Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/) is a leader in providing open access to a comprehensive online philoso¬phy reference work that is authoritative, peer-reviewed, and continually updated. The SEP has revolutionized traditional text-based encyclopedias, avoiding the need for printing new editions by publishing a rigorously peer-reviewed, dynamic encyclopedia on the web. Authors can update entries freely while expert reviewers ensure improved quality. A dynamic encyclopedia evolves and quickly adapts to reflect advances in research. The SEP by nature is not – and will never be – finished because the process of updating a dynamic encyclopedia does not end. This ability to adapt, change, and respond quickly to new ideas is absolutely essential for any scholarly reference work in the twenty-first century.
As many as 735,000 times a week worldwide, entries are retrieved from the SEP's servers. This many hits strongly suggests that the SEP serves not only the community of professional philosophers but also is widely used by the public at large. The SEP is widely accessed and used each week by students and scholars of diverse disciplines such as mathematics, law, medicine, theology, history, and science. The SEP's comprehensive archival system makes it easy for both students and scholars to cite any SEP entry in their works. Librarians, philoso¬phers, and other supporters have joined forces to ensure that the SEP, remains free, widely accessible, and generally available to all. Numerous library consortia, including a Scholarly Publishing and Resources Coalition (SPARC) and International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC), and Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) are SEP partners, committed to keeping the SEP freely available to everyone. The National Endowment for the Humanities has supported the SEP with a $500,000 matching grant that earns a $1 match from the NEH for every $3 contributed from libraries and affiliated institutions. To learn more about how you can help, please email fundraising@plato.stanford.edu.