NWT Data Book 1982-83: A Complete Information Guide to the Northwest Territories and Its Communities

Nora T. Corley is a librarian in Ottawa.

This most informative book is divided into two parts, general information and community data. In the first section there is a fund of information, detailed but concise, under such headings as geography, climate, history, demography, plant and animal life, political organization and government, social services and conditions, economy, energy, transportation, and communications. The second section describes 63 communities in alphabetical order, from Aklavik to Yellowknife. Most of the communities are given a two-page spread with details about location, topography, climate, history, demography, political organization, economy, transportation, communications, protection services, medical/social services, education, housing and accommodation, and recreation. A black-and-white picture usually completes the spread. There are four maps: major landforms, aboriginal peoples, NWT Legislative Assembly constituencies, and communities. A bibliography of some 150 items completes the book. The editors seem to have succeeded in their attempt to be “as accurate, current and comprehensive as possible” in this new edition of the NWT Data Book. It is amazing how much information they have managed to include in this attractive volume. The addition of an index would make access to all this information just that much easier. This book should be in all public libraries and northern collections; it will be most useful to people working in the Northwest Territories, doing business there, or planning to visit.