Phone Book Details and Information

A phone book becomes an invaluable tool when it comes to finding out the telephone numbers of various subscribers within a locality. The book also known as the telephone directory is usually published by the organization providing the service. While the service was limited to the listing of telephone owners previously, the organizations have begun to provide additional services now leading to an inclusion of people subscribing to other services as well.

Information Included

Apart from the telephone numbers of the subscriber, the postal address as well as the street number can be obtained by going through the telephone directory of a specific area. The alphabetical order of listing also makes it convenient for an individual to check out the details of another person included within the telephone book. The organization responsible for printing the phone book ascertains that the name of a new subscriber is included in the directory as soon as he/she gets the new telephone connection.

It is possible to keep your number private by requesting the authorities specifically. The service is not free of charge and you need to pay a small amount from excluding your name from the phone book permanently. Such telephone numbers are known as ‘unlisted’ numbers in the United States of America.

The printed telephone directory often includes the information on how to use the directory for retrieving information. Various emergency as well as utility numbers are included within the directories as a matter of routine. Emergency management centers along with the information of several civil defense authorities are included in the directories too.

Legislation

There are a few rules governing the listing of numbers in a phone book. Certain practices as well as regulations of the USA does not allow the listing of mobile and voice over IP numbers in any directory. Although the need for including the cell numbers in a single directory has been felt, the effort for creating such a book has met with stiff resistance from all sections of the society. Non inclusion of the cell numbers actually help the subscribers of cell phones to ward off unwanted calls especially from telemarketing personnel.

Initially, the telephone service providers were the only organizations who were authorized to print the directory. But the 1991 ruling by the Supreme Court of US has resulted in the publication of the telephone directories in the form of CD-ROMs as well as Internet resources.  Maps of the local area together with postal code guidance and prominent bus or train routes are published in some phone books. Advertisements of different products and services are often included within the phone books as well.

Types of Phone Books

The different types of phone books are normally known by the color of their printed pages.

White Pages - This is a telephone directory or a portion of it showing an alphabetical listing of subscribers residing within the local area.

Yellow Pages - This usually contains a listing of different businesses operating within the local area as well as the services offered. They are categorized into business types and accept paid advertisements. Details of the service can also be accessed online at www.yellowpages.com

The numbers of various governmental contacts are usually printed in blue or green (http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Directories.shtml ).