OBELEX - the 'Online Bibliography of Electronic Lexicography'

Digital or electronic lexicography has gained in importance in the last few years. This can be seen in the growing list of publications focusing on this field. In the OBELEX bibliography (http://www.owid.de/obelex/engl), the research contributions in this field are consolidated and are searchable by different criteria. The idea for OBELEX originated in the context of the dictionary portal OWID, which incorporates several dictionaries from the Institute for German Language (www.owid.de). OBELEX has been available online free of charge since December 2008. OBELEX includes articles, monographs, anthologies and reviews published since 2000 that relate to electronic lexicography, as well as some relevant older works. Our particular focus is on works about online lexicography. Systematically evaluated sources are relevant journals like International Journal of Lexicography, Lexicographica, Dictionaries, Lexikos; furthermore Euralex-Proceedings, proceedings of the International Symposium on Lexicography in Copenhagen as well as relevant monographs and anthologies. Information on dictionaries is currently not included in OBELEX; the main focus is on metalexicography. However, we are working on a database with information on online dictionaries as a supplement to OBELEX. All entries of OBELEX are stored in a database. Thus, all parts of the bibliographic entry (such as person, title, publication or year) are searchable. Furthermore, all publications are associated with our keyword list; therefore, a thematic search is possible. The subject language is also noted. With this type of content, the OBELEX bibliography supplements in a useful way other bibliographic projects such as the printed ‘Internationale Bibliographie zur germanistischen Lexikographie und Wörterbuchforschung’ by H. E. Wiegand (Wiegand 2006/2007), the ‘Bibliography of Lexicography’ by R. R. K. Hartmann (Hartmann 2007), and the ‘International Bibliography of Lexicography’ of Euralex (cf. also DeCesaris and Bernal 2006). OBELEX differs from all these bibliographic projects by its strong focus on electronic lexicography and its ability to retrieve bibliographic information