Telephone directory
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/* External links */ rm "Order a Bell Canada phone directory": lack of content, see [[Wikipedia:External links]]
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[[Image:Phone book.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Moscow phone book, 1930.]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Phone book Poland.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Polish phone book, 1948.]] -->
A '''telephone directory''' (also called a '''telephone book''' and '''phone book''') is a listing of telephone [[subscriber]]s in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory.
==Content==
Subscriber names are generally listed in alphabetical order, together with their postal or street address and [[telephone number]]. Every subscriber in the geographical coverage area is usually listed, but subscribers may request the exclusion of their number from the directory, often for a fee. Their number is then said to be "unlisted" ([[American English]]), "ex-directory" ([[British English]]) or "private" ([[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]).
In the case of unlisted numbers, practices as to [[Caller-ID]] vary by jurisdiction. Sometimes, the [[Caller-ID]] on outbound calls is blank; in other jurisdictions, unlisted numbers still appear, unless the caller dials a blocking code; in still others, the customer may request automatic blocking from the telephone company's service representatives.
In some countries under current rules and practices, [[mobile phone]] and [[Voice over IP]] listings are not included in telephone directories. Efforts to create cellular directories have met stiff opposition from several fronts, including a significant percentage of subscribers who seek to avoid [[telemarketer]]s.
In 1991, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled (in ''[[Feist v. Rural]]'') that telephone companies do not have a [[copyright]] on telephone listings, because copyright protects creativity and not the mere labor of collecting existing information. Within the geographical reach of the Court, the ''Feist'' ruling has resulted in the availability of many innovative telephone directory services on [[CD-ROM]] and the [[World Wide Web]].
==Publication==
Telephone directories can be published in [[hard copy]] or in electronic form. In the latter case, the directory can be provided as an online service through proprietary terminals or over the Internet, or on physical media such as CD-ROM.
In [[France]], the [[Minitel]] [[videotex]] system originated as an attempt by [[France Télécom]] to rid itself of its paper publishing costs by forcing all telephone users to use Minitel terminals instead.
In [[Switzerland]], a few [[pay phone]]s are now accompanied with electronic telephone directory terminals instead of paper directories, and phone users are charged for each search.
==Types==
A telephone directory may also be called a '''phone book''' or may be known by the color of the paper it is printed on.
*[[White pages]] generally indicates personal or alphabetic listings.
*[[Yellow pages]], sometimes called the A2Z, generally indicates a '''business directory''' classified by business type or services provided, almost always with paid advertising.
*[[Reverse telephone directory|Grey pages]], sometimes called a "reverse telephone directory".
*Other colors may have other meanings, depending on a country's customs. Information on [[government agencies]] is often printed on blue or green pages.
==Ancillary content==
A telephone directory may also provide instructions about how to use the [[Local telephone service|telephone service]] in the local area, may give important numbers for [[emergency services]], [[utilities]], hospitals, doctors and organizations who can provide support in times of personal crisis. It may also have [[civil defense]] or [[emergency management]] information. There may be transit maps, postal code guides, or stadium seating charts, as well as advertising.
==History==
[[Image:New haven directory 1878.jpg|thumb|New Haven directory, November, 1878.]]The first telephone directory, consisting of a single page, was issued on [[February 21]], [[1878]]. It covered 50 subscribers in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. The [[R. H. Donnelley|Reuben H. Donnelly]] company asserts that it published the first classified directory, or yellow pages, for [[Chicago, Illinois]], in 1886. The first [[United Kingdom|British]] telephone directory was published in 1880.
==Reverse directories==
A '''[[reverse telephone directory]]''', '''reverse directory''', '''criss-cross directory''' or '''cross-reference directory''', is a telephone directory in which the entries are in order by address (first by city name, then by street name, then by house number), and were used to find out the name of a subscriber with a particular address or to find the neighbors of a particular address. They were fairly common until the 1960s, as a separately published book, or sometimes included at the back of the regular telephone directory with each section on a different color paper. Printed reverse directories have become less common with the availability of telephone databases on [[CD-ROM]] and on the [[Internet]], which have advanced searching features.
They are not well-known to the general public since they have generally been available on a limited basis to telephone companies or government officials, although [[genealogy|genealogists]] and [[private investigator]]s know which [[public library|public libraries]] have them in their collection. In addition, some telephone companies have made the information generally available through little known services, such as the "2080 service" in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]] (now discontinued), where a call to the exchange and the number 2080 produced an operator who would give the name and address of any other number in that exchange. But such services remain online.
Instead of looking up a number, a call to [[directory assistance]] ([[4-1-1]] in the [[NANP]]) will give the same results if a book is not available. However, there is usually a significant charge for this.
In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Ireland]] and many other countries it is illegal to perform a reverse lookup from a phone number, although some companies have attempted to sell reverse directories. CD-ROM telephone directories supplied by telephone operators are now sold in an encrypted format that allows only lookups from a name and address.
In [[Jersey]], the paper phone book has a form of reverse directory with the phone number and then the name and address, for example:
*712345 – Mr A Smith, 1 Any Street, [[Saint Helier]]
*712346 – Mrs B Johnson, 2 Any Street, Saint Helier
It exists after the regular directory in the phone book.
==See also==
* [[Domain Name System|DNS]]
* [[Whois]]
* [[Lightweight Directory Access Protocol|LDAP]]
* [[Reverse telephone directory]]
* [[Silent number]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.phonebookoftheworld.com/ Phonebook of the World]
* [http://www.howtocallinternational.com/directories.html World Telephone Directories] Listing of most of the world's online telephone directories
* [http://www.yellowpages.ca Canada's Official Yellow Pages(TM)], Canada's Yellow Pages(TM)
* [http://www.yell.com The UK Yellow Pages], United Kingdom Yellow Pages
* [http://www.shoutlocal.com The UK's local directory search engine], United Kingdom Business Directory
* [http://www.intelibell.com Intelibell]
* [http://www.internet4mobile.com Online Telephone Directory for India]
* [http://www.insiderpages.com Insider Pages]
* [http://www.whitepages.com The leading online phone directory]
* [http://www.infousa411.com The most accurate and comprehensive phone directory]
* [http://www.canada411.ca/ Canada 411 Canada's official White Pages]
[[Category:Telephony]]
[[Category:Directories]]
[[da:Telefonbog]]
[[de:Telefonbuch]]
[[es:Guía telefónica]]
[[eu:Telefono gida]]
[[fr:Annuaire téléphonique]]
[[is:Símaskrá]]
[[it:Elenco telefonico]]
[[he:ספר טלפונים]]
[[nl:Telefoongids]]
[[ja:電話帳]]
[[pl:Książka telefoniczna]]
[[pt:Lista telefônica]]
[[simple:Telephone book]]
[[fi:Puhelinluettelo]]
[[sv:Telefonkatalog]]