Wikipedia to be published in print

I came across an interesting article today as I was browsing through the news. At first I didn’t think much of it. But the more I thought about it, the more it intrigued me. I’m talking about plans to publish, in print, Wikipedia in Germany (Publisher plans printed version of Wikipedia). Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The media company — whose units include publisher Random House Inc. and music venture Sony BMG — said Wednesday that it plans to publish "The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia" starting in September with the content made up of 50,000 of the most-searched terms on the German language edition of Wikipedia.

The article goes on to mention that they plan to publish a new volume every year. The article didn’t mention anything about an English version being printed, but I’m sure it’s not far behind.

Here’s my take:

Cons

It’s easy to think of why this is a bad idea. First off, Wikipedia works best on the internet, where people can easily find entries for whatever they are curious about at the time. Wikipedia also lets the public edit, add, delete and make numerous other types of changes to each entry. Therefore, it’s constantly evolving – which is perhaps its greatest asset (and for some, its greatest downfall).

Furthermore, as it exists on the internet, Wikipedia uses few natural resources (ie. trees) and is available to anyone with an internet connection. When a print version is released, paper will be used to print the book on, boxes will be used to pack the books and the boxes will be carried on trucks to be distributed to various stores (which people will probably have to drive to in order to buy each volume). This might be slightly exaggerated, but you get my point. It’s also worthy to note that Random House was mentioned in the article. Surprising, considering all the praise I gave them in a flattering Earth Day post.

Pros

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of going print for Wikipedia is the ability to expand its readership beyond the internet. Not everyone goes online when searching for information (some actually use…books!). While I doubt these annual volumes of the most popular Wikipedia entries will be the definitive resource for those wishing to engage in some serious offline research, a print edition will reach even more people (even if it is nothing more than a novelty item).

Another advantage to going print is that it gives Wikipedia another way make some money from its content. The online encyclopedia relies mostly on donations for financial support, so a book will at least provide an ongoing revenue stream for the site.

Another advantage, although a slightly lesser one, is that having annual editions of the most popular entries will serve as a kind of "archive" for the site. While archiving is automatically done online and takes up less space, print books are still very popular and people still collect them on their bookshelves.

What do you think?

Do you think this is a good idea to have a print version of Wikipedia? Why or why not? Keep in mind that we’re only talking about the German version of Wikipedia, at least for now. Would you buy a copy if it came out in English? Leave a comment with your thoughts and become eligible to win a $30 Amazon gift card! Before commenting, be sure to read my simple contest rules. Comment on any post written this month (April 2008) and you have a chance to win!

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