An Open Library

The days when your child grabbed an encyclopedia off the bookshelf to research his assigned country are practically gone. Instead, he will probably use a search engine to locate maps and statistics from the Internet. He may use the free "Wikipedia" to easily get information on Peru.

Wikipedia is part of a growing trend of "open source" learning that encourages visitors to contribute articles--in essence, creating a worldwide library. Previously, the Encyclopaedia Brittanica was popular, but often had outdated information. Wikipedia has quickly gained respect by publishing the latest facts and trends sent in by average readers.

Encyclopaedia Brittanica has tried to compete by asking visitors to send in articles, which would be published separatedly from the scholarly writings. Nevertheless, Wikipedia seems to dominate the market. While Wikipedia isn't a set of golden, leather-bound volumes, this new "encylopedia" is, as the saying goes, priceless.