Dictionaries in Print: "Age-old Reference Source" Still has a Place

Coincidentally, it's one of the points I plan to share with my LIS 635 class tomorrow during a reference source demonstration, a comparison between the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (descriptive) and the American Heritage College Dictionary (prescriptive).

Link to January 23 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, "Dictionaries hold special meaning".

Excerpt: Grant Dillon is a bona fide member of the computer age.

With a few clicks on his computer keyboard, he instantly can look up words and their definitions in one fell swoop.

But a few months ago, the 9-year-old was introduced to a lesser known entity: a hardcover dictionary.

"It gives you more information about new words," said Dillon, still marveling over his new discovery of an age-old reference source. "I've learned so much more about words that I didn't know."

And if Barry James has his way, more school-age children also will be able unlock the simple magic of words, the old-fashioned way.

The retired businessman and Elmbrook Rotarian recently started "Diane's Dictionaries," a project that has placed more than 150 new dictionaries in the hands of students in first through fourth grades with the goal of improving vocabulary development and literacy skills.

Named in honor of his late wife, who died unexpectedly last summer while the couple vacationed in Europe, the project's ultimate aim, he said, is to encourage students to read.