Who Knows What?
Daniel Starer
Henry Holt
Go purchase this book. This is as great a source on business associations as I have seen. You need to know about the Yarn Industry? 17 listings of companies, industry associations, periodical’s and other information sources! While not all industries are small enough to be covered as thoroughly as the yarn industry, the 1200 page book is an excellent reference source for most industries.
So now you have an industry you are researching. Look to the Library Association for the source of those obscure publishers of Masters and Doctoral thesis’s on the subject or industry you are investigating. Look for periodicals that cover the industry you are researching. Interview the reporters for that periodical. These people will have an excellent feel for the industry, usually without a bias, and for whom the leaders of the industry are today, and where it is going tomorrow. (Refer to the April 1999 issue of the ÆGIS e-journal article on working with reporters at http://www.lubrinco.com/ejournal/lgej9904.pdf). Call the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Commerce for more information on the topic. Many time you can also find libraries dedicated to an industry.
