Citing a "challenging marketplace," Bonnie Ammer, head of the Random House Information Group, told group employees last week that the division will no longer publish new dictionaries. In a staff memo, Ammer said the information group is "shifting to a market-driven focus for our dictionaries," and will discontinue new editorially-oriented initiatives. As a result of the change in focus, eight full-time and two part-time positions are being eliminated.
The information group will continue to market all 51 dictionaries currently in its catalogue, including the popular Random House Webster's College Dictionary. All titles will be kept in print, and any revisions will be outsourced. A Random spokesperson noted that the decision by the information group to stop releasing new dictionaries will not affect other Random publishing groups, which will continue to publish new titles.
