What about an in-game digital copy? Pay a one-time fee for access to the Gubal Library's special reading room (or each of the reading rooms, one per encyclopedia volume), then browse away.

Possibly even better for reference if they arranged it with menus.

Make up some excuse about it being one of the few safe areas that they've been able to shield from roaming monsters, and haven't been able to reorganise the collection so all the volumes on subject X (beast tribes, geography, etc.) are in the same room.


It's also worth noting that at least some of the information in the books is taken from the game to begin with, though of course the book gives easier access to it. The 'area information' is mostly from the sightseeing log, and bestiary entries are found on Triple Triad cards.