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Published: 2000

Total Pages: 710

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These volumes are compilations of data from select, commonly found titles, published by Gale in partnership with Dun & Bradstreet, on a small but important group of industries. For each industry, there is an overview; a compilation of business statistics from the federal government; performance indicators; financial norms and ratios; a directory of companies; rankings, recent mergers, and acquisitions; associations; consultants; trade information sources and trade show data; and a short bibliography of articles from trade magazines. Each volume has the usual fine set of Gale indexes. There are SIC (Standard Industry Classification) to NAICS (North American Industry Classification) and NAICS to SIC conversion guides, a geographic index, and a master index. The convenient organization by industry is certain to be appreciated by undergraduates, yet libraries should be aware that most of this material is repackaged from other sources, which include Million-Dollar Directory, Dun & Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios, and Gale's excellent Encyclopedia of Associations, Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory, Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, and Trade Shows Worldwide. The new volumes are well documented, clearly citing the source for the original data and for the government statistics presented in Chapter 2. The merger and acquisition information is easy to read but not as complete as in Moody's manuals, and the industry overview is not quite as detailed as the Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys, but the introductory matter is more clearly written than in most business references. Libraries that own all or most of the titles listed here will find thatthis set duplicates and does not supersede the originals. Yet an undergraduate library with a small business collection will find these titles a good buy, and two-year colleges, high schools, and small or medium-sized public libraries can use them to build up their business collections relatively inexpensively. -Library Journal.