Isn't there a printed book version of the Compendium?
There once was, but it has been discontinued. The last edition was printed in November 2002.
How often is the LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM updated?
During the normal everyday course of doing business at Loch Ness Productions, we're continually making changes and updates to our database. When we receive an order for the Compendium, we will usually generate an entire new set of Compendium pages at that time! So the data will always be current, to the best of our knowledge, often to within a matter of minutes.
We've priced the Compendium so reasonably low that you'll be tempted to order frequent updates. At the bottom of every listing and index page is the creation date, to help you decide when it's time.
Can I get the data electronically, like a spreadsheet?
SHORT ANSWER #1: If you're interested in only fulldome theaters, yes. Our FULLDOME THEATER COMPENDIUM SUBSCRIPTION may suit your needs.
SHORT ANSWER #2: Some of the data is available, but not in the same form the Compendium uses. dBASE-compatible DBF files for mailing purposes are $150 US, $190 International. To order, contact us.
LONG ANSWER: The LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM does not exist as a single spreadsheet or database. It is a compilation of data from different sources.
We use the relational database program dBASE III+ (yes, a DOS program). The address information is in one database, projector equipment in a second, people in a third, the text blocks and URLs in yet more databases. Each database is indexed, and records are linked using unique locater codes. This allows us to link indefinite numbers of records — such as attaching multi-person staffs to single institutions or multiple projectors to single domes, for example — without the overhead of duplicated data in each.
When people ask for our publication in electronic form, what they usually want is either 1) a mailing list so they can pitch some product or service to the planetarium or planetarian, or 2) a data set from which marketing analyses can be run for commercial or research intent. We do make available a subset of the information in our databases to parties we perceive as beneficial to the planetarium community — sometimes even our competition.
We can make available the "address block" in database form. Scroll down for details about which items are included. For those wanting information extending beyond what's needed for mailings, you'll have to contact us about doing custom database programming for you.
We maintain approximately 1,500 U.S. and 1,900 international theater entries. We charge $150 for the U.S. mailing list and $190 for the international mailing list. That works out to about US$0.10/entry. We do no advance culling — you get all the entries.
dBASE III+ files are space-filled, not delimited, databases. Most database and spreadsheet programs can import .DBF format files. The structure of each record is detailed below. We store the files into zip archives for transmission as an e-mail attachment. U.S. and International combined are usually less than 200K zipped; they expand to approximately 450K each when unzipped.
Structure for dBASE III+ databases:
United States:
Field Field Name Type Width
1 PLT_NAME Character 30
2 INST_NAME Character 30
3 ADDRESS Character 30
4 CITY Character 20
5 ST Character 2
6 ZIP Character 10
7 PHONE Character 19
8 PHONDESC Character 10
9 PHONE2 Character 19
10 PHONDESC2 Character 10
11 PHONE3 Character 19
12 PHONDESC3 Character 10
International differs by these fields:
5 PROVINCE Character 17
6 COUNTRY Character 30
7 POSTALCODE Character 9
Are the addresses CASS-certified?
No. We know about the USPS CASS-certification guidelines for conforming mailing addresses, but have chosen not to format our data in that manner. We think "123 Second Circle Street, Suite A" looks a lot better in our Compendium than "123 2D CR ST STE A". At Loch Ness Productions, we usually send our mailings first class anyway, so we don't use pre-sort discounts, bulk rates and such.
What's the difference between the LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM and what's listed online?
The LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM is the biggie, the full Monty, the complete listing of all the theaters worldwide. It's a commercial product. There are more than 3900 listings. It features three index columns (Locations, People, and Projectors); the online listings provide only one, Locations.
The LNP DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM ONLINE! is a subset — only those classic theaters who have licensed Loch Ness Productions shows, or have submitted update forms. There are more than 300 listings.
The LNP FULLDOME THEATER COMPENDIUM ONLINE! is also a subset — only those theaters with fulldome video capability. There are more than 1100 listings.
The latter two include information about Loch Ness Productions shows that theaters have licensed; the commercial products do not.
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