The White Pages is a list of names, phone numbers, and addresses provided by telephone companies. It has been around since the late 1800s and now includes additional information. Electronic versions are available online or on CD-ROM, and customers can request to not be listed.
The publication known informally as the “white pages” is actually a list of names, telephone numbers and postal addresses generated by telephone companies and distributed to their customers and public places. While a modern telephone directory may have both yellow and white sections, white pages provide only basic contact information about individuals and businesses, while yellow pages contain sponsored listings. The white pages of a telephone directory may also contain pertinent contact information for local government services, a history of the area, and various directories for international calling and other specialized telephone services.
Publishing the White Pages is almost as old as the telephone itself. The first telephone directory is believed to have appeared in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 1870s or early 1880s. It named all 50 telephone customers in the New Haven area on one printed page. As the number of telephones increased, so did the size and scope of the accompanying blank pages. Compiling and updating all of this new information was a painstaking task for telephone company employees before the invention of high-speed computers and printers.
The White Pages as we know them today still contain personal contact information for the authorized owner of the phone account, but additional information about other family members and alternate phone numbers can be added. Customers can also request that their personal information not be listed on public white pages, although the phone company may charge a fee for the anonymity privilege. Female customers can also request that their names appear as initials only in the blank pages, in order to discourage criminals from scanning the telephone directory for single female residents.
With the advent of computer databases and internet connectivity, the traditional paper form of the white pages now has a number of competitors. The Supreme Court ruled that the information in the telephone white pages is not copyrighted, so it can be compiled and distributed by sources other than the telephone company. Electronic versions of the White Pages are accessible online or published on CD-ROM. Information typically found on white pages in the United States can also be accessed by dialing helpline numbers or directory information.
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