An online life for the Grove also means subscribers can search electronically by name, birthdate and other criteria, leisurely browse from Aachen to Zywny, and link up with related Web sites. The last edition, in 1980, arrived in 20 volumes. This one, the New Grove second edition, doled out in 29 fat blue folios, would be superseded in 15 to 20 years by a set estimated at 46 volumes - an expansion fueled by burgeoning scholarship, as well as a redefinition of what qualifies as music. Putting the entire dictionary online will also allow Grove to conflate its various products. Shortly, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera will be merged with its larger sister publication, and later, the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz will be added.
Technology unleashes other benefits.
But somebody's grandpa was Bach. But change also brings risk. Macy worries about how the transfer of the Grove from paper to computer screen might affect the product. When writing for paper, writers and editors were careful about length, conscious of the fact that only so many paper volumes were practical. Digital infinity apparently encourages prolixity.