djcl@contact.uucp (woody) (03/10/91)
One interesting item I've run across in recent times is the Phonefiche, which is a set of telephone directories on microfiche. Many public libraries have a Phonefiche set, which lists various points in North America. A few things to note: 1) Phonefiche tends to be available on a population category basis. Category 5 covers communities of 100 000 or more. Category 7 will cover populations 40 000 or more. Presumably more comprehensive categories will cost more to purchase. One way to tell if you're getting Category 5 or not is whether or not the fiche set contains the Port Huron, MI directory (available in category 7, but not in 5). 2) some directories are available for Puerto Rico, as well as a few European points now (UK, Switzerland). 3) Canadian directories are available on fiche This would seem to be an ideal way for a large company to bypass much of the pains associated with long distance directory assistance charging that is all the rage in the U.S. While directory information has a significant "churn" (ie. changing, new or deleted listings), the phone book information can be accurate most of the time. Not to mention the residential users who might be able to find a fiche set at a library, thereby saving some cash (assuming any free DA calls have been used up). The company that puts out the Phonefiche is UMI, reachable at 300 North Zeeb Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48106; tel (800) 521.0600 or (313) 761.4700. Disclaimer: I don't claim to speak for UMI, nor do I have any connection with them. This is posted for informational purposes only... [Moderator's Note: UMI is also known as University Microfilms. They preserve many old newspapers, magazines and such on microfilm. PAT]
carroll@ssc-vax.uucp (Jeff Carroll) (03/15/91)
In article <telecom11.191.4@eecs.nwu.edu> djcl@contact.uucp (woody) writes: > The company that puts out the Phonefiche is UMI, reachable at 300 > North Zeeb Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48106; tel (800) 521.0600 or (313) > 761.4700. My understanding is that Southwestern Bell and possibly one or two other LECs have refused to release this information to UMI, or indeed to anyone else. The obvious implication is that Phonefiche is not a universal solution. My personal experience is that Phonefiche is in general not as good a solution to the problem as the roomful of phone books. My problems with Phonefiche fall into three general categories: 1) Knowing which fiche to look at for a phone number located in an obscure suburb or outlying area. (Yes, Phonefiche comes with a little cross-reference index booklet, but those easily get lost at your typical public library.) 2) Needing a phone number in a small, isolated rural community. (The roomful of phonebooks was usually more complete in this regard; in my experience, about 70% of cases I was interested in were covered. With Phonefiche the percentage is considerably lower.) 3) Needing a number in one of Phonefiche's geographical "holes", mentioned above. In summary, if I need a phone number in a remote community, I try to wait until I'm at the Seattle Public Library, which still has a large collection of paper phone books. Jeff Carroll carroll@ssc-vax.boeing.com