Good-bye Printed Dictionaries, Hello Increased Sales?
LONDON (AP) - It weighs in at more than 130 pounds, but the authoritative guide to the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary, may eventually slim down to nothing. Oxford University Press, the publisher, said Sunday so many people prefer to look up words using its online product that it's uncertain whether the 126-year-old dictionary's next edition will be printed on paper at all.
The digital version of the Oxford English Dictionary now gets 2 million hits a month from subscribers, who pay $295 a year for the service in the U.S. In contrast, the current printed edition _ a 20-volume, 750-pound ($1,165) set published in 1989 _ has sold about 30,000 sets in total.
This is the first time I remember seeing a major player like this admit that online resources are bringing in more revenue than traditional media.
Cross-posted on Thinking Out Loud... Let's learn together.
