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Show (DdDimsiinnimfiimg HimttBirssTt Information is yours for the asking by Carol Clark Utah consumer education specialist For background about laws in general and consumerism in particular, particu-lar, try some of the following books: "Consumerism" by David A. Aaker and George S. Day; "Decision-Making for Consumers" by E. Scott Maynes; "Consumer Econonomics" by Daniel A. McGowan; "Consumer Choice: The Economics of Personal living" by Andrew J. Allentuck and Gordon E. Bivens; "The Consumer in American Society" by Arch W. Troelstrup and E. Carl Hall; and "Financial Institutions and Markets" Mar-kets" by Murray E. Polakoff, Thomas A. Durkin, et al. Most of these are textbooks commonly used in consumer classes; many are available in public libraries. "Consumer Dispute Resolution: Reso-lution: Exploring the Alternatives" is edited by Larry Ray and published by the American Bar Association's Special Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, the U.S. Depart- ment of Consumer Affairs and the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. It is the definitive work on third-party dispute dis-pute resolution programs. The American Bar Association, 1155 East 60th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, provides especially good books and pamphlets on various subjects. "Understanding the Law: A Handbook on educating the Public," Edited by Robert S. Peck and Charles J. White, is useful on the subject of implementing legal education in public media programming. program-ming. West Publishing Company, P.O. Box 3526, St.Paul, Minnesota 55165, sells a number of books about consumer law. Some worthwhile ones are "Consumer Protection" by David G. Epstein; "Consumer Law" by William G. Haemmel, Barbara C. George, and James J. Bliss; and "Consumer Law" by David G. Epstein and Steve H. Nickles. West publishes books for public schools and law students. "Law and the Consumer" is good for adolescents. Some major companies and financial institutions distribute consumer con-sumer literature in newsletter, pamphlet and book form, as a help to public relations. "Guide to Consumer Consum-er Product Information," published by Bristol-Meyers Company, New York, N.Y. 10154, is a good example, as is "The Consumer Survival Book: How to Fight Inflation' ' by Marvin L Bittinger, a Barton's Educational Series, Inc., book widely distributed by Mission Federal Savings and Loan in California. "Money Maker" magazine distributes distri-butes "Get Rich Investment Guide," an example of publications promoting promot-ing a specific financial services package. General Electric provides "The Inside Story," which focuses on appliance facts. Order from The Inside Story, General FJeftnc Company, P.O. Box 500, New Concord, Ohio 43762. Competitors and also manufacturers of other products lines distribute literature. Contact individual companies for details about what's available. Consumers Union, 256 Washington Washing-ton Street, Mount Vernon, New York 10550, sells "Consumer Reports" magazine, "The Medicine Show" (a book about health problems and products), an annual "Buying Guide Issue" (a handbook of data about a wide variety of products) and "News Digest" (a bimonthly newsletter digest of consumer information from selected industry publications about everthing from advertising to toxic substances.) For a complete catalogue cata-logue of these and other publicatons, write Consumers Union. The Better Business Bureau distributes "Getting More For Your Money." Contact your local BBB, bookstore or The Benjamin Company, Com-pany, Inc., One Westchester Plaza, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523, for ordering information. The Reader's Digest and other similar companies sell comparable products. Some texts on law are "Introduction "Introduc-tion to Law and the Legal System" by Harold J. Grilliot; "Do I Really Need a Lawyer?" by Stuart Kahan and Robert M. Cavallo; "Legal . Protection for Today's Consumer" by Simeon J. Horvitz; "Practical Law" by Chester S. Weinerman; "How to be Your Own Lawyer (Sometimes)" by Walter L Kan-trowitz Kan-trowitz and Howard Eisenberg;" "The Complete Layman's Guide to the Law" by John Paul Hanna; and "Oran's Dictionary of the Law" by Daniel Oran. Literally thousands of newsletters are generated monthly by companies and government agencies. Look at "The Shopper Report, The Consumer Consum-er Satisfaction Newsletter for Mass Marketers," 3624 Science Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, telephone (215) 386-5890. "The Shopper Report" talks about food, supermarket supermar-ket strategy and related statistical information. There is an annual fee for this. "FTC News Notes, ' ' free from the Federal Trade Commission, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20580, updates consumers about current FTC policies and prosecutions. prosecu-tions. Citibank, 399 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10043, exemplifies quality newsletters many financial institutions provide for their customers. custom-ers. "Consumer Views," a monthly newsletter, discusses a wide variety ' of consumer subjects in depth. Some state, county and local public prosecutor or consumer offices write excellent material. Check with government personnel in your area to get on mailing lists. -Don' t forget County Extension Office newsletters. Home economics is only one of myriad subjects these sheets address. "Consumer News" from the . United States Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 634-4140, is free to subscribers. It updates federal decisions directly affecting consumers consum-ers and gives sources for literature. ; Options are virtually endless for a , consumer who wants information. . Ask companies, the library, your financial institution, etc., and you're v sure to find plenty of quality reading. |