Encyclopedia Britannica Goes Brainy

Old world publishing company recruits some of the brightest minds to form an advisory board for charting the future of shared knowledge.

How does a prized source of worldy knowledge which is struggling to stay relevant in today’s digital information age expand its horizons to chart a course for the future? If you’re Encyclopedia Britannica, you bring in the big guns.

The venerable publishing company today announced they were signing on fifteen of the world’s brightest minds to a new “Editorial Board of Advisors”. This new group, which includes Nobel laureates, university presidents and others, will “help steer Britannica’s editorial operations while grappling with the implications of digital technologies, globalization and the information explosion.”

The board, which first met in Chicago last month, will convene twice a year while also conducting other activities in between. They will provide principle focus and guidance on the digital and print versions of the encyclopedia, while also contributing to the larger world stage’s discussion of knowledge and how it is shared.

“The volume of information is exploding, the world is shrinking and digital media are changing the way we read, think and learn,” said Dale Hoiberg, editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. “We’ve brought together some of the best people from different fields to help us serve the knowledge seekers of the 21st century.”