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Old 10-30-2009, 08:51 PM   #1
Stitchawl
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Reference Books... Do you or don't you?

I used to have an extensive reference library in my house, covering all the different subject areas in which I was interested. Over the past few years I've noticed that when I need to look up something, instead of going to the books I just type a search into the Internet. I get far more information than my reference books could ever begin to present. I find that except for a few subject areas such as Oriental philosophy or marine biology, I don't use my reference books very much these days. I even keep my copy of the OED on one of my hard drives so I never go to the paper volumes.

What about you? Still use your paper references or do you do most of your research by computer?

(Fear not... I'll never get rid of my Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. It is too full of memories of boosting my son up to the dinner table! )


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Old 10-30-2009, 09:10 PM   #2
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I do both. Sometimes it's just quicker to look something up in a book.

F'r example, I wanted to refresh myself on Chartism and Chartists in Victorian London. I really didn't (and still don't) need that much info, and I know I have what I need in a couple of books. However, I ended up looking it up on the internet, and whilst everything that I've subsequently gone on to read up on has been very interesting (especially in the case of the Lib Dem's Freedom Bill), I still actually haven't got what I was after, nor done anything with what I have got
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Old 10-30-2009, 09:13 PM   #3
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i do both but more and more i've noticed that my reflex is to do a quick online search, whatever the subject. it's not really a conscious choice, but it does seem to be becoming my default... however, i will still keep all of my paper dictionaries as well !! i love them.
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Old 10-31-2009, 04:32 AM   #4
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You have to be very careful with online searches; there's an awful lot of wrong information out there on the internet, whereas good reference books can be trusted.

If I have a reference book on the subject I'll use it (eg I'll always use my "Oxford Classical Dictionary" to look up things relating to the classical world). If I don't, I'll do an online search, but always check the veracity of the source.
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Old 10-31-2009, 04:40 AM   #5
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I use the web more these days to look stuff up.
It's easy to cross-reference multiple sources, and the web is more up to date than pbooks.
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Old 10-31-2009, 10:13 AM   #6
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Like Harry, I always go to my pbook references first -- and I find I am still buying reference pbooks. Only if I can't find the answer in one of my pbooks will I go to the Internet.
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Old 10-31-2009, 11:32 AM   #7
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I, too, more often use my pbooks for reference if I have them handy. Even when I have the electronic version of a certain reference book I will always reach for the paper version if I am at home. I love thumbing through dictionaries and finding out new things along the way.
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Old 10-31-2009, 12:11 PM   #8
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Yes, I do it all the time and I've taken some of my reference texts from work and brought them home and put them into storage. But, as Harry says, you need to be careful if the accuracy is important to you.
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Old 10-31-2009, 01:55 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Latinandgreek View Post
I love thumbing through dictionaries and finding out new things along the way.
This is what I used to do as a child if I couldn't decide what to read. It's also the main reason I don't want a dictionary for my ebook reader - they're just too distracting (I get far too easily distracted looking things up )
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Old 10-31-2009, 01:59 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm View Post
This is what I used to do as a child if I couldn't decide what to read. It's also the main reason I don't want a dictionary for my ebook reader - they're just too distracting (I get far too easily distracted looking things up )
that's one of the (main) reasons i DO want a dictionary for my liseuse. i love discovering new words, and following the treasure hunt from definition to definition looking up related words or similar words or unfamiliar words from the definition of the previous word or some random word in the middle of the page or... one dictionary is good for hours of entertainment.

i used to play a game with my ex-boyfriend, he would take the dictionary and read me the definition of a word and i had to guess the word. then we switched and i chose the definition. excellent game.
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Old 10-31-2009, 02:24 PM   #11
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i love discovering new words, and following the treasure hunt from definition to definition looking up related words or similar words or unfamiliar words from the definition of the previous word or some random word in the middle of the page or... one dictionary is good for hours of entertainment.
Exactly! And therefore likely to distract from the book I'm trying to read, however good it is.
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Old 10-31-2009, 02:29 PM   #12
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Exactly! And therefore likely to distract from the book I'm trying to read, however good it is.
it depends on what i'm doing, usually i manage to avoid getting too distracted while reading. i was reading an english book before the one i'm reading now which is in french, and i looked up words almost on every page, but then i went back to my book (at worst i opened the full definition screen, or looked up one additional word). brilliant. now i'm reading a french book, it's a bit old, there are some words i'm not familiar with or i'd just like to make sure, and i keep having the reflex to tap the word to check the dictionary. *sigh* need french dictionary too !
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Old 10-31-2009, 03:31 PM   #13
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I like to browse lavishly illustrated coffee table books, and there is no real online equivalent to the best ones. I think that physical books will fight back in much the way as movies fought back against TV. Books will have multimedia in them and become more computer-like in some ways.

I did throw a bunch of telephone books out just a couple of days ago...
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