Reference Book of the Week: Washington Information Directory

The Washington Information Directory, 2007-2008 provides information on government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) based in Washington D.C. It is a directory, so you can use it to get contact information for various agencies and organizations. It does have other useful features as well, so read on. The publishers, CQ Press, ensure the accuracy of the information "by calling each organization and speaking with a member of its Washington office" (from the book's preface). The book is updated annually. This book is arranged by topic, then subtopics, then organizations. The organizations include governmental agencies, Congress, and NGO's. Entries include the name of the agency, address, phone number, e-mail, website URL, and a small annotation. So, if you are not sure what agency does what when it comes to the government (i.e. deals with small businesses), you can browse through the book's topics to find the right agency or NGO. In the small business example, one may want to contact the Small Business Administration (see pages 84-85). This volume also features various charts and boxes of additional information. These can be useful to get a quick glance of some agencies' organizational structures or quick reference lists on a topic. In addition, this particular edition contains an appendix of congressional information for the 110th Congress. There's is also a ready reference section in the back of the book with other information materials. The Washington Information Directory 2007-2008 is shelved in the library's ready reference area (behind the reference desk) under the call number F 192.3 .W33 2007-2008. The new edition should be arriving later in the year.