Happy Birthday OED, Happy Birthday To You!
Lisa Laughy November 19th, 2008
Sandra Chauvin – Circulation Librarian
Ohrstrom Library celebrates The Oxford English dictionary’s 80th birthday with a small book display in the Baker Reading Room. Included in the display are The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and two of Simon Winchester’s books about the OED. The complete unabridged 2nd edition of the OED can be found in the Reference Room at Ref. 423 Ox2. Take a moment to browse these amazing resources.
The idea of the dictionary was conceived in 1857, but the finished first edition was not published until 1928. In 2000, Oxford University Press started its first online edition. Since then, the uses for the OED have expanded and evolved. For example, it has become a treasure trove for those looking for quotations. After browsing through the paper version, fire up the Ohrstrom Library website and explore the OED’s ever-expanding depth and breadth of knowledge by clicking HERE. If your appetite for dictionaries is still not satiated, please take a look at the much earlier Johnson’s Dictionary (Johnson’s Diction: a Modern Selection) available online in a complete digitized version HERE.
