I hope-and think that hard back Encyclopedias will live forever. There is so much more to the bookcase set than just the knowledge transfer from page to brain. My parents had a 59 edition of World Book... over time I read I’m sure every page. I can still tell you the top wheat states in the US and the top diamond mines in the world... just by remembering those little symbols. About 6 years ago I finally broke down and brought a new set of World Books from Amazon for about $400. Great bargain... and the smell of the pages! We are now home schooling the last of our 3 children and her daily assignment is pick a letter and do 3 articles.
That is my hope also. We had a set of World Book growing up, and I, like you, remember many things out of those pages that most people do not know or learned in school. Even today, I come up with trivia and folks ask me, “How do you know this?” and I know it’s from perusing the encyclopedia throughout my childhood.
I’ve tried using an online or CD encyclopedia, but it’s not the same at all.
We yard sale a lot and we go to book sales, I’ll have to see if I can find a good set before they are gone forever.
Very happy to see that you are passing along to your children the love of the encyclopedia and their worth.