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The National Directory of Catalogs recorded 12,230 catalogs in its 2008 edition, up from 10,668 in its 2004 volume. The biggest category gainers included religion-focused catalogs, which increased from 205 five years ago to 329, and automotive catalogs, which jumped from 389 catalogs to 593 catalogs.

The third-fastest growing category was education catalogs, which rose from 400 books to 529.

In terms of sheer quantity, the directory counted 1,156 book catalogs, up from 1,071 in 2004, making books the largest category. The books category was followed by apparel, with 819 catalogs, up from 711.

The top 10 categories list was rounded out by automotive (593); education (528); gardening (422); gifts (358); food (332); religion (329); home (317); and sports (312) titles.

“The catalog industry continues to be strong in 2008, particularly in the top 10 categories of books, apparel, automotive, education, gardening, gifts, food, religion, home and sports,” said Trish Hagood, president of Oxbridge Communications, the director’s publisher, in a statement. “And, online catalogs continue to grow, with 1,868 online-only catalogs and 10,543 print-and-online catalogs listed in the 2008 directory.”

Not all categories have seen gains. During the past five years, the number of manufacturing, computers and crafts catalog publishers declined. The number of manufacturing catalogs dropped by nearly half, from 469 to 244, while computer titles dropped by more than 25%, from 313 to 227, and crafts titles fell from 298 to 227. The total number of office catalogs slipped from 296 to 257.