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| Country | Norway |
|---|---|
| Language | Norwegian |
| Discipline | non-fiction, encyclopedia |
| Publisher | Great Norwegian Encyclopedia Association (Foreningen Store norske leksikon) |
| Published | 1906 (1906)–present |
| Website | snl |
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TheGreat Norwegian Encyclopedia (Norwegian:Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviatedSNL) is aNorwegian-language onlineencyclopedia.[1] It has several subdivisions, including theNorsk biografisk leksikon.
Theonline encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with up to 3.5 million unique visitors per month.[2]
TheSNL was created in 1978, when the twopublishing housesAschehoug andGyldendal merged their encyclopedias and created the companyKunnskapsforlaget.[3]
Up until 1978 the two publishing houses ofAschehoug andGyldendal, Norway's two largest, had publishedAschehougs konversasjonsleksikon [no] andGyldendals konversasjonsleksikon [no], respectively. The respective first editions were published in 1906–1913 (Aschehoug) and 1933–1934 (Gyldendal).[4]
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 millionNorwegian kroner from the foundationFritt Ord in 2003. The fourth edition consisted of 16 volumes, a total of 12,000 pages and 280,000 entries.[5]
The online edition ofSNL was launched in 2000, and had both private and institutional subscribers. Thepaywall was removed on 25 February 2009, and theonline encyclopedia became free to use.[7]
On 12 March 2010,Kunnskapsforlaget 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 theWikimedia Foundation, with chief editorPetter Henriksen stating that: "It is important that the people behind the articles remain visible".[8]
In 2011, the foundationsFritt Ord andSparebankstiftelsen DNB acquired the encyclopedia, hiredAnne Marit Godal as the new chief editor and established a new organisation, assisted by theNorwegian Academy of Science and Letters andNorwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association.[9] In 2014Foreningen Store norske leksikon ('the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia Association') was established; members of the association are Norwegian universities and other non-profit organisations.[10] In 2016Erik Bolstad [no] became the chief editor.[11]
As of 2023, the SNL has around 200,000 articles online, updated by approximately 1,200 affiliated academics. TheSNL accepts contributions from users, but all changes to the articles are verified by a topic expert before publication.[12]
'Det kunne vært en besnærende tanke å legge ut alt på Wikipedia, men saken er at vi brenner for at Norge skal ha et leksikon i fremtiden ved siden av Wikipedia, der menneskene/fagfolkene bak er synlige og kan stilles til ansvar' skriver hovedredaktør Petter Henriksen i Store norske i en kommentar på nettstedet.
(in Norwegian)