A comprehensive directory of more than 3000 of the world's planetaria and digital dome theaters

Since 1977, Loch Ness Productions has amassed what is probably the world's foremost accumulation of data about the planetarium and digital dome theater community. Our computer currently contains information on nearly 1500 theaters in the United States, and more than 1500 more in other countries around the world.

It goes without saying that our database is an indispensable tool in our work. For example, we know more than 50% of American planetaria are associated with schools or school districts. We see that more theaters have front-facing seats than have concentric seating -- helpful knowledge to have when we plan our shows. And we know which facilities present public shows regularly (at least once a week).

All this information, and much more, is available to you -- in THE LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM.

In the 1980s and '90s, we used our database to compile issues of the International Planetarium Society's directory. In 1994, we introduced The LNP Planetarium Compendium as a printed book, but with the invention of the Web browser, we found we could do much more in HTML form. Now as digital technology transforms the field, we've modified the Compendium's name to include fulldome theaters in addition to the traditional planetarium.

For a preview, check out the ONLINE! sections here on our Web site. What's posted is a small subset of the complete listings, but both work the same way.

Besides the usual name and address information, the Compendium lists up to three phone numbers and fax lines, and a Web site URL in the main entry. It classifies theaters (School, University, Museum, Observatory, Theme Park, etc.); indicates whether public shows are presented; the presence of a gift shop; and the year the institution opened.

Each facility's data block contains three line-item categories for each dome the institution operates:

• The diameter and degree of tilt, the dome manufacturer and model, and installation year. Portables are indicated by a gray background.
• The seating capacity, layout, and annual attendance, including the year the report was submitted (which we started tracking in 2005).
• The makes and models of digital and/or analog star projectors; when they were installed; and whether they provide fulldome video capability, indicated by a green background.

Some facilities have provided us with a paragraph of text for their entries, describing automation equipment, show times, and so on. Staff listings include positions, up to two E-mail addresses, and a text line for direct-dial phone lines or extensions and the like.

There are three index listings that function as hyperlink selectors. You choose which index appears in the left frame; one click displays your selection in the right frame. The ONLINE! index lists only geographic locations; the full version also includes an index of people; and one for projectors, sorted by manufacturer and model. At a glance, you can tell how rare or commonplace are the various projectors, and where they're located.

Since this is a Loch Ness Productions publication, we've printed the entries of our fine, upstanding customers in boldface type, to add a little touch of class and distinction to the listings.

Fronting the Compendium, you'll find tables summarizing the data -- by theater classification, by seating layouts, by dome size, and our annual attendance projections. There's even a chart displaying the number of theaters opened each year since 1925.

THE LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM is a collection of HTML (ASCII text) files, a Cascading Style Sheet, and several small .GIF graphics. There are no programs to install; you simply point your favorite browser to the cover page, and it takes over from there. The files do require about 3MB of disk space; we've gathered them into a small (~600KB) Zip archive for easy transmission as an e-mail attachment. Alternatively, for a modest additional cost, we will copy the files in uncompressed form onto a CD-R. They can be viewed directly from the disc, or copied to a folder on your computer and viewed from there.