Funny, but isn't the white pages where a company gets their name and number listed for free? Guess all of those Cincinnati businesses will have to pay to have their phone number in a book from now on.

I'm no fan of the paper waste, but phone books are a necessity at bars/restaurants, hotels/motels, gas stations, etc. Don't use them at home but when I travel it's nice to know I can ask for a phone book.

Phone books are pretty wasteful if you use the internet or keep your own records of friends. Considering many people now have battery-backed up cable or DSL/FIOS modems (because of VOIP and TV over IP), white pages are even less useful now. Plus, Goog-411 is free and excellent if you want a business, but that's besides the point as this is about white pages.

Still, they should be available for those who opt in. I think a post-card sized mass-mailer to everyone with phone service asking if they would like a phone book is a good idea. Otherwise, most of them just end up in the landfill. And they'd need to ask every year, because many people don't bother updating after they have one, so sending a new phone book every year is dumb. This way, the company saves money and consumers get more choice.

"The books include facts on 9-1-1 service, income-eligible payment assistance and how to handle harassing calls, among other information."

They should do what my city does and provide a city services/info directory. It's a booklet maybe 32, 40ish pages long and it's sooooooooo much more useful than the phone book. It has numbers for all the city services, all the county services, relevant state numbers, every utility company that provides service within the city, etc. etc. etc. And it has helpful information like, "When garbage delivery is delayed due to snow, put your cans out on your regular day, though it make take 1-2 extra days for pickup." and "Yard waste pickup is March 15 through Nove 15 (or whatever it is)" and "Do not park on the following streets after 6" of snow or we get to ticket you AND plow you in on purpose" and "For a stray cat, call the shelter at this #, but for a squirrel in a dwelling, call animal control at this #."

They could easily compile all that information and the 911 info and the emergency siren info (that's totally always at the front of the phonebook) and put it in a little city directory. And you could easily cover the cost of printing it by selling a local ad or two for the back cover and inside covers. Or by making the yellow pages people pay for it in exchange for not having to do a white pages anymore.

1-800-GOOG-411

Get any number. Free.

Yes, that includes Canada too.

:-)

@SJRNWT: Best comment of the day. Informative and helpful.

In Canada, we have canada411.com, provided by Bell Canada. Quite helpful also.

@SJRNWT:

Or send Google an SMS @466453 if you don't know a business name and just want a listing of pizza places around you.

@SJRNWT: Goog411 doesn't have residential listings.

New York City has a great system and all you have to do is remember two numbers:
For an emergency - NYPD, FDNY, EMS - 911.
For everything else - 311.

@quail: That's the yellow pages. White pages are private residential numbers -- at least the ones that users didn't pay the phone company to keep OUT of the books.

It looks like I'm a rarity here in that I greatly prefer a phone book to the internet. However, I would still prefer an opt-in so I wouldn't be tripping over the unwanted phonebooks people leave on the sidewalk.

Oh yeah, and the environment too. Go, trees!

I don't really get how it's less consumer friendly. You can still get one upon request. People who still want one can get one, those who don't, won't receive them anymore.

Seems win-win to me?

@downwithmonstercable: ahh..I didn't totally understand the end part. But even in that case, there are tons of free directory assistance numbers to use. 1-800-FREE-411 is what I use, works great. And for those who don't want one, they probably have internet at home to hit up the various white pages websites.

I change my stance to win-basically win.

If things are anything like they are around here in Florida, there's the official phone book from the phone company and about 3 other phone books being printed by others wanting to sell Yellow Page ads. So I'm sure once the white pages are dropped from the telephone company it'll just be a marketing strategy by the other books "We've still got whitepages!".

@downwithmonstercable: I'm going to guess that the people MOST likely to use the phone book's reference qualities are those LEAST able to seek that information out through alternate venues -- the elderly, the very poor, etc.

I live in Cincinnati and I'm not upset to see the white pages go. I haven't been listed in a couple of years anyway, since I got my cell and dumped my land line. As mentioned previously, the white pages will still be available upon request, but I believe the vast majority of younger (and middle age like me) people will opt out of the pages anyway. If I need a number I can go online and get it or use one of the services already listed above. No big deal.

1.800.FREE.411

Seriously. Home and Business. It's not that tough.

@kateblack: White pages also contain business listings.

1-800-Goog-411

@winnabago: The internet does though. :-)

I do agree about the other info in front of the White Pages - local police numbers, maps, government info, etc. My mother frequently used that information before our home had internet access.

But that being said, can't they simply create a book containing just THAT information and distribute it in lieu of the ENTIRE White Pages book?

I hate phone books. It's such a waste. Mine goes from the door step to the recycling bin with no stops in between.

BUT, I would LOVE a services book for quick reference to save me internet searchy search time.

@kateblack: That's what I said. White pages are free (it's the one they're getting rid of) and Yellow Pages cost you. And no, businesses are listed by their name inside the White pages in most areas.

@Eyebrows McGee: So why is it better to sacrifice resources (and subsidize in the form of fees) for people to hover at bottom of the barrel rather than expect them to encourage them to get connected to society? I have an 80 year old grandmother who's no fan of technology, but has learned the benefits of cell phones, the Internet, etc. If she can do it, so can anyone else. I for one am tired of handholding everyone who "doesn't get it."

@Eyebrows McGee: But for those people, they are still able to request a copy.

I found my phone book to be a better local reference guide than the internet, and they probably are so in almost any smaller cities and rural areas, where info is hard to find or incorrect online.

@downwithmonstercable: Oh, sorry, part of my point was going to be -- if some of those people aren't handed the information, they're not going to seek it out, or won't know HOW to seek it out.

I'm not saying I agree, I'm just guessing that's the objection.

@quail:

Depends upon the State's Public Service Commission regulations as there seem to be no general rules/regulations consistent from state to state.

In my experience....

(having Yellow Page listings in 7 states for more nearly 30 years)

....the Baby-Bell will publish a free listing ...

(free meaning a single line entry of name, street address and telephone #)

....in the Yellow Page in the locality of the business.

Some states actually regulate such free publications.

Some Baby-Bells also publish a Business White Pages and the rules may or may not also apply to the Business White Pages.

Alternative vendors of telephone directories will generally follow the lead of the Baby-Bell. In some states there is an actual state regulation requiring such copying of free listings.

Beyond the "free" listing are the paid listings...

which means those small 1/4" ads up to the multi-page ads

.... which can be in the merchants local area or could be in any telephone directory outside of the local area.

It is in those outside directories where things get complicated.

I advertise in the Baby-Bell Yellow Pages in the major cities across many states. Paid display type ad. I do not advertise in the alternative telephone directories.

In some states the alternative telephone directories MUST provide a free (basic listing) in their respective telephone book and I can NOT opt out of such advertising. In some states I can opt out of being listed in the alternative telephone books upon notorized letter requesting an opt-out...

(and yes there are darn good reasons to opt out... I might prefer to list business hours in my display ads, brands carried or services rendered to avoid customer confusion and dissatisfaction..... free listings do not allow me to clarify my business offerings.... and I can not afford to advertise in every rag)

.... in at least one state the alternative telephone directory does not have to include free listings for vendors outside of the immediate market.

Sounds complicated? You bet it is.

Telephone companies only added all this local info to their white pages to make you use them more. There is no obligation for phone companies to provide this info. I sense a marketing opportunity to fill the void.

The White Pages are losing their relevance with more and more consumers using cell phones, delisting their land lines from phone books, and only only giving out their #s on a "need to know" basis.

What is the internet equivalent of AAAAAA Aardvark Carpet Cleaners?

@Eyebrows McGee: SOOO sensible. Friended you for this excellent post.

@MrsLopsided: It still works. Pull up a list of businesses of a certain type and they're still likely to be sorted alphabetically.

Many sites list by closeness to your location. I've actually found that sort of listing gamed by people who list certain residential addresses as "locations" to get near certain big-spender neighborhoods.

I've been trying to get these people to quit throwing unwanted phone books on my lawn. They are very rude when I call, but the books continue to be thrown onto my property.

[www.communitybook.com]

@SJRNWT: not everyone has the internet or knows how to call goog411. i recently encountered a customer through my job that was trying to figure out how to reach out to a government agency for assistance. she's been keep out of the loop most of her adult life by a controlling spouse and i had to explain to her how to use the blue pages in her local phone book. which are included in the white pages for her.

@IronLung492: some people really can't get connected through modern technology. my work brings me into contact with people who still can't get reliable internet or afford computers. and due to mobility issues they can't run out to the library to use the internet there.

I'm 28, I have a cell phone only and therefore am unlisted, but I still like the phone book. I like to flip through it and browse it ... and, I've found that OLD phone books are excellent historical references. I often wonder what kind of a historical record we're throwing away in the name of "green."

.

The phone companies will save money that they will not pass on to the consumers.

The banks did the same thing when they argued that by not sending you your original checks back they will help save the environment, and yet they send me copies of my checks on full size sheets of paper with my statement??????

"The books include facts on 9-1-1 service, income-eligible payment assistance and how to handle harassing calls, among other information."

Make sure every home has a cheap pamphlet with such information. Simple.

@speedwell: I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your info directory.

@Eyebrows McGee: Agreed. The needed information can be sent out in a MUCH smaller book, and leave white/yellow page directories available on request. Unfortunately, I'm afraid your idea makes too much sense, and therefore would be rejected by many places on general bureaucratic principles.

I'm not against directories, I'm just against wasting the materials. I only need ONE phone book, not the FOUR (or more) I get at my house. I get Greater Dallas Verizon, Greater Dallas AT&T, a smaller local book, and the Spanish language yellow pages. Sometimes I also get some other brand of yellow pages, along with a micro print/desk copy version of either AT&T or Verizon's yellow pages. I'm glad we have a recycling program in our city.

Personally, I would prefer a CD-ROM version of the yellow pages.

@Quilt: If people are unlikely to keep the phone book, then they are REALLY unlikely to keep a pamphlet like this.

Now if I can just get three separate companies to stop tossing three separate Yellow Pages (and mini-Yellow-Pages) on my doorstep every year, I'll be happy. There's no opting out. I got myself on the Do Not Mail list and opted out of preapproved credit offers, but those three huge Yellow Pages books more than wipe out all that paper savings. Ugh.

There's no such thing as "free" directory assistance. There is directory assistance not charged a la carte, resulting in higher bills overall, or there is advertising-supported directory assistance. It's not a good thing for regulatory bodies to force service providers to bundle their services, as Ohio's PUC generally appears to do phone service and either directory assistance or the White Pages. So, it is a win for consumers to eliminate the bundling requirement.

@catastrophegirl: Commonly businesses will want the onus to be on the CONSUMER to opt out of something, rather than have something be opt in.

That way they can still do business as usual and count on those uninformed people who do not realize they can opt out. It's the same logic with mail-in rebates vs. Instant rebates.

And instant rebate can't be rejected, forgotten about or misdirected. A mail-in rebate, where the onus is on the customer to mail in the correct paperwork, is usually more financially beneficial to the company.

I only have a cell so I haven't been listed for years, but I am totally for the opt in policy. They try to drop off 4 copies for an office of 2 where I work - for every phone book that someone produces around here.

Huge blunder there. They should have told them option a was no longer an option and that they now have a choice between option b and option b.

@captadam: Yes, that's a very good point. I do a lot of historical research, and come to think of it, I wish I had something like a phone book to research people who lived long ago. I once wanted to figure where a certain poet lived in a city to determine what school and church he might have attended, but there was no record of that anywhere. A phone book would have been just the ticket.

I know that my library has phone books, but I don't know whether they save them or not. I'm sure that the phone companies save them, right?

@downwithmonstercable: But now how are you going to look up who to call to request the phone book!?

@calquist: Just have some available for pickup at the various government buildings open to the public. Maybe in the lobbyway of some popular local restaurants as well if they will allow it.

Easily available to everyone but still prevents having to prints tens of thousands of unused phone books.