According to the New York Times, it's the end of the road for the printed Encyclopedia Brittanica (//vny!://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/?hp).
As mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article, "...in recent years, print reference books have been almost completely wiped out by the Internet and its vast spread of resources, particularly Wikipedia, which in 11 years has helped replace the authority of experts with the wisdom of the crowds."
The last print edition will be the 32-volume 2010 edition.
I'd want one if it didn't cost $1400.00.
I remember (as a kid) flipping through our copy of the Encyclopedia Brittanica and the Worldbook series. Cool stuff, but no longer practical in this day and age.