‘...a triumph of vision and execution - a work that exploits the highest quality scholarship, yet has universal appeal.’
Library and Information Update, June 2005
‘The benefits for researchers, students, and those generally interested in the history and culture of the English-speaking world are manifest...It is hard to imagine any library with online resources documenting English history, literature, language, and culture not wanting to acquire this work. Its breadth, depth, and flexibility make it very much the peer of its distinguished Oxford cousin, the OED Online.’
March 2005 issue of the American bimonthly journal, College & Research Libraries
‘It is difficult to overemphasise the value of the material on offer in ODNB...With full reference data appended to this extraordinarily rich textual content, the ODNB is a source for research, scholarship and reference which far exceeds its apparent coverage. Taken together with the online Oxford English Dictionary, this reaffirms the reputation of Oxford University Press (as if it needed any reaffirmation) at the apex of heroic, and triumphant, scholarly publishing ventures.’
Stuart James, University Librarian, Paisley University
‘If you weren't aware that a new version of the Dictionary of National Biography was coming out this fall, then you must have been in a coma. It's nice to feel thrilled again about a new electronic product - I'd almost forgotten the frisson of excitement when something really hot hits the market. That the DNB is hot is an understatement...The amount of information is staggering, and the quality is superb...How good is it? A perfect ten. With the Themes feature in addition to the Browsing capability, online has upped the serendipity quotient over print. This online file provides much more than the 60 printed volumes...Why would any library not get this file? It includes all the contents of the original 33-volume DNB, all the new content up to 2000 with thrice-yearly updates, vastly more powerful access than the print version, and reasonable pricing. Resoundingly recommended for all libraries and individual researchers.’
Library Journal
‘An astonishing piece of work: a colossal, beautiful, fully functional and utterly user-friendly engine of enlightenment.’
Sunday Telegraph
‘A magnificent national pantheon...a vast cornucopia of delight as well as an indispensable source of information...an unrivalled distillation of biographical knowledge and understanding.’
The Independent
‘Rejoice, rejoice...the great publishing event of 2004.’
The Times
‘There is fascination and scholarship in equal measure to be found on every single page of this extraordinary endeavour ... The Oxford DNB brings the figures of our national story into sharp focus, brilliantly illuminating the darkest corners of our remarkable past.’
Simon Winchester, author of The Meaning of Everything
Read Project Director Robert Faber's interview with Library Journal on ‘Remaking a Classic’
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