wikipedia broke so many of the rules of reference publishing, which, even if not formally codified, had been widely accepted for many years: the use of (usually named) authorities as expert contributors, and the presence of moderating editors to ensure balanced struc-ture. All this appeared to have been swept away with Wikipedia, and, not least because Wikipedia content is given away rather than sold, the competition between Wikipedia and most general-purpose encyclopedias was a sad and rather one-sided affair. One by one the existing commercial print general encyclopedias admitted defeat; among the latest is Brockhaus, the leading German encyclopedia brand, which ended publication early in 2013.http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146641 |
| spellingShingle | Michael Upshall What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| title | What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? |
| title_full | What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? |
| title_fullStr | What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? |
| title_short | What Future for Traditional Encyclopedias in the Age of Wikipedia? |
| title_sort | what future for traditional encyclopedias in the age of wikipedia |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146641 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelupshall whatfuturefortraditionalencyclopediasintheageofwikipedia |