London, 2 July 2010

Edinburgh-born in 1768, Encyclopædia Britannica goes back to its roots this summer in celebration of Scottish history and literature, launching a national competition to encourage readers of all ages to explore the fantastic online resources available free at their local public library. To be in with the chance of winning the latest Apple MacBook computer worth over £500, 8GB Apple iPod touch or 8GB iPod Nano, readers simply need to visit their local public library or website between 12th July and 15th August 2010 and complete an online, interactive quiz in one of three categories: Junior (ages 5 - 11), Student (12 - 18) and Adult (18+).

Invaluable for anyone keen to get help with their homework or project research, pursue a personal interest or get the background to the latest news, Encyclopædia Britannica is available free online to Scottish public library members from within the library as well as from their home pc using their library card. It includes material from famous Scottish contributors, including critically-acclaimed crime novelist, Ian Rankin. Entrants to the competition will log on to Encyclopædia Britannica on a library computer, or remotely from home, and complete a short, entertaining multiple-choice quiz covering key elements of Scottish history, politics and literature.

The information from Britannica’s 4,000 global contributors is easy to use. It is media-rich with thousands of graphics, videos, audio clips, interactive games and quizzes that make it an exciting resource to use. There are separate home pages for adults and children making it easy to use and age appropriate for everyone. Britannica Online offers multiple resources in one location – encyclopedic articles, biographies, news headlines from the BBC, the classics and much more.

Ian Grant, Managing Director of Encyclopædia Britannica UK, comments: “Encyclopædia Britannica is proud of its long-established relationship with Scotland’s public libraries in providing local communities with access to the latest accurate information. Our national competition has been created to raise awareness of the fantastic resources provided by local libraries and encourage people to take advantage of them.”

Winners will be announced and notified before the end of August and invited to attend a special prize-giving event to be held on International Literacy Day, 8th September 2010 in Edinburgh. For further information, please contact your local library.

“The World Cup will be watched by upwards of a billion or more people around the world, from diehard football enthusiasts to the most casual fans, and our aim is to help all of them learn what they need to enjoy the games,” said Britannica executive editor Michael Levy. “New fans will get up to speed quickly on the sport, and serious ones will learn things they didn’t know.”

Notes to editors:

About Encyclopædia Britannica:
Encyclopædia Britannica has been a leader in reference and education publishing since 1768. Britannica has been a pioneer in electronic publishing since the early 1980s. It publishes products which can be found in a variety of media, from the internet to mobile phones to books.

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