Corporate Affiliations

This massive set (8 volumes) is also published by LexisNexis, publisher of last week's Advertising Red Book. It comes out yearly and the cost this year will be approximately $2000.

Included are four sections, each consisting of two volumes: U.S. Public Companies, U.S. Private Companies, International, and the Master Index.

U.S. Public Companies lists 5563 ultimate parent companies with their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies. Information given for each company includes contact information, business description, year founded, stock symbol and where traded, financial and employee figures, business description, personnel, and any subsidiaries. Entries are arranged alphabetically.

U.S. Private Companies is virtually the same as the public company volumes in arrangement and information included minus the sales and financial figures. 49,357 companies with their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies are listed.

International is the same as the private company volumes with 10,066 companies and their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies listed.

The Master Index is the set's strength. The indexes include:
-a complete alphabetical company index for all volumes
-a corporate responsibilities index which lists personnel by areas of responsibility such as chief financial officer, general counsel, etc.
-a U.S. geographic company index arranged by state, and within state by town
-a non U.S. geographic company index arranged by country and within country by city
-an SIC code company index, preceeded by a handy SIC code list
-a NAICS code company index, also preceeded by a NAICS code list.

The big question for this set is: How much of this information can we get from OneSource? Also, when was the last time you used it, and for what purpose?

LexisNexis Advertising Red Books

Before the proliferation of business information on the internet, this used to be one of my favorite go-to sources for company information, and particularly, brand name information. But how much are we using it today? Is it worth the $1946 per year cost?

The purpose of the set is to provide informtion on advertising agencies, the companies that use them, and the advertising industry. The set includes three main volumes:

Advertisers Business Classifications - this is good for finding groups of companies that produce particular products. Arranged by 55 business classifications, it includes contact information, number of employees, year founded, what the company does, SIC and NAICS numbers, advertising media used, brand names, top company personnel, and advertising agencies used. It includes an index to product categories and an alphabetical index.

Agencies - this is good for information about the advertising industry such as the top 200 US agencies ranked by size, top multicultural agencies, award winners, advertising associations, etc. The individual entries for agencies include similar information to the advertisers, but also include a breakdown of gross billings by media used and major accounts.

Advertisers Indexes - this is great for brand and product names, and this particular index takes up most of the volume. It also includes product categories by state, and a handy SIC index.

There is an Advertisers & Agencies Supplement which comes out in April, July and October.

So, what's the verdict--keep every year, cancel, or every two or three years?

Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources

The 23rd edition of theEncyclopedia of Business Sources is now out at a cost of $485. It comes out every year, but the most recent one we have is the 21st from 2006. The cover and format for the new edition is exactly the same as the old. The review copy that is on the reference counter is the new one. It is not cataloged yet, but can be returned if appropriate.

Take a careful look at this source if you are not already familiar with it. It gives sources of business information on a wide variety (over 1000) topics. The types of sources include books, abstracts and indexes, CD-ROM databases, directories, handbooks and manuals, databases and statistical sources.

The books are generally disappointingly dated. For example, under the topic "Selling a Business," the two books cited are dated 1999 and 1991. These same titles were listed in the 21st ed two years ago. Our own catalog reveals two titles on the subject dated 2004 and 2007.

However, it is quite handy for tracking down ongoing sources of information on a specific business topic such as internet and online databases, and, especially statistical sources. For example, under the topic "Business Failures" we find that D&B publishes Business Failure Record annually and it is free upon request.

Take a careful look at this and give me your recommendations.

Public Library Catalog

When was the last time you used Public Library Catalog? How many of you even knew it was still being published? Recent LIS grads--is this still mentioned in your reference resources class?

Basically, its the standard Wilson guide to recommended reference books and adult nonfiction arranged by Dewey number.

The 12th edition came out in 2004. A paperback supplement updates it every year. The 13th will be coming out shortly and the price will be about $400. What's your recommendation--renew or cancel?