Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
ZOMG!1!!!1!!!
The Louisville public library has apparently ended its subscription to the Oxford English Dictionary online. As I said in my post on the tools I use, “For really detailed entries and etymologies, and for looking up obscure stuff, nothing beats the Oxford English Dictionary.”
And now it’s gone. There are other good dictionaries online, but I lose a lot by not having it. An individual subscription costs $295 a year or $29.95 a month, neither of which are really feasible for this little, non-revenue-generating blog or my fabulous copy editor’s salary. And the 20-volume print edition? That’s available for the low, low price of $995.
One of my favorite things about doing this blog has been dipping into the OED and sharing what I’ve found. It’s a brilliant piece of work. I hope I can continue to provide interesting material without it.
If anyone knows of any other source for free OED, please drop me a line.
Have you considered asking your readers to contribute to the cause? I would be willing to contribute.
Laura:
That’s something I’m thinking about. I might whip up a Cafe Press store to try to drum up some funds, or something. Thanks for your offer of support.
Upon further thought, the idea of asking for money so I can read a dictionary while people are suffering in Haiti seems crass. Maybe in a month or two.
That is a terrible piece of news. I was shocked to learn that my workplace (I work in a library AT A UNIVERSITY) doesn’t subscribe to the Chicago Manual of Style online, much less the OED. Bit of a nasty wake up call for me.