It can be an expensive and labor intensive proposition to create a taxonomy and/or thesaurus from scratch. Though sometimes your organization's needs are unique and require a custom approach, other times a well-developed, ready-made taxonomy would fit the bill. However, it's not always obvious where to find such an animal.
Taxonomy Warehouse offers a database of available taxonomies on different topics, some of which can be ordered directly from the Warehouse.
For example, do you need an industry category list? Search under “Commerce and Industry” or “General Business” and you'll find several options from publishers such as Lexis and Gale.
There is something for everybody, from the humanities to medicine to business. You don't need a taxonomy every day, but when you do, Taxonomy Warehouse could be very handy to have around.
[Spotted on Jenny Kanji and Genie Tyburski 60 Sites in 60 Minutes presentation, given at the 2004 annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association] [LawLibTech]