„Encyclopædia Britannica” változatai közötti eltérés

A negyedik korszakban (1974-1994, tizenötödik kiadás) megjelent a Britannica tizenötödik kiadása, melynek három része volt: a [[Micropædia]], a [[Macropædia]] and a [[Propædia]]. Mortimer J. Adler (az Encyclopædia Britannica Szerkesztőségi Bizottságának tagja annak 1949-es indításától, 1974-től elnöke; a Britannica tizenötödik kiadása szerkesztési tervezésének igazgatója 1965-től)<ref>Mortimer J. Adler, ''A Guidebook to Learning: for the lifelong pursuit of wisdom''. MacMillan Publishing Company, New York, 1986. 88. oldal </ref> befolyása alatt az enciklopédia nemcsak jó kézikönyv és oktatási eszköz lett, de szerkesztői próbálkoztak a teljes emberi tudás rendszerezésével is. A külön tartalomjegyzék hiánya és a cikkek két külön enciklopédiába történő szervezése (Micro- és Macropædia) kezdetben a tizenötödik kiadás erős kritikájához vezetett.<ref name="kister_1994" /><ref name="15th_criticism">{{cite news | last = Baker | first = John F. | title = A New Britannica Is Born | publisher = [[Publishers Weekly]] | date = [[14 January]] [[1974]] | pages = 64–65}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Wolff | first = Geoffrey | title = Britannica 3, History of | publisher = [[The Atlantic Monthly|The Atlantic]] | date = June 1974 | pages = 37–47}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Cole | first = Dorothy Ethlyn | title = Britannica 3 as a Reference Tool: A Review | publisher = Wilson Library Bulletin | date = June 1974 | pages = 821–825 | quote = ''Britannica 3'' is difficult to use&nbsp;… the division of content between ''Micropædia'' and ''Macropædia'' makes it necessary to consult another volume in the majority of cases; indeed, it was our experience that even simple searches might involve eight or nine volumes.}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Davis | first = Robert Gorham | title = Subject: The Universe | publisher = [[The New York Times Book Review]] | date = [[1 December]] [[1974]] | pages = 98–100}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Hazo | first = Robert G. | title = The Guest Word | publisher = [[The New York Times Book Review]] | date = [[9 March]] [[1975]] | page = 31}}<br />* {{cite news | last = McCracken| first = Samuel | title = The Scandal of 'Britannica 3' | publisher = [[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] | date = February 1976 | pages = 63–68 | quote = This arrangement has nothing to recommend it except commercial novelty.}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Waite | first = Dennis V. | title = Encyclopaedia Britannica: EB 3, Two Years Later | publisher = [[Publishers Weekly]] | date = [[21 June]] [[1976]] | pages = 44–45}}<br />* {{cite news | last = Wolff | first = Geoffrey | title = Britannica 3, Failures of | publisher = [[The Atlantic Monthly|The Atlantic]] | date = November 1976 | pages = 107–110 | quote = It is called the ''Micropædia'', for 'little knowledge', and little knowledge is what it provides. It has proved to be grotesquely inadequate as an index, radically constricting the utility of the ''Macropædia''.}}</ref>