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Cost of OED Online - Concorde all over again

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Richard Wright

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Feb 19, 2006, 2:12:07 PM2/19/06
to
The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost of
subscribing online.

The cost is dreadful.

OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.

By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica the
annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.

I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely markets
to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy all over
again - and we know who made money there.


Seán O'Leathlóbhair

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Feb 19, 2006, 2:44:26 PM2/19/06
to

I hate to criticise the OED but I have to agree. £195 is ridiculous.
I may pay that for a lifetime subscription but as an annual fee, it
would have to drop a long way before I could justify it. Having been
to Oxford, I feel guilty using the online Cambridge dictionary but it
is convenient and free. The best free online BrE dictionary that I
know. http://dictionary.cambridge.org It does not seem to be working
at the moment, so maybe it is not so good after all. This is no
substitute for the OED but it is useful. It would nice if Oxford
fought back with something similar free and the full OED at a more
reasonable price.

--
Seán O'Leathlóbhair

Gary G. Taylor

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Feb 19, 2006, 4:28:20 PM2/19/06
to

Isn't it, rather, a way of covering the hellacious costs involved in
compiling it? It seems to me that the target audience is libraries and
researchers, who have the cost covered by their respective institutions.


--
Gary G. Taylor * Pomona|anomoP, CA * http://www.donavan.org
"The two most abundant things in the Universe are hydrogen and stupidity."
--Robert A. Heinlein, Harlan Ellison, Frank Zappa, and many others
"Living free is the best revenge." --GT

Django Cat

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Feb 19, 2006, 4:40:45 PM2/19/06
to
Richard Wright wrote:

1. Enrol on a University Course.
2. Get an Athens login.
3. Access OED for free for evermore.

DC

Django Cat

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Feb 19, 2006, 4:42:14 PM2/19/06
to
Gary G. Taylor wrote:

> On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:12:07 +1100, Richard Wright wrote:
>
> > The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
> > information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost
> > of subscribing online.
> >
> > The cost is dreadful.
> >
> > OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.
> >
> > By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica
> > the annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.
> >
> > I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely markets
> > to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy all over
> > again - and we know who made money there.
>
> Isn't it, rather, a way of covering the hellacious costs involved in
> compiling it? It seems to me that the target audience is libraries and
> researchers, who have the cost covered by their respective
> institutions.

I thought they'd got Alan Coren's little girl doing the job for the
price of a pink mac and a new Mini.

DC

William

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Feb 19, 2006, 5:08:17 PM2/19/06
to
Django Cat wrote:
> I thought they'd got Alan Coren's little girl doing the job for the
> price of a pink mac and a new Mini.

Err, that's a pink duffle coat and a new mini, shirley?

--
WH

the Omrud

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Feb 19, 2006, 5:24:21 PM2/19/06
to
Django Cat <nospam@please> had it:

Mac? That's no mac. It's clearly a duffel coat. It may be the only
pink duffel coat in captivity, but it's a duffel coat.

--
David
=====
replace usenet with the

Django Cat

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Feb 19, 2006, 5:57:37 PM2/19/06
to
William wrote:

I'll grant you the duffle coat, but I'm sticking with the Mini.
DC

Django Cat

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Feb 19, 2006, 5:59:21 PM2/19/06
to
the Omrud wrote:

Fairy nuff, my eyes aren't what they were. But then I remember Coren
writing a humourous piece about his daughter's first day in primary
school in Punch...
DC

Harvey Van Sickle

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Feb 19, 2006, 6:01:21 PM2/19/06
to
On 19 Feb 2006, Django Cat wrote


> Fairy nuff, my eyes aren't what they were. But then I remember
> Coren writing a humourous piece about his daughter's first day in
> primary school in Punch...

I didn't know that Punch ran schools.

--
Cheers, Harvey

Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 22 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to harvey.van)

John Dean

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Feb 19, 2006, 9:52:34 PM2/19/06
to
Gary G. Taylor wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:12:07 +1100, Richard Wright wrote:
>
>> The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
>> information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost
>> of subscribing online.
>>
>> The cost is dreadful.
>>
>> OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.
>>
>> By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica
>> the annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.
>>
>> I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely markets
>> to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy all over
>> again - and we know who made money there.
>
> Isn't it, rather, a way of covering the hellacious costs involved in
> compiling it? It seems to me that the target audience is libraries and
> researchers, who have the cost covered by their respective
> institutions.

The 195 UKP (which doesn't include VAT BTW) is specifically for a single
user subscription. They don't say on their site what they will charge
for institutions but they invite you to obtain a quote.
Buying the CD-ROM is 250 UKP. Unless you're desperate to keep up with
the amendments and additions as they occur, it's much better value.
The hellacious costs of compilation, BTW, are largely historical. The
on-line Dictionary is mainly composed of entries from the 1st and 2nd
print editions which, I imagine, were priced in the paper editions to
recover their costs. The cost of creating the on-line dictionary was the
cost of converting the paper version to digital which, I guess, they
were doing anyway so they could flog the CD version.
--
John Dean
Oxford

Iskandar Baharuddin

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Feb 19, 2006, 11:48:43 PM2/19/06
to
On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:28:20 GMT, "Gary G. Taylor"
<not...@notdonavan.org> wrote:

>On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:12:07 +1100, Richard Wright wrote:
>
>> The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
>> information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost of
>> subscribing online.
>>
>> The cost is dreadful.
>>
>> OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.
>>
>> By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica the
>> annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.
>>
>> I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely markets
>> to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy all over
>> again - and we know who made money there.
>
>Isn't it, rather, a way of covering the hellacious costs involved in
>compiling it? It seems to me that the target audience is libraries and
>researchers, who have the cost covered by their respective institutions.

That may be the rationale, but the marketing term is "skimming", and
it rarely works for long.

Our local (monopoly) newspaper, the West Australian, thinks the same
way.

I subscribe to the electronic editioni of The Australian, six issues,
for AUD 5.93 per week, 28% off the paper price.

I subscribe to The New York Times, seven days a week, for USD 6.70 per
week, again 28% off.

The West wants AUD 15.00 per week for six issues - 200% of the paper
price. Their rationale is that the local market is not interested
(except me, of course) and it is intended for people in far away
places who pay up to AUD 20. per copy.

To add injury to insult, to read the West's electronic edition
Active-X must be enabled.

Fuggedaboutit.
--
Shalom & Salam

Izzy

In any society morality is inversely proportional to per capita GDP.

- PS Kelly

Stephen Calder

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Feb 20, 2006, 1:39:44 AM2/20/06
to
John Dean wrote:


>
>
> The 195 UKP (which doesn't include VAT BTW) is specifically for a single
> user subscription. They don't say on their site what they will charge
> for institutions but they invite you to obtain a quote.
> Buying the CD-ROM is 250 UKP. Unless you're desperate to keep up with
> the amendments and additions as they occur, it's much better value.
> The hellacious costs of compilation, BTW, are largely historical. The
> on-line Dictionary is mainly composed of entries from the 1st and 2nd
> print editions which, I imagine, were priced in the paper editions to
> recover their costs. The cost of creating the on-line dictionary was the
> cost of converting the paper version to digital which, I guess, they
> were doing anyway so they could flog the CD version.

I would have thought lexicography a highly labour intensive endeavour,
even if digitisation has vastly reduced much of the sweat work. Not all
of it, however, and it has at the same time raised expectations.
Reading, sifting, absorbing, researching, drafting and publication are
still all highly skilled tasks that take a virtual army of intelligent
workers with a long-term commitment to the project. Look at how much
work Murray had to do and how he underestimated the labour component.
With experience such estimates have become more realistic, but it
keeping the OED up to date in this era of massive electronic
communication disbursement is a heroic effort, I would think.

GBP 250 is about $US500 or $A750, right? A steal. The GBP 195 doesn't
sound quite as cost effective I must admit.

And there should definitely be an option to obtain updates only for
those who, like me, have the print edition and want the latest without
buying the lot again.


--
Stephen
Lennox Head, Australia

Django Cat

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Feb 20, 2006, 3:52:04 AM2/20/06
to
Iskandar Baharuddin wrote:

So if it's the local paper why not just buy a paper copy Izzy? I mean,
I know 'local' in Aus is relative, but you can't be more than 500km
from a newsstand.

DC

Iskandar Baharuddin

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Feb 20, 2006, 2:26:31 PM2/20/06
to
On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:52:04 -0600, "Django Cat" <nospam@please>
wrote:

Well, if I could get a paper version that had Find and Copy functions,
and did not have to be carted to the recycling bin, I suppose I would
be happy.

But perhaps I am a Closet Greenie. All those trees...

Message has been deleted

Richard Wright

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Feb 21, 2006, 4:23:37 PM2/21/06
to
On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:28:20 GMT, "Gary G. Taylor"
<not...@notdonavan.org> wrote:

>On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:12:07 +1100, Richard Wright wrote:
>
>> The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
>> information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost of
>> subscribing online.
>>
>> The cost is dreadful.
>>
>> OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.
>>
>> By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica the
>> annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.
>>
>> I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely markets
>> to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy all over
>> again - and we know who made money there.
>
>Isn't it, rather, a way of covering the hellacious costs involved in
>compiling it? It seems to me that the target audience is libraries and
>researchers, who have the cost covered by their respective institutions.

Yes, the original cost must have been hellacious.

But the job is done now and new subscribers do not add to the cost,
except possibly to the negligible cost of a bigger server.

Let's play with some figures. Current cost is UKP195. If the cost were
reduced to EB's UKP34.5, and sufficient publicity given, subscriptions
might go up tenfold. That would increase total revenue by 77%.

They would only have to increase subscriptions by 5.7 times to get the
revenue they get now.

Come on OUP. There is life and cash outside the Bodleian and its
equivalents.. Subscriptions might go up a hundredfold.


Iskandar Baharuddin

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Feb 21, 2006, 4:41:45 PM2/21/06
to
On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 12:45:31 -0700, Toady Lickspittle
<To...@nospam.pls> wrote:

>Iskandar Baharuddin <bren...@mcpc.net.au> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:52:04 -0600, "Django Cat" <nospam@please>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>Iskandar Baharuddin wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:28:20 GMT, "Gary G. Taylor"
>>>> <not...@notdonavan.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:12:07 +1100, Richard Wright wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >> The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
>>>> >> information about English usage. I have just had a look at the
>>>> cost of >> subscribing online.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> The cost is dreadful.
>>>> >>
>

>This one is quite good, and is free:
>
>http://www.global-language.com/century/
>
>If you don't want to take the trouble to install their viewer,
>choose JPEG instead. Click to make the page bigger.
>

Can't seem to get it to work. Will keep trying.
--

Shalom & Salam

Izzy

Wait for it:
"Who Says English Ain't Phonetic?: 267,982 Simple Rules for Spelling and Pronunciation."

In leading bookstores QI 2562.

Mike Lyle

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Feb 21, 2006, 7:30:37 PM2/21/06
to

OUP's money people do not count according to the same system as most of
the world. I will mention, though, that the 3rd ed cost was reckoned at
the time to be some 34 million pounds Sterling. You can't dismiss that
simply by saying "Well, they've spent it now". It's both a big sum and a
trivial one, according to point of view: they've got a right to recover
it, either way. But as I've said before, I think it should have been
treated as a Millennium project and funded entirely by the
English-speaking governments, or even the UK Govt alone, and made
available to all comers in the interests of civilization.

--
Mike.


Peter Duncanson

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Feb 22, 2006, 7:41:56 AM2/22/06
to

The governments might have insisted on final editorial control. They
would have been vulnerable to lobbying by special interest groups
including 'faith communities', It would have cost much more, and
probably be deadlocked in the early discussion stages today.
--
Peter Duncanson
UK (posting from a.u.e)

Mike Lyle

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Feb 22, 2006, 1:20:54 PM2/22/06
to
Peter Duncanson wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:30:37 -0000, "Mike Lyle"
[...]

>> OUP's money people do not count according to the same system as most
>> of the world. I will mention, though, that the 3rd ed cost was
>> reckoned at the time to be some 34 million pounds Sterling. You
>> can't dismiss that simply by saying "Well, they've spent it now".
>> It's both a big sum and a trivial one, according to point of view:
>> they've got a right to recover it, either way. But as I've said
>> before, I think it should have been treated as a Millennium project
>> and funded entirely by the English-speaking governments, or even the
>> UK Govt alone, and made available to all comers in the interests of
>> civilization.
>
> The governments might have insisted on final editorial control. They
> would have been vulnerable to lobbying by special interest groups
> including 'faith communities', It would have cost much more, and
> probably be deadlocked in the early discussion stages today.

There is that, yes. But I'm sure the pitfalls could have been avoided: I
don't suggest it should have been made a government project, but simply
the recipient of a government or lottery grant. But I think Richard's
idea must finally get through the skulls of OUP's cost-accountants, and
the thing will get cheaper.

--
Mike.


Richard Wright

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Feb 22, 2006, 2:32:35 PM2/22/06
to

I wonder whether it is the cost-accountants' fault or whether the
ivory tower cringes at the risk of a subscription from Vicky Pollard.

Laura F Spira

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Feb 22, 2006, 2:36:43 PM2/22/06
to

This would not surprise me. The governance structure of OUP is arcane.
The brief insight afforded to me in the course of a research project was
quite fascinating and I am amazed that organisational decisions ever get
made or that they make any profit.

I will mention, though, that the 3rd ed cost was reckoned at
> the time to be some 34 million pounds Sterling. You can't dismiss that
> simply by saying "Well, they've spent it now". It's both a big sum and a
> trivial one, according to point of view: they've got a right to recover
> it, either way. But as I've said before, I think it should have been
> treated as a Millennium project and funded entirely by the
> English-speaking governments, or even the UK Govt alone, and made
> available to all comers in the interests of civilization.
>

--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)

Laura F Spira

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Feb 22, 2006, 2:40:02 PM2/22/06
to

Since when have cost accountants been hyphenated?

Evan Kirshenbaum

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Feb 22, 2006, 2:50:16 PM2/22/06
to
"Django Cat" <nospam@please> writes:

1. Move to California.
2. Get a Los Angeles Public Library card.
3. Access the OED for free.

(I got a Los Angeles Public Library card for exactly this reason,
although I use several of their other databases as well.)

The OED's business model is clearly that they prefer to manage
accounts for hundreds or thousands of entities that pay a lot more
than £195 a year and provide access to much larger numbers of their
own members.

UK public libraries that appear to provide OED access include

Aberdeenshire
Bridgend
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Conwy
Devon (starting April 1st)
Hernsworth
Islington
Nottinghamshire
Plymouth
Powys
Reading
Renfrewshire
Vale of Glamorgan
Wakefield

Perhaps you can get a library card from one of these.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |To find the end of Middle English,
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |you discover the exact date and
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |time the Great Vowel Shift took
|place (the morning of May 5, 1450,
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |at some time between neenuh fiftehn
(650)857-7572 |and nahyn twenty-fahyv).
| Kevin Wald
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/


R H Draney

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Feb 22, 2006, 3:12:56 PM2/22/06
to
Laura F Spira filted:

>
>Mike Lyle wrote:
>>
>> But I think Richard's
>> idea must finally get through the skulls of OUP's cost-accountants, and
>> the thing will get cheaper.
>
>Since when have cost accountants been hyphenated?

Did you not get the memo?...r

John Dean

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Feb 22, 2006, 7:54:54 PM2/22/06
to
Laura F Spira wrote:
> Mike Lyle wrote:
>> Peter Duncanson wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:30:37 -0000, "Mike Lyle"
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>
>>>> OUP's money people do not count according to the same system as
>>>> most of the world. I
>>>
>>> The governments might have insisted on final editorial control.
>>
>>
>> But I think Richard's idea must finally get through the skulls of
>> OUP's cost-accountants, and the thing will get cheaper.
>>
>
> Since when have cost accountants been hyphenated?

Wasn't it Dick the Butcher who said "The first thing we do, let's
hyphenate all the accountants."?
--
John Dean
Oxford

Richard Wright

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Feb 22, 2006, 8:01:11 PM2/22/06
to
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:36:43 +0000, Laura F Spira
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:

<snipped>

>This would not surprise me. The governance structure of OUP is arcane.
>The brief insight afforded to me in the course of a research project was
>quite fascinating and I am amazed that organisational decisions ever get
>made or that they make any profit.
>

You could do us a favour by getting inside there again and twisting
some arms.

William

unread,
Feb 22, 2006, 8:31:17 PM2/22/06
to
John Dean wrote:
> Wasn't it Dick the Butcher who said "The first thing we do, let's
> hyphenate all the accountants."?

I thought it was "let's enumerate all the accountants".

By the way, isn't that other phrase pronounced as "cost minus
accountants"?

--
WH

Don Aitken

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Feb 22, 2006, 8:54:45 PM2/22/06
to

You can add Westminster to that list. The problem, though, is that the
OED, unlike all the other databases they offer access to, even the
other OUP ones like the new DNB, is not available from home machines,
but only from the library's own. I presume this costs them less,
although I have never been able to find anybody at the library who
admits to knowing the reason.

--
Don Aitken
Mail to the From: address is not read.
To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com"

Richard Wright

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Feb 23, 2006, 12:46:09 AM2/23/06
to
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:54:45 +0000, Don Aitken <don-a...@freeuk.com>
wrote:

<snipped>


>
>You can add Westminster to that list. The problem, though, is that the
>OED, unlike all the other databases they offer access to, even the
>other OUP ones like the new DNB, is not available from home machines,
>but only from the library's own. I presume this costs them less,
>although I have never been able to find anybody at the library who
>admits to knowing the reason.

That problem may be due to Westminister's level of payment. I doubt
that it is an OED exclusion rule. I can access OED at home via my
university's library.

Incidentally at http://www.oed.com/help/updates/latest-additions.html
one can read a surprising misuse of the past tense.

Mike Page

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Feb 23, 2006, 11:18:35 AM2/23/06
to
On 22 Feb 2006 17:31:17 -0800, "William"
<wil...@lowerknowle.com> wrote:

No, 'cost_less accountants', acknowledging that we save more than
the miserable pittance we get paid.


Mike Page

Django Cat

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Feb 23, 2006, 5:37:41 PM2/23/06
to
Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:

> "Django Cat" <nospam@please> writes:
>
> > Richard Wright wrote:
> >
> >> The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great sources of
> >> information about English usage. I have just had a look at the cost
> >> of subscribing online.
> >>
> >> The cost is dreadful.
> >>
> >> OED Online's annual subscription is UKPounds 195.
> >>
> >> By contrast, if you look at subscribing to Encyclopedia Britannica
> >> the annual cost is the equivalent of UKPounds 34.5.
> >>
> >> I suppose Oxford smugly markets to the elite and EB astutely
> >> markets to the masses. It is the Concorde v. Boeing 747 philosophy
> >> all over again - and we know who made money there.
> >
> > 1. Enrol on a University Course.
> > 2. Get an Athens login.
> > 3. Access OED for free for evermore.
>
> 1. Move to California.
> 2. Get a Los Angeles Public Library card.
> 3. Access the OED for free.
>
> (I got a Los Angeles Public Library card for exactly this reason,
> although I use several of their other databases as well.)

Ah, but you can't do it from home though, can you? With my Athens
login I can browse the OED from the comfort of Chez Cat. Of course,
this may all end when my part-time student registration ends, but I
reckon I'm good to 2008.

I've got a San Francisco Public Library card, but that seems a long way
to go to look something up.
DC

Evan Kirshenbaum

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Feb 23, 2006, 5:44:45 PM2/23/06
to
Richard Wright <richwri...@tig.com.au> writes:

> On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:54:45 +0000, Don Aitken <don-a...@freeuk.com>
> wrote:
>
> <snipped>
>>
>>You can add Westminster to that list. The problem, though, is that
>>the OED, unlike all the other databases they offer access to, even
>>the other OUP ones like the new DNB, is not available from home
>>machines, but only from the library's own. I presume this costs them
>>less, although I have never been able to find anybody at the library
>>who admits to knowing the reason.
>
> That problem may be due to Westminister's level of payment. I doubt
> that it is an OED exclusion rule. I can access OED at home via my
> university's library.

Certainly. I access the OED through the Los Angeles Public Library,
though I am hundreds of miles away from it.

Actually, it may be less the level of payment as the level of security
OUP requires on their proxy, which may be more support overhead than
they're willing to expend.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |First Law of Anthropology:
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 | If they're doing something you
Palo Alto, CA 94304 | don't understand, it's either an
| isolated lunatic, a religious
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com | ritual, or art.
(650)857-7572

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/


Evan Kirshenbaum

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Feb 23, 2006, 8:26:12 PM2/23/06
to
"Django Cat" <nospam@please> writes:

> Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>> 1. Move to California.
>> 2. Get a Los Angeles Public Library card.
>> 3. Access the OED for free.
>>
>> (I got a Los Angeles Public Library card for exactly this reason,
>> although I use several of their other databases as well.)
>
> Ah, but you can't do it from home though, can you?

What, you think they can tell when my laptop is at home and when it's
elsewhere?

You have to physically go to a branch of the Los Angeles Public
Library to get the card itself, but once you have it, you can access
almost all of their databases from anywhere. I access the OED, Los
Angeles Times archive, and census images (1930 and before) from my
laptop all the time (and a few others from time to time).

One of the databases I haven't investigate much is the Oxford
Reference Onlune, which contains

Art & Architecture
A Dictionary of Architecture
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms
The Oxford Dictionary of Art
A Dictionary of Modern Design
A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art
The Oxford Companion to Western Art

Bilingual Dictionaries
The Oxford Business French Dictionary (English-French)
The Oxford Business French Dictionary (French-English)
The Oxford Business Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish)
The Oxford Business Spanish Dictionary (Spanish-English)
The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (English-French)
The Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary (French-English)
The Concise Oxford-Duden German Dictionary (English-German)
The Concise Oxford-Duden German Dictionary (German-English)
The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (English-Irish)
The Pocket Oxford Irish Dictionary (Irish-English)
The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (English-Italian)
The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (Italian-English)
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (English-Latin)
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (Latin-English)
The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (English-Spanish)
The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (Spanish-English)
The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (English-Welsh)
The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary (Welsh-English)

Biological Sciences
A Dictionary of Biology
The Oxford Companion to the Body
A Dictionary of Ecology
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
A Dictionary of Scientists
A Dictionary of Zoology

Classics
The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
Who's Who in the Classical World
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (English-Latin)
The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (Latin-English)

Computing
A Dictionary of Computing
A Dictionary of the Internet
A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units

Earth & Environmental Sciences
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
The Oxford Companion to the Earth
A Dictionary of Ecology
A Dictionary of Geography
A Dictionary of Weather

Economics & Business
A Dictionary of Accounting
A Dictionary of Business
A Dictionary of Economics
A Dictionary of Finance and Banking
A Dictionary of Human Resource Management
The Handbook of International Financial Terms

Encyclopedia
A-Z of Countries of the World
World Encyclopedia

English Dictionaries & Thesauruses
The New Oxford American Dictionary
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised)
The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary
The Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English
The Oxford Paperback Thesaurus

English Language Reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar
Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
A New Dictionary of Eponyms
The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English
The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style
Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage

Food & Drink
An A-Z of Food and Drink
Food and Fitness: A Dictionary of Diet and Exercise
A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition

History
The Oxford Companion to American Military History
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology
The Oxford Companion to Australian History
A Dictionary of British History
The Oxford Companion to British History
The Oxford Companion to Canadian History
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History
Dynasties of the World
The Kings and Queens of Britain
The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History
The Oxford Companion to Military History
The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science
A Dictionary of Political Biography
The Oxford Dictionary of Popes
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
Who's Who in the Twentieth Century
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government
The Oxford Companion to United States History
The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military
A Dictionary of World History
The Oxford Companion to World War II

Law
The Oxford Companion to American Law
A Dictionary of Law
The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States
The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions

Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature
The Oxford Companion to American Literature
The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature
The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
A Dictionary of Shakespeare
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English
A Dictionary of Writers and their Works

Maps & Illustrations
Visual English Dictionary
World Flags
World Maps

Medicine
The Oxford Companion to the Body
Concise Medical Dictionary
An A-Z of Medicinal Drugs
The Oxford Companion to Medicine
A Dictionary of Nursing
A Dictionary of Psychology
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine

Military History
The Oxford Companion to American Military History
The Oxford Companion to Military History
The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military
The Oxford Companion to World War II

Mythology & Folklore
A Dictionary of African Mythology
A Dictionary of Asian Mythology
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
A Dictionary of English Folklore
A Dictionary of Superstitions
A Dictionary of World Mythology

Names & Places
A Dictionary of British Place-Names
A-Z of Countries of the World
A Dictionary of First Names

Performing Arts
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
The Oxford Companion to Music
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera
Who's Who in Opera
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre

Physical Sciences & Mathematics
A Dictionary of Astronomy
A Dictionary of Chemistry
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics
A Dictionary of Physics
A Dictionary of Scientists
A Dictionary of Statistics
A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units

Politics & Social Sciences
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History
A-Z of Countries of the World
A Dictionary of Geography
The Oxford Companion to the Mind
A Dictionary of Political Biography
The Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics
A Dictionary of Psychology
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
A Dictionary of Sociology
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government

Quotations
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations

Religion & Philosophy
A Dictionary of the Bible
The Oxford Companion to the Bible
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
A Dictionary of Buddhism
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam
A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
The Oxford Dictionary of Popes
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

Science
A Dictionary of Astronomy
A Dictionary of Biology
The Oxford Companion to the Body
A Dictionary of Chemistry
A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
The Oxford Companion to the Earth
A Dictionary of Ecology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics
Concise Medical Dictionary
An A-Z of Medicinal Drugs
The Oxford Companion to Medicine
The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science
A Dictionary of Nursing
A Dictionary of Physics
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
A Dictionary of Psychology
A Dictionary of Scientists
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine
A Dictionary of Statistics
A Dictionary of Weather
A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units
A Dictionary of Zoology

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |The Society for the Preservation of
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |Tithesis commends your ebriated and
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |scrutable use of delible and
|defatigable, which are gainly, sipid
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |and couth. We are gruntled and
(650)857-7572 |consolate that you have the ertia and
|eptitude to choose such putably
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ |pensible tithesis, which we parage.


Django Cat

unread,
Feb 24, 2006, 9:59:51 AM2/24/06
to
Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:

Golly.

dcw

unread,
Feb 24, 2006, 10:08:38 AM2/24/06
to
In article <acchzg...@hpl.hp.com>,
Evan Kirshenbaum <kirsh...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:

>One of the databases I haven't investigate much is the Oxford

>Reference Onlune, ...

Too far away.

David

Mike Lyle

unread,
Feb 24, 2006, 12:29:22 PM2/24/06
to
Django Cat wrote:
> Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
[...list of Oxford Reference books available from LA Public Library...]
>
> Golly.

"Golly" indeed: it's downright socialism. Plumb unAmerican. What ever
happened to rugged individualism?

--
Mike.


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