A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: Official NHL Guide and Record Book; Inside Sports Hockey; Pro Hockey Play-by-Play 1997-98.

Only a few books have remained in my library through various cross-country moves. Some are from college, some from childhood and every NHL Guide and Record Book since 1974.

Go ahead. Laugh. But the NHL’s bible, which has grown from two small, pocket-sized books to a 464-page behemoth, is an essential part of every hockey writer’s library. Avid fans will love it too.

It covers everything--lists of trophy winners and Stanley Cup winners, team and individual records and rule changes through the years, player statistics (including every trade they’ve been involved in), teams’ draft picks and stats on retired players. This year’s version contains a special section on NHL players who have played in the Winter Olympics and lists the men’s and women’s schedules for the Nagano Games in February. It’s available in many major bookstores and in stores that specialize in hockey gear. It’s well worth the $18.95 price.

Inside Sports magazine’s offering, a bulky, 724-page book, is a nice complement to the NHL book but is not easily carried around. There are a few paragraphs devoted to the major events of each season, plus final standings and leading scorers. The book also contains mini-biographies on key players throughout NHL history. Also interesting are its sections on the World Hockey Assn. and hockey at the college and international levels. Another bonus is the all-time player register, which contains year-by-year records of active and retired players. The NHL book only sums up the retired players’ careers.

“Pro Hockey Play-by-Play,” billed as the ultimate NHL guide, is anything but. Its deadlines were too early to reflect off-season movement of players and franchises--it has the Whalers still in Hartford and Mark Messier with the New York Rangers--its tone is juvenile and its layout awful. Many pages have columns of empty space when they could have contained more facts. But the book does include contributions from author Ted Montgomery’s sister and nephew, so that will keep the peace within his family. Keep your money in your wallet if you see this one on the shelves.