For low volume newsgroups there is an email alternative. Searching Newsgroup Discussion can be very rewarding, but also can be a shortcut method to find newsgroup of interests you. Digital's Altavista allows searches of recent newsgroup messages. Altavista Search of Usenet Discussion. L ibrary Associations are more involved than their Internet companion.
Associations are also more into paper publishing, conferencing and colating specialist statistics.
As an example, the Australian Booksellers Association publishes the best benchmark statistics on this topic. When approaching an association, consider asking for their publications list. The definitive way to find an association is through certain large national directories. Internet alternatives are not nearly as valuable, but are more immediate. All the primary libraries will certainly have a copy, as will many smaller libraries.