The Encyclopedia Britannica has launched a program allowing free access to their online edition for ‘web publishers’ and their readers. I have submitted gray/matter for registered access, which if approved will allow you to read any linked articles without an account. The goal is to provide some alternative background references besides the obligatory Wikipedia, which arguably outstrips the EB in breadth but not in depth or validation (the crux being Wikipedia’s uneven record for veracity).

britannicanet.com

No word yet on whether WebShare access would allow anything like A. J. Jacobs’ quest to become The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by reading through the entire collection.