Access Canada: Micromedia's Directory of Canadian Information Sources, 1990

Dean Tudor is a professor of Journalism at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute.

Micromedia already publishes Microlog (government reports), the Canadian
Statistics Index, and the Directory of Associations in Canada. This
current tool, which incorporates the Browning Directory of Canadian
Business Information, complements the existing publications in subject
matter. This is a directory of Canadian directories, covering, for the
moment, only English-language materials. Its argument for this coverage
is spurious, since most directories are mere lists anyway and there is
no problem with another language if one is searching only for name,
address, or phone number. There are four sections. The titles section
presents about 1500 buyers’ guides, handbooks, lists, market surveys,
and membership rolls, originally published between January 1987 and
March 1990. Full bibliographic data are given for each entry: title,
editors, pages, date of publication, price, frequency, isbn, issn, scope
notes, data fields, and arrangement. The other sections include a
cross-reference subject index, a listing of publishers’ addresses, and
a chapter dealing with telephone directories. All of the latter material
can be had from Tele-Direct or is available on microfiche anyway.
Certainly the bibliographic data are almost useless for a telephone
book: who cares? It would have been better if Micromedia had devoted
more time and energy to getting French-language materials. Still, a
useful book.