( CNN ) -- The world received word yesterday that the publishers of Encyclopedia Britannica would stop producing hardbound , paper copies of their venerable reference . Actually , they stopped in 2010 but did n't tell anyone . Now they 've disclosed they 've been able to sell just 8,000 copies of the collection . The rest are in a warehouse in Chicago , looking for someone who needs historically accurate , out-of-date information . According to the company , they 'll continue publishing online and will sell their services to individuals , schools and libraries . In some respects , that 's good . The Web is much more easily updated , more interactive , and can deliver motion , sound , and color simultaneously . In other respects , that 's not good , particularly for young readers , older folks , immigrants , and technophobes who 'd rather read a book . Britannica 's decision is , in so many ways , simply a mile marker along the way to the new world of the 21st century . In mid-20th century America , a set of Britannicas on the shelf was a status symbol : a sign that the family had money , taste , some pretense to intellect , or at least a very strong desire to be seen that way . Other families had the World Book , Colliers , or the Encyclopedia Americana ( my own family 's choice ) . Annual yearbooks updated entries in science , technology , industrial manufacturing , botany , and more . And , for so many of us who grew up in the 20th century , it was fun just to look through those volumes , read , and wonder about the world . Wikipedia has largely replaced those printed volumes , principally because it 's free . Everything on the Web is free ( or should be , according to its most passionate users ) . The fact that it 's not written , edited , or monitored by content matter experts seems to be of little concern . Crowd-sourcing has replaced experts and , though not good , the accuracy quotient of Wikipedia articles seems to be improving . This is , however , part of a trend that assumes expertise is overvalued . Today , most technology users value connectivity and experience . Newspapers and magazines are in decline , bloggers and content aggregators are on the ascendant . The problem with crowd-sourcing the answer to any particular question is , of course , that you 're as likely to find ideologically driven opinion as hard fact . You also have little in the way of support for judgments about credibility , reliability , and accuracy . Ours is a society that can not afford to do without a postal service , daily newspapers , and expertly edited sources of public knowledge . The notion that all knowledge is available online within six clicks is both exciting and a bit frightening ( have you Googled yourself , your friends , or your children to see what 's online , including images ? ) . The disappearance of our printed sources of information poses two serious concerns . First , our antiquated , overtaxed , patchwork power grid is perennially on the verge of collapse . Chinese hackers , aging components , or an F4 tornado could take down large segments of our power supply . No power , no Internet . Second , just two-thirds of all Americans have access to the Internet at work or home . Those of us who live with an iPhone , Blackberry , tablet device ( or a desktop computer ) seem to think just about everyone is connected . Not so . Online access is far from a given for lower-income people . Wireless handheld devices and municipal WiFi systems look promising , but more than 100 million Americans are not connected to the Internet , according to the Pew Research Center 's Internet and American Life Project . Clearly this is a hinge point in history , much like Gutenberg 's use of moveable type to operate a printing press , or Marconi 's use of wireless communication to transmit the human voice over vast distances . The arrival of video scanning -- which made digital optics possible -- and high-speed data processing have accelerated the rate of change and we 're simply going to have to live with it and make the best of it . In the interim , we could think about buying a book or subscribing to a newspaper ( just for old time 's sake ) , or we could do something important for that one-third of our neighbors that will serve as an information safety net : Support your local public library . They , too , offer access to the Internet , but they also offer a clean , safe , nicely organized source for each of us to find information that 's useful , valuable , interesting , and helpful . Looking forward to the world our children and their children will live in does n't mean simply abandoning technology that seems anachronistic . It means preserving the best of what we know and making it accessible to everyone . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James S. O'Rourke , IV .
Encyclopedia Britannica announced that it wo n't print more books . James O'Rourke says as much as we gain from the Internet , there are also losses . Comment: O'Rourke : A third of Americans are n't connected to the web .