Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters 2003 lists 12,796--of all sorts - order your copy now of this invaluable research tool - or purchase annual, 6-month or 3-month online access -.

The following review of the 2002 edition by Paul Swift is reprinted from The Newsletter on Newsletters, July 31, 2002.

The current edition of Hudson's Subscription Newsletter Directory, the only directory devoted solely to for-profit subscription newsletters--about 5,000 of them--dates back to 1999. And it appears that no new edition of Hudson's is in the works.

In addition, a visit to Gale Research's web site coughed up only 486 newsletter titles, even though Gale used to produce a three-inch thick directory of all types of newsletters.

That leaves Oxbridge Communications Inc. as the best game in town. For a few years in the 1990s, Oxbridge's reputation for accuracy took a dive. But after some reorganizing, one would imagine, the company--still headed by Lou Haygood and Patricia Haygood Ph.D.--is back on top of its form with the recent publication of the commendable and highly recommended Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters.

This directory is an invaluable source for newsletter publishers and editors. Its more than 14,000 titles include, of course, many that are not subscription, but for the publisher looking to see who the competition is and what mailing lists are available, even the association and scholarly titles yield information as important as the strictly subscription newsletter entries.

Up-to-date

In reviewing directories, I employ two "tests"--the Up-to-Date test and the Obscurity test. Oxbridge makes the first test an easy exercise since it includes a Title Change Index (approximately 3,000 listed). I looked up a couple of title changes from just last fall, and both were duly noted.

For the Obscurity Test, I looked up five fairly obscure but regularly published titles--two of them published by men I know who are not especially prone to return verification forms. Three out of the five were listed.

On the other hand, Oxbridge included information on The Newsletter on Newsletters that I don't recall providing--such as the name and address of our printer and our list rental fees.

What each listing includes

Each listing includes all or most of the following information:

* Newsletter title, rendered in bold face if the "publication has advertising and/or rents its list."

* Target audience: Consumer, Business (these two are apparently subscription newsletters), Association (many of which offer subs to non-members), Scholarly, Special Interest, and various combinations of these audiences.

* Name, address, telephone, fax, and e-mail address of the publisher. Few if any web site names are included, however.

* Names of key staff.

* Description of editorial.

* General information and production data, including printing method, paper, and binding type. This reveals what many of us would not call newsletter format--newsprint, perfect-bound journals.

* Subscription rates.

* Circulation figures.

* List rental information.

* Printing company.

Fun, too

Oxbridge is a pure delight for the true newsletter addicts among us--especially the Collectibles section. American Lock Collectors Association Newsletter gives 350 readers "news about antique locks, padlocks, shackles and related collector information." It has competition from the 200-circulation West Coast Lock Collectors.

And then there is The Stained Finger, which gives 800 readers the "history, identification, and market prices of of ink-wells, pens & accessories."

For $16/year or free with membership in the Texas Date Nail Collectors Association, you can receive six issues of Nailer News, "information for collectors of nails used on railroad ties to identify the date they were laid and the location."

Chuck Thompson's Chili Label Reviews does just that--"reviews labels of chili available, past and present, and includes actual labels, with history, legends, recipes, etc." But be forewarned: it's published "irregularly."

I'm giving my ranaphilic sister-in-law a gift subscription to Frog Pond, "devoted to collection of frog motifs in all forms (jewelry, figurines, toys, art, etc.)."

"If you're looking to launch, buy or sell a newsletter, or looking for new lists, bolster your research by buying and studying the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters 2003, in print version, CD-ROM, or online."