Britannica To Switch to Pay Content
Staff -- Library Journal, 3/19/2001
Reacting to the slump in Internet advertising, Britannica.com March 13 decided to cut certain free content from its site, namely "topical features," and focus on new fee services. It was unclear how long encyclopedia content--which the company made free in October 1999 to the surprise of many in the library community--would remain free. A company spokesman told LJ that Britannica would make a decision about encyclopedia content within a few months.
In the meantime, Britannica will accelerate marketing of pay services such as BritannicaSchool.com, aimed at K-12 students. Also, the company will "explore additional premium services for both the consumer and education markets," the company said in a statement. The reorganization will involve layoffs of 68 employees, mainly from the free Britannica.com consumer site, based mostly in Chicago.
