LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research
Electronic Journal
ISSN 1058-6768               March 31, 1995 Volume 5 Issue 1
Quarterly                                   LIBRE5N1 Reviews
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_The Little Oxford Dictionary_. Edited by Maurice
Waite. NY:Oxford University Press, 1994.

_The Little Oxford Thesaurus_. Edited by Alan
Spooner. NY:Oxford University Press, 1994.

The first of these pocket sized companion volumes
is _The Little Oxford Dictionary_.  The previous
edition (sixth) was published in 1986.  This new
edition has been greatly revised and expanded with
over one hundred additional pages of entries than
in the last edition.  It boasts over 51,000
entries and 56,000 up-to-date definitions which
reflect the constant change in the American
language.  Some new words include political
correctness, ~chatline and ethnic cleansing to
name just a few. This edition  also contains new
grammar and usage notes which are conveniently
placed right below or on the same page of the
definition that it refers to.  Many of the grammar
notes are quite lengthy and contain clear,
straightforward examples.  The definitions are
concise but clear and define the current meaning
of the word.  Some slang and colloquial terms are
defined but obscene or four-letter words are not
included.  The print size is small but readable
with headword and any form of the headword (i.e.
adjective, past tense, verb, etc.) in bold type.
The first appendix includes a list of countries of
the world with the personal name form of each
country and the second lists general weights and
measurement information.  For a clear,
straightforward source when you need to know the
spelling, meaning, or usage of a word this pocket-
sized dictionary is an excellent source to turn
to.
The second pocket sized volume is _The Little
Oxford Thesaurus_ that was originally published as
_The Oxford Minireference Thesaurus_ in 1992.  The
straightforward dictionary arrangement of this
thesaurus provides over 150,000 synonyms.  Each
entry contains the headword in bold type by its
part of speech label  and then lists the synonyms
alphabetically.  Some headwords also contain
cross-references to antonyms for opposite terms
and cross-references to related words for terms
that have a common relationship to the headword.
A brief two page summary lists the instructions
for using the thesaurus and also the abbreviations
and symbols used in the thesaurus.  The preface of
this work states that _any_ thesaurus should be
used with caution due to the vast variety of words
that may be substituted for any one term and also
because any two words in the English language are
seldom completely interchangeable.  Following this
helpful advice, this pocket-sized thesaurus can
provide anyone a convenient source to help them
express themselves more effectively.

Used together, these two tools provide the perfect
pair of compact reference tools.  Overall, these
tools will provide most users home, office or
schools general needs and is recommended for most
libraries.


Leela E. Balraj
Kent State University

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_LIBRES: Library and Information Science
Electronic Journal_ (ISSN 1058-6768) March 31, 1995
Volume 5 Issue 1.
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