History of the Encyclopedia of Social Work

The Encyclopedia of Social Work had its origins in 1929 when the Russell Sage Foundation sponsored the publication of the Social Work Year Book. This was followed by 10 more editions, published approximately 2 years apart, until 1949. At that point, the publication of the Year Book was taken over by the American Association of Social Workers, which published the next two editions. In 1957, the newly formed National Association of Social Workers (NASW) took on the role of publishing the 13th and 14th editions of the Year Book. In 1965, NASW published the 15th edition under a new title: Encyclopedia of Social Work, which was the first edition to include biographies. The 16th edition, published in 1971, was the first to include two volumes. The 17th edition, published in 1977, began a practice of publishing supplements before an entirely new edition was published. The 19th edition, published in 1995, was the first to include three volumes and was the first to be made available in CD-ROM format. It was followed by supplements published in 1997 and 2003. The 20th edition (2008) was the first to be published digitally (in 2013), included four volumes, and was published in a partnership between NASW and Oxford University Press. This was followed in 2023 by publication of the Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work.