Whitaker's almanac is best described as which type of publication?

• A. A weekly magazine
• B. An annual reference work
• C. A government directory
• D. A travel guide

Answer: (B)

An almanac is a yearly reference resource that brings together a wide array of factual information in one place—calendars, statistics, lists, and quick-reference data. Whitaker's Almanac is published every year with updated facts for that year, which is exactly what defines it as an annual reference work. It isn’t a weekly magazine, since magazines are periodicals with regular articles rather than a fixed collection of data for the year. It isn’t a government directory, which would focus specifically on listing government offices or officials, nor a travel guide, which centers on routes and destinations. The core idea is that its purpose is to provide reliable reference information updated annually, making it best described as an annual reference work.