Humanity has been developing its interest in encyclopaedias for more than one century. As for the richness of information and its reliability, the encyclopaedia is one of the most competent scientific information products. Over time, while maintaining uniform structural and methodological approaches, the form of encyclopaedic materials presentation has been changed. In the 20th century, an interest in creating book encyclopaedias reached its peak. Currently, their printed versions are being published in small editions, giving way to electronic products (online publications). Some countries have completely stopped publishing book encyclopaedias and transferred them to online platforms.
In Belarus, the encyclopaedic work development dates back to about 100 years ago.
In the BSSR of the 1920–1930s, under the leadership of academicians P. V. Goryn, S. Ja. Valfson and K. M. Mitskevich (Ja. Kolas) they began to prepare the Belarusian Soviet Encyclopaedia. But back then it was impossible to implement the intended plan.
In 1967, in the system of the Academy of Sciences of the Belarusian SSR as a scientific and research institute, the Global Editorial Board of the Belarusian Soviet Encyclopaedia (BelSE) under the supervision of the People’s Poet of Belarus, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus P. U. Browka (1905–1980) was established.
In the 2nd half of the 20th — early 21st centuries, two editions of the universal encyclopaedia in 12 and 18 volumes were published, as well as multi-volume and single-volume thematic and regional encyclopaedias. All encyclopaedias were published on paper.
Electronic versions were not created.
Preparing an online version of the encyclopaedia is an inevitable stage in the development of any encyclopaedia and today this is practically the only way to reach the reader.
In 2021 in the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Encyclopaedic Publications Centre was established. Later, a project for the first Belarusian encyclopaedic website called the Belarusian Encyclopaedia (belarusenc.by) was developed.