Vietnam has started compiling its most ambitious encyclopedia, the outlines for which are expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Three hundred Vietnamese experts across different disciplines gathered in Hanoi on Sunday for a seminar to kick off the work on the Encyclopedia of Vietnam.

The encyclopedia will comprise 37 volumes, providing knowledge about 73 fields across such domains as social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and technology, and the arts.

Each volume will be between 1,500 and 2,000 pages long and contain between 2,000 and 2,500 entries along with their definitions.

The compilation team will consult experts from other countries that have a long encyclopedic history such as the UK, France and the U.S.

“As we are compiling an encyclopedia for the Vietnamese people, Vietnam-related knowledge will make up around 70 percent of the entries, while the rest is dedicated to world knowledge,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lai Van Hung, general secretary of the compilation project. “Of course this ratio will vary across different disciplines.”

Experts estimate that it would take between eight and ten years for the encyclopedia to be finished, and the outline for each of its 37 volumes will be available as early as the end of this year.

A digital version of the print encyclopedia will also become available for the convenience of public access, according to the compilation team.

Vietnam’s latest encyclopedia was published in 2005 in four volumes after a lengthy compilation process that spanned nearly two decades.