Encyclopedia of Associations
Description of publication
If you need to know something about a nonprofit organization this is the place to look. The Encyclopedia of Associations (EA) is the only source of detailed information concerning more than 22,000 nonprofit American membership organizations of national scope. (There is also an international edition.) These associations often publish excellent material on their industries; for example, McKinsey Global Institute's Manufacturing Productivity is an outstanding source of industrial data worldwide.
In a nation that has encouraged individualism, Americans have always felt the need to belong. Knowing they can achieve more through group efforts than they can individually, Americans have made associations one of the most powerful forces in the United States today. According to Gale Research, a study of 5,500 national associations conducted by the Hudson Institute on behalf of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) found:
- Seven out of ten Americans belong to at least one association.
- Associations annually spend $8.5 billion to offer education courses on technical and scientific matters, business practices, and more, to their members and the public. Associations spend more on continuing or specialized education than 49 of the 50 U.S. states.
- Associations spend $14.5 billion on industry standard-setting activities each year, approximately 400 times more than the U.S. government spends on setting and enforcing product and safety standards that affect every American.
Organizations often operate with small, volunteer staffs. Many such groups have requested that all written inquiries be accompanied by stamped, self-addressed envelopes. Replies can then be expedited and costs to the organization kept to a minimum.
The Encyclopedia of Associations is composed of three books: Volume 1: Part 1; Volume 1: Part 2; and Volume 1: Part 3. Parts 1 and 2 contain all the citations. Part 3 is the alphabetical index to organization names and keywords.
Entries in EA are arranged into 18 subject sections, as outlined on the table of contents page. Within each section, organizations are arranged in alphabetical order according to the assigned principal subject keyword, which appears as a subhead above organization names; therefore, the user need not know the exact name of the organization being sought.
The complete Encyclopedia of Associations series (including associations listed in the international and regional, state, and local editions) is available on-line through Dialog as File 114 and through NEXIS as file ENASSC.
The EA national edition (EA: National Organizations of the U.S. CD-ROM) is also available as a separate CD. Designed for ease of use, this version features a DOS-based graphical user interface (GUI) that addresses most common research needs and includes convenient search and downloading options. The semiannual CD-ROM version, called Gale GlobalAccess: Associations, also utilizes Dialog software.
A second source of association information that exclusively covers business-related associations is the National Trade & Professional Associations Directory in the U.S. The NTPA publication highlights meetings and lists approximately 7,000 organizations.
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Database: DIALOG
Encyclopedia of Associations
Book
0-8103-6169-8
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Gale Research
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