This document provides an overview of online resources for building a digital library for editing and fact-checking. It lists several websites for grammar, linguistics, data collections, new words, slang, social media, and general fact-checking. The document advises consulting authorities that are credible and have academic credentials or scientific backing. It also discusses whether purchasing digital resources is worthwhile based on factors like frequency of use and job efficiency. Contact information is provided at the end.

1. BUILDING YOUR DIGITAL LIBRARY
Erin Brenner, Editor
Copyediting newsletter

2. WHO’S ONLINE: GRAMMAR WEBSITES
 Grammarphobia: Patricia T. O’Conner, author of
Woe Is I, and Stewart Kellerman, an in-the-trenches
journalist, answer questions daily on their blog, and
they have amassed a wonderful collection of
wisdom.
 Grammar Girl: Mignon Fogarty has been doing her
podcast for more than a while now, too, and has
quite a database of information.
 Guide to Grammar and Writing: The Capital
Community College Foundation has a wonderful
site of lessons and quizzes.
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3. WHO’S ONLINE: LINGUISTICS WEBSITES
 Language Log: Several
smart linguists kill zombie
rules and ask serious
questions about the
language we use.
 Language Hat: Stephen
Dodson puts on his
language hat and digs in.
 Arrant Pedantry:
Linguistics graduate
student Jonathon Owen
is a great resource for
copyeditors.
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4. WHO’S ONLINE: RAW DATA COLLECTIONS
 Google products:
 Google News
 Google Books
 Google Ngram Viewer
 Google Scholar
 Corpus of Contemporary American English
 British National Corpus
 Directory of Open Access Journals
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5. WHO’S ONLINE: NEW WORDS AND JARGON
New words:
 Oxford Dictionaries Online’s What’s New page.
 Merriam-Webster’s Word.com newsletter.
 Double-Tongued Dictionary.
 Word Spy.
Jargon:
 Jargon is tough because it’s so narrow. The jargon
you come across will depend on the industry you’re
editing in. I’ve got a couple of examples for more
general-interest jargon. But check industry
organizations for jargon lists for your industry.
 Double-Tongued Dictionary.
 City Dictionary. 5

6. WHO’S ONLINE: SLANG
Slang:
 Urban Dictionary
(NSFW).
 Double-Tongued
Dictionary.
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7. START YOUR FACT-CHECKING
Use primary resources whenever possible:
 Company websites (esp. the sections written by
the legal department).
 Industry organizations.
 Government websites.
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8. GENERAL-INTEREST FACT-CHECKING
RESOURCES
Some of my favorite helpers:
 CIA’s World Factbook: What doesn’t the CIA
know about geography?
 Library of Congress’s Guide to Law Online: This
site can help you find chapter and verse on a
federal or state law.
 United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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9. WHO’S ONLINE: SOCIAL MEDIA
 Chicago Manual of Style: @ChicagoManual
 CUP copyeditor Carol Saller: @CFSaller
 AP: @APStylebook
 AMA: @AMAManual
 Merriam-Webster: @MerriamWebster
 Peter Sokolowski: @PeterSokolowski
 ODO: @OxfordWords
 Jesse Sheidlower: @jessesheidlower
 Katherine O’Moore-Klopf: @KOKEdit
 John McIntyre: @johnemcyntyre
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10. CONSULTING AUTHORITIES ONLINE
 Trust your instincts.
 When judging for yourself, look for:
 Resources created by those with academic credentials.
 Writers who back up their theories with scientific data.
 Resources that don’t have a vested interest in pushing
their terms.
 Opinions to represent what you find in the wild.
 Opinions that are held by more than one person.
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11. IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?
Things to consider:
 How often do I use this reference?
 Does it help me do my job faster?
 Does it help me make more accurate decisions?
 Do I often need the reference when I’m not near
my books? Do I need my library to be more
accessible?
 Are there other benefits to using digital
resources?
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12. IF YOU ANSWERED …
No:
 Borrow the book.
 Purchase the book.
Maybe:
 Sign up for a free trial.
 Sign up for a short-term subscription.
 Charge the client for the subscription.
 Purchase the e-book, if available.
 Deduct the costs from your tax bill.
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13. THANK YOU!
Questions? Contact me:
editor@copyediting.com
Get all my links through Delicious:
http://www.delicious.com/erin_brenner
Check out my Google Library:
http://bit.ly/ebrennerlibrary.
Find me on:
Facebook: facebook.com/erin.brenner
Twitter: twitter.com/ebrenner
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinbrenner