Try doing an Advanced Search at a library, like FLP, and select the pull-down menu for Publishers.
http://freelibrary.lib.overdrive.com...ncedSearch.htm
Right off the bat you'll see duplicate listings for what should be the same publisher:
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
There are eight entries for variations on Penguin, five for HarperCollins, etc.
It's getting to be as confusing as production companies for movies. For instance,
The Running Man by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) is listed as:
A SIGNET BOOK
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182–190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand
Different countries aside, what publisher should be in the metadata? A SIGNET BOOK, SIGNET, New American Library, Penguin Putnam Inc, or something else? The metadata embedded in the book when new was Penguin Group US, which is not even in the litany of publishers listed in the book.
My library has so many variations on publishers that searching by publisher has limited usefulness.