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The modern type of encyclopedia : with alphabetical arrangement and frequently with bibliographies : is usually said to have been established by John Harris in his Lexicon technicum (1704). Perhaps the most renowned of all encyclopedias, the EncyclopEdie, was completed in 1772 by Diderot and others in France. The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in three volumes (1768–71). It grew in size and reputation over the years; despite its name, it is now published in the United States.
The oldest German encyclopedia still being published is Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon, first issued from 1796 to 1808. On this, rather than on Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia (1st ed. 1728), was based the British Chambers's Encyclopedia (1st ed. 1859–68). The famous Larousse Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXEme siEcle franCais in 17 volumes was published from 1865 to 1888. The 30-volume Saudi Global Arabic Encyclopedia, the first modern encyclopedia in Arabic and with an Arab perspective, was published in 1997.
The first noteworthy American encyclopedia was The Encyclopedia Americana, edited by Francis Lieber (13 vol., 1829–33). Important American encyclopedias include Collier's Encyclopedia (24 vol., 1949–51) and Encyclopedia International (20 vol., 1963). Notable multivolume juvenile encyclopedias are The Book of Knowledge (1910), World Book Encyclopedia (1917), Britannica Junior (1934), Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia (1922), and Merit Students Encyclopedia (1967).
The Encyclopaedia Britannica completely revised its format and now publishes a 30-volume edition divided into three parts: the Propaedia, a 1-volume outline of the whole; the Micropaedia, a 12-volume short-entry set; and the Macropaedia, a 17-volume long-entry set with articles by noted authors and scholars. Since the advent of computer technology, several encyclopedias have been made available in CD-ROM format (see compact disc), sometimes as part of a reference package; and as part of an on-line service. CD-ROM encyclopedias typically offer multimedia enhancements, such as video and sound clips and animated illustrations, and on-line encyclopedias especially are frequently updated. All electronic encyclopedias make use of hypertext cross-references.
Some specialized encyclopedias are in many volumes, such as the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, the Encyclopedia of Islam, and the New Grove Dictionary of Music. Most specialized encyclopedias, however, are one volume or two. The one-volume general encyclopedia became popular in Europe early in the 20th cent., but the first comprehensive one-volume general encyclopedia in English was The Columbia Encyclopedia (1935), now in its sixth edition. A number of compact desk encyclopedias are also now available.
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