The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' (, abbreviated ''SNL'') is a Norwegian-language online

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

. It has several subdivisions, including the

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. It is part of the '' Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''. Origin The first print edition (NBL1) was issued between 1923 and 1983; it included 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. Kunnskapsforlaget to ...

. The

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is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with up to 3.5 million unique visitors per month.

Paper editions (1978–2007)

The ''SNL'' was created in 1978, when the two

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s Aschehoug and Gyldendal merged their encyclopedias and created the company Kunnskapsforlaget. Up until 1978 the two publishing houses of Aschehoug and Gyldendal, Norway's two largest, had published ' and ', respectively. The respective first editions were published in 1906–1913 (Aschehoug) and 1933–1934 (Gyldendal). The slump in sales of paper-based encyclopedias around the turn of the 21st century hit Kunnskapsforlaget hard, but a fourth edition of the paper encyclopedia was secured by a grant of ten million

Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...

r from the foundation Fritt Ord in 2003. The fourth edition consisted of 16 volumes, a total of 12,000 pages and 280,000 entries.

List of paper editions

* First edition, 1978–1981, 12 volumes. Chief editors Olaf Kortner, Preben Munthe, * Second edition, 1986–1989, 15 volumes. Chief editors Olaf Kortner, Preben Munthe, . * Third edition, 1995–1998, 16 volumes. Chief editor Petter Henriksen. * Fourth edition, 2005–2007, 16 volumes. Chief editor Petter Henriksen.

Online encyclopedia

The online edition of ''SNL'' was launched in 2000, and had both private and institutional subscribers. The paywall was removed on 25 February 2009, and the

became free to use. On 12 March 2010, announced that they would close the online encyclopedia because of lacklustre sales and failing revenue. It was also announced that the articles would not be given to the

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, with chief editor Petter Henriksen stating that: "It is important that the people behind the articles remain visible". In 2011, the foundations Fritt Ord and Sparebankstiftelsen DNB acquired the encyclopedia, hired Anne Marit Godal as the new chief editor and established a new organisation, assisted by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association. In 2014 ('the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia Association') was established; members of the association are Norwegian universities and other non-profit organisations. In 2016 became the chief editor. As of 2023, the SNL has around 200,000 articles online, updated by approximately 1,200 affiliated academics. The ''SNL'' accepts contributions from users, but all changes to the articles are verified by a topic expert before publication.About the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia
(Norwegian)

References

External links

*
About the ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia''
{{authority control General encyclopedias Norwegian online encyclopedias 1978 non-fiction books Aschehoug books Gyldendal Norsk Forlag books 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias