It seems to have taken a long time but now we see that the Encyclopaedia Britannica has unveiled a plan to let readers help keep the reference work up to date…
Under the plan, readers and contributing experts will help expand and maintain entries online.
Experts will also be enrolled in a reward scheme and given help to promote their command of a subject.
However, Britannica said it would not follow Wikipedia in letting a wide range of people make contributions to its encyclopaedia.
User choice
“We are not abdicating our responsibility as publishers or burying it under the now-fashionable ‘wisdom of the crowds’,” wrote Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica in a blog entry about the changes.
He added: “We believe that the creation and documentation of knowledge is a collaborative process but not a democratic one.”
Britannica plans to do more with the experts that have already made contributions. They will be encouraged to keep articles up to date and be given a chance to promote their own expertise.
Get the full story from the BBC
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