I think encyclopedias are pretty much gone, along with encylopedia salesmen.

I own an entire set. As a child my father never let us use the computer for homework he believed the ability to find information without simply typing the subject into a line was a valuable asset. I agree and keep books for my children.

Also many teachers now require at least one book reference in assignments, computer references can be used, but book ones must be there as well. Personally i think the day paper books die will be a sad day for humanity, so much knowledge will be lost if technology ever fails us.

My Auntie own a set of Encyclopedia Britannica and they are very helpful to me when I was still studying in high school.As of now encyclopedias are just part of a collection.

yes every shcool every publick liybaruy

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Children_reading_1940.jpg

Print sales of Encyclopedias to households (as opposed to Libraries) have been on the decline since the early 1990's, and may in fact one day be a thing of the past as publishers, led by Encyclopedia Americana, may decide not to even create print editions due to profitability issues.

The big three encyclopedia sets are Encyclopedia Americana, World Book, and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The publishers of Americana have announced that there will very possibly be no print version at all in 2009 as they concentrate on their online version. If that turns out to be so, it's obvious that nobody will be buying print copies of Americana, for sure.

World Book, the best age group encyclopedia for children, has published a 22 volume set for $1,099. By comparison, they are also selling the 2009 edition on DVD with everything from the print library PLUS over 2,000 video, audio and image entries for only $39.99. Not to mention you can get an online subscription for $10 a month of $50 per year. Almost all libraries still purchase World Book.
http://store.worldbook.com/wb/category.asp?subject_id=14

The Cadillac of encyclopedias, (or "encyclopaedias", as they like to spell it) is still Encyclopaedia Britannica. The 2009 set is 32 volumes long and comes with a DVD and a one year subscription to Britannica online. The cost is $1,045 USD, and sales hit a high of $650 million in 1990, but have been declining ever since. More shocking than the rapid decline of sales due to format was the seeming disregard of consumers for validity of content. Microsoft Encarta was kicking Britannica's butt in the 1990's with content from Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia, a second rate (to put it kindly) production that was nearly defunct.

SPOKESMAN FOR THE NEW BOOKLESS GENERATION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO6Hwn-gUaY

I do, but rarely use them anymore.