A few weeks ago I decided to reorganise the book case in our dining room. Almost the entire bottom shelf was occupied by a beautiful set of Children’s Encyclopedia Britannica. I love books. I am the kind of person who will happily spend hours browsing in a book shop. When I find a book I really enjoy it is cherished and becomes a valued member of my collection. The trouble is the collection grows and eventually you run out of space. Drastic action is required. My kid’s are grown up now and so the poor old EB is surplus to requirements. I think we paid about £20 a book so altogether they set me back around £200. These days most children have a computer and seek information on the Internet referring to sites like Wikipedia when they are doing homework / schoolwork. Encyclopedias it seems have had there day. This is a great shame as there is a certain skill in sourcing information in books, cross referencing and note taking by hand as it were. These skills may be lost if we do it all on the key board. Perhaps this is not important?

I looked on E Bay and there are lots of people selling Children’s Encyclopedia Britannica. So what to do. I don’t want to consign them to the tip. I’d like them to be appreciated and put to good use. They are fantastic books packed full of information and knowledge with lots of photos, illustrations, diagrams and charts.

Can anyone suggest the best place for my Encyclopedias to go?