A publisher has refused to halt distribution of a directory of charitable organizations that the Council of Better Business Bureaus says contains ``stale and unreliable information'' about the council's evaluations of charities. The action came to light Thursday as the council issued an alert to its members and to users of its Philanthropic Advisory Service. The alert says the council did not review, approve or collaborate on the directory published by the Taft Group in Rockville, Md. The directory is called Charitable Organizations of the United States. It lists about 700 charities, with information including whether they claim to meet the council's standards for charitable solicitations. James H. McIlhenny, president of the council, said in the alert that the book contains 120 references to evaluations by the council and 11 of them are wrong. He said Steven J. Cole, vice president and senior counsel of the better business group, wrote to the directory publisher last month asking that further marketing and distribution be suspended pending discussion of the council's objections. The alert said that Taft responded earlier this month that it is ``willing to discuss modifications in future printings regarding specific errors which you may wish to bring to our attention. Nevertheless, we unequivocally reject any request to discontinue or inhibit full distribution and sale of the present edition.'' Marty Mattare, president of the Taft Group, declined comment except to say that the issues raised by the council were under discussion between the two groups. She said officers of the council and the publishing firm would be meeting ``in several weeks.'' The Council of Better Business Bureaus says it promotes ethical standards of business practices and protects consumers through voluntary self-regulation and monitoring activities. It is a private agency whose members include major businesses and better business bureaus in the United States and Canada. The Taft Group is a division of Gale Research Inc. of Detroit, whic is affiliated with the Thomson Information-Publishing Group of Stamford, Conn., and Toronto.
