Dictionaries 21Quotations are another frequently asked-about topic, and, I must admit,
my favorite type of reference question. The definitive printed reference source
for quotations is Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (17th edition). As each new edi-
tion of this classic work (first compiled in 1855 by John Bartlett) is published,
material from previous editions often
has to be omitted, so this is one case
where all editions should be kept in
the collection. There are many printed
collections of quotations available,
from all-purpose compilations to those
of quotations about a specific subject.
Oxford University Press has published
a number of noteworthy titles, includ-
ing the Oxford Dictionary of American
Quotations (2nd edition), the Oxford
Dictionary of Modern Quotations (2nd
edition), and the Oxford Dictionary of
Quotations (7th edition). Online com-
pilations of quotations are also ram-
pant; for recommendations of reliable
websites, consult ipl2 (www.ipl2.org).
notes
The chapter epigraph is from Elizabeth Knowles, ed., Oxford Dictionary of Modern
Quotations, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 334.
- William A. Katz, Introduction to Reference Work, 8th ed., vol. 1, Basic
Information Sources (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), 378. - Joan M. Reitz, Dictionary for Library and Information Science (Westport, CT:
Libraries Unlimited, 2004), 761.
Foreign-language dictionaries
Several publishers produce bilingual
dictionaries that include English and
another language. Among them are
Larousse (www.houghtonmifflinbooks
.com/larousse/), Harper Collins (www
.harpercollins.com), and Oxford
University Press (www.oup.com). Online
sources include Babel Fish (babelfish
.yahoo.com), where you can translate
a web page or a block of text of up to
150 words, and OneLook Dictionaries
(www.onelook.com), which offers a
wide variety of online dictionaries that
includes a number of foreign-language
titles.