Since we started regularly going to the San Diego Public Library, University Heights book sale—third Saturday and Sunday of each month—I have searched for my version of the Holy Grail: A complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. This weekend, I found it but couldn’t buy it.
The problem is clutter, space, and timing. Our daughter is coming to visit for a bit, and I am surrendering my home office so she can have space of her own while here. The apartment is 772-square feet, but actual useful living space is diminished by the layout. We’re not hoarders, and still my wife and I feel cramped by clutter caused by lack of place to keep what we use daily or to store for emergencies.
I saw the encyclopedia on Saturday and returned Sunday (Jan. 18, 2026), to see the set still there. Because of potential resale value, I expected the books to be gone or plundered by the many resellers who ravage the book sale. Instead, I stared longingly at the 38 volumes; silently I pined and whined.
No price was posted, so I asked. One of the cashiers suggested $5. But the other knew the woman who had acquired the set for the library and advised to let her price the books. Talking over one another, the ladies explained that “nobody wants encyclopedias”, given Internet resources. And they take up valuable shelf space.
I want the books as reference that isn’t arbitrarily changed or politicized and that is available offline. This particular Britannica is current as of 1992, and that’s good enough for me. Someone from the library was supposed to call me yesterday with pricing, which I hoped to use as opportunity to reconsider buying. That didn’t happen.
The books were still on the shelf when I left 15 minutes to closing on Sunday. But they may be gone, which is one plausible reason for failed follow-up. If someone calls and the price is reasonable, I will reconsider buying books we have no place for (Annie has a say, it’s what we decide).
I used Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to shoot the Featured Image and companion. I can look at the photos and dream of a place and time—oh, and opportunity—to buy a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica. Vitals, first: f/1.9, ISO 640, 1/60 sec, 13mm (film equivalent); 2:25 p.m. PST. The other: f/1.9, ISO 1000, 1/40 sec, 13mm (film equivalent).
Update, Jan. 22, 2026: This morning, someone from the library called with a price for the Britannica: $25. According to Google AI search, the set would have cost around $1,000 in 1992—possibly more for leatherbound, which these books appear not to be.
Annie and I measured the width of our bookcases and took the tape measure with us to the library. Inspection time! Condition of the volumes was excellent, not even musty smell. But I passed on buying for now, but opportunity remains until the 28th, when the donator returns from a trip. The encyclopedia had been her father’s, and she is sentimental about it. She would rather reclaim the books, if there is no buyer. I may yet take them. Space is the dilemma to resolve. Either another update or full post is forthcoming.