A hugely entertaining and quite wonderful final keynote from Erin Mckean. Challenging many of the audience’s stereotypical perceptions of books – booky books and non-booky books – Erin suggests that many of the current forms for distributing data and information, knowledge and reference works might not be the best form, we have simply developed this attachment to their format because no other format was available . The dictionary for example is not a booky book – it has no chapters, no single author, and no final publication (it iterates until the end of time). The need for the dictionary and similar references is different to that of a novel, for example. A dictionary is, or should be ambient. That is I should be able to turn to my dictionary (book shaped or otherwise) to answer my question and help figure out what exactly tomatoe pomace is – leftovers from squeezing juice from fruit if you’re wondering and is found in dog food and grappa (now you know) – I can’t do this with my dictionary if it’s at home on my bookshelf. If however my dictionary has been set free from it booky type confines and is available digitally then the dictionary is serving its purpose and my needs far better than if it were beautifully bound but at home, gathering dust.
I loved this final keynote. Erin is entertaining, thought provoking and a great choice from the organisers to end what has been an exceptional 3 days, and now I’m leaving having developed a crush on a lexicographer! Must have been a good conference...
