Fact: He loves his job

Ken Park: 'World Almanac' publisher

In this story: '"Almanac" is better' Lucky guy Not a trivial life Educating young people RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Jamie Allen
CNN

(CNN) -- Ken Park, publisher of "The World Almanac and Book of Facts: 2001," is familiar with the idea that we're living in the Information Age, what with the Internet and all.

In fact, he has a favorite quote on the subject, and he enjoys reading it:

QUICK VOTE
	How much do you feel the "torrent of information" Ken Park talks about? I'm going under for the third time. Depends on the subject. In some areas, I feel on top of things. I'm OK. No info-overwhelm. View Results

"'We are deluged in a torrent of information,'" he reads from his Manhattan office. "'Reporters search every nook and cranny of the world for news that is then forced to the attention of all by screaming headlines in newspapers and by excited announcers in the broadcasting studio.

"'But the multiplication of available knowledge in this world of growing complexity often bewilders rather than enlightens. A person in need of specific facts frequently is unable to find what he seeks without wearisome research,'" reads Park.

He pauses for effect.

"This is from a forward to the 'Facts on File' yearbook," he says, "in 1959."

In other words, there has always been a "torrent of information," even before the Internet came along. And before the Internet, there was "The World Almanac," the lighthouse in the foggy night of too much information.

'"Almanac" is better'

Published annually since 1886, the "Almanac" is a bible for fact-seekers. While the Internet deluges a user with data both right and wrong, the "Almanac" is better, Park says, and he points to the numbers as proof: "The World Almanac" continues to sell more than 1 million copies every year.

"We work with the Internet all the time. That's why we know 'The World Almanac' is better," Park says. "'The World Almanac' represents literally thousands of hours of Internet research."

And as it greets the official New Millennium year of 2001, the book proves it still can endure its latest transition of management. This is Park's first year as publisher of the annual fact survey. It's part of his duties with World Almanac Education Group.

A career man in the world of facts, Park started as a writer for "Facts on File" -- a reference business -- in 1982. He worked his way up in marketing and sales before his company was bought out by WRC Media, the same company that owns rights to "The World Almanac."

It's a job Park says he enjoys.

"I think I'll be here until they toss me out," Park, 43, says.

Lucky guy

So does it take an egghead straight-A student to reach a pinnacle of reference publishing?

Talking to Park, you don't get that sense. He's the first to say that although he graduated from Cornell University in 1980 with a degree in economics, he graduated through luck.

He's been married for nine years to a woman who once worked above him on the corporate ladder at "Facts on File." They live in Brooklyn, raising their 6-year-old daughter.

Park says he spends between 50 and 60 hours per week at work. His responsibilities include, first and foremost, editorial duties -- he edits "The World Almanac" (published at the end of the year) and "The World Almanac for Kids" (published in August) from cover to cover. There are also daily duties in marketing and management, and he says he travels to various conferences "a couple of times a month."

Not a trivial life

Don't tell Park he works with trivia. He says his hometown newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, recently ran a piece on him with a sub-headline that read, "'World Almanac' Publisher Makes a Life Compiling Trivia."

"It wasn't how I'd like to think of my life," he laughs. "I don't think it's trivial, for instance, that the average earning power of a man in this country has basically not changed in the last 25 years.

"'The World Almanac' tells about the world," Park says. "Maybe the little bits are trivia, in and of themselves, but the more you know about that, the more you know about the world."

Ken Park

He says the job requires a host of personality traits and talents.

First, one must be obsessed with the smallest details -- you can't just say a plane is big, you have to say how big it is; you can't just mention the greenhouse effect, you must explain the entire process.

""I've never read any of those books that say, 'Don't sweat the details,'" he says. "In reference publishing, when you're putting out 'The World Almanac,' you've got to sweat the details."

A must for the reference publisher: the ability to write. Another: a love of your job, and not necessarily the finer things in life.

"Don't expect a lot of money," he says of his work. "You work in publishing for the joy of the work and the effect of the work."

And yes, it helps to know a lot. In fact, you won't get a job at World Almanac without being tested on your knowledge.

"I gave this test to the graduate of a fairly prestigious university," Park says. "The question was this: Which is the largest oil-producing nation in the Middle East? Her answer was Nicaragua. That's not the kind of person we need."

Park, however, admits that even he make errors. The latest "World Almanac," for instance, contains a misspelled version of "Star Wars" character Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I like to say (the 'Almanac' contains) hundreds of thousands of facts," he says. "So if you make three goofs, it's above the industry standard."

Educating young people

What does Park enjoy most about his job? He says he gets satisfaction out of giving "The World Almanac for Kids" to young people and watching them learn from it.

"We hear a lot about education in this country today and to be contributing to the education of children in a very real way is the thing I find the most rewarding," he says.

It's that kind of reward that has kept Park in the business for two decades, and he says it will keep him there for the foreseeable future.

"I think the value of our products will only increase," he says. "We are deluged in a torrent of information and have been since 1959, at least.

"It's the work I love," he says.

Luis Barajas: Founder, Flaunt magazine
February 6, 2001
In folklore we trust: Careers of tradition
February 2, 2001
IT grads in play: Primed, picky, patient
January 19, 2001
Looking it up: Reference librarians -- not an endangered career
November 28, 2000
Ph.D. at the counter
October 25, 2000

World Almanac Education
Facts on File

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.