THE HARPERCOLLINS WORLD ATLAS (HarperPerennial: $10;...

THE HARPERCOLLINS WORLD ATLAS (HarperPerennial: $10; 136 pp., paperback original); THE 1994 INFORMATION PLEASE ALMANAC Otto Johnson, senior editor (Houghton Mifflin: $8.95; 1024 pp., illustrated, paperback original); THE UNIVERSAL ALMANAC 1994 John W. Wright, general editor (Andrews & McMeel: $12.95; 716 pp., illustrated, paperback original); THE WORLD ALMANAC AND BOOK OF FACTS 1994 Robert Famighetti, editor (World Almanac: $8.95; 976 pp., illustrated, paperback original). Four reference books for readers seeking new information about the new world order during the new year. The “World Almanac” is the most comprehensive of the group, but the bleak, gray pages of facts in small type make it the least appealing visually. The less complete “Universal Almanac” feels more user-friendly: The bolder graphics and more open lay-outs look less intimidating. “Information Please” offers such pleasantly off-beat listings as a selection of obscure words that turn up in crossword puzzles. The constantly shifting political boundaries of the modern world must complicate life for atlas publishers. The new volume from HarperCollins features bright, up-to-date maps of a united Germany and a divided Soviet Union. Regrettably, the text reads like a high school geography paper, which renders the book less useful than many slightly dated competitors.