SC - distilling laws

[James F. Johnson]

Encyclopaedia Britannica posts all 32 volumes on Internet, free 

By DAVE CARPENTER 

The Associated Press 10/19/99 11:39 AM Eastern

CHICAGO (AP) -- Encyclopaedia Britannica, the longtime leader in
information that has lost its way in the Internet era, is giving away its
knowledge for free in a desperate bid to stay afloat. As of today, the
publisher's 32-volume set is available to anyone who surfs the Web. 

The only catch: You have to wade through advertisements -- Britannica's
source of revenue for the risky move -- to get your information. The
entire Britannica -- from a-ak (an ancient East Asian music) to
Zoroastrianism (a Persian religion) -- can be found at the Chicago
company's retooled site, www.britannica.com

Hoping to emulate the success of Amazon, Yahoo and others, the site also
offers current information from newspapers, news agencies and 70
magazines as well as community services such as e-mail, weather forecasts
and financial market reports. 

The head of the new company split off by the publishing company to house
its digital properties, Britannica.com Inc., tried to put the best spin
on the venture, calling this "a momentous day for knowledge seekers
everywhere." "Purchasing the Encyclopaedia Britannica was once a major
milestone in a family's life, but today we are fulfilling our promise to
make it more accessible to more people worldwide," said Don Yannias, the
new company's chief executive officer. 

But giving up its prime asset for free -- bound volumes still go for
about $1,250 a set -- shows the straits into which the 231-year-old
company has fallen. 

Encyclopaedia Britannica had revenue of $650 million and a sales force of
2,300 at its peak in 1989. Revenue estimates are no longer available from
the privately held company, where the work force is thought to number
about 350. 

The company lost ground badly when Microsoft, after being spurned by
Britannica, teamed with discount-market encyclopedia publisher Funk &
Wagnalls to produce a colorful, multimedia encyclopedia on CD-ROM in
1993. Britannica's own CD-ROM version, released a year later, was low on
graphics and did not fare well.

It also became the first encyclopedia available on the Web in 1994, but
the reception was muted by the $85-a-year subscription fee. 

House calls by salesmen, once a company trademark, were dropped in 1996. 

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