Next Edition of OED May Be Online Only; Trees Rejoice

The increasing use of Internet reference resources has not escaped the editors of the revered Oxford English Dictionary, the most current printed edition of which is a 20-volume, 130-pound stack of dead-tree product. The respective trend lines for the OED’s hardback sales and Web subscriptions are such, said the publisher Sunday, that the next edition–one-quarter done but still a decade or so away from completion–will probably never see print in its complete form. The online version, now 10 years old, is getting a major refresh in December.