PHONE BOOKS

Phone Books, also known as telephone books are the books containing a list of telephone subscribers residing in a particular geographical region. In Phone Books, usually the names of all subscribers, along with their telephone numbers and postal addresses are listed in an alphabetical order. Hence, these phone books are also sometimes known as telephone directories.

If a subscriber doesn't want his name, phone number and address to be incorporated in the phone book, then his number can be excluded from the phone book in exchange of a certain fee. Such excluded numbers are then regarded as unlisted in America, private in New Zealand and Australia and ex-directory in Britain.

Interestingly, the first phone book which consisted only of a single page was brought out on 21 st February, 1878. This phone book contained the phone numbers of about fifty subscribers in New Haven, Connecticut. In the year 1880, the first British Phone Book or telephone directory was issued.

Phone Books are now available in the world web. Phone Books are usually identified by certain colored papers on which they are printed.

For instance-

• White Pages indicates alphabetical or personal listings.
• Yellow Pages acts as a business directory.
• Black Pages is often regarded as a ‘reverse telephone directory'.
• Blue or Green Pages indicates information about government organizations.

Apart from these, Phone Books may also contain the following-

• Instructions about using telephone services in a particular area.
• Phone numbers of emergency services and public utilities.
• Information about emergency management and civil defense.
• Postal code guides
• Transit maps