Abstract

ORERA ORERA, Luisa. Librarian and Author of the Dictionary of Spanish Usage. Rev. Interam. Bibliot [online]. 2009, vol.32, n.2, pp. 367-387. ISSN 0120-0976.

The view that María Moliner wrote the Dictionary without any knowledge of lexicography is widespread. The aim of this essay is to demonstrate that the exercise of her profession as a librarian and, more concretely, the management of the alphabetical subject catalogue, granted her ample lexicographical experience. The management of an alphabetical subject catalogue requires the creation and management by the librarian of a true lexicon, aimed at establishing an informative dialogue with the user of the catalogue. No doubt, this practice proved decisive, not only for the process of creation of the Dictionary, but also for the designing of the model itself.

Keywords : María Moliner; Dictionary of Spanish Usage; librarian profession; alphabetical subject catalogue.