Phone Book Still Relevent

Most everyone will get one whether they want it or not, but with smart phones and the internet, some people feel like the phone book’s days are numbered. Te recent delivery of the local Yellowpages has some people asking the question, “does anyone still use the phone book?”Matthew VanLieshout jokes, “Its kind of outdated, it only helps if you need to level out a table or start a fire.”While some, like Mark Metcalf and Sara Paden, complain about getting the yellow pages delivered to their door, “Its going right in the recycle bin.””Its just sitting next to our door, still in the bag, untouched.”Others, like Carla Olson and Jack Flemming, still depend on the phone book for information.”I use it to find zip codes. I also use it to find different businesses that are new and that are hard to find.””By the time it would take me to look it up online i’ve already got it from the phone book and i’m on my way.”The local business that produces and distributes the Yellowpages says the book business is still booming.”A research institute did a study last year that says 84 percent of Americans still use the phone book. It’s not everybody, but still a high percentage that does,” explains Mike McGill, President of the Santa Barbara Community Phone Book.The yellowpages are also online, and there’s even a yellow pages app.”We try to do something for everybody,” says McGill.An organization aimed at banning the phone book claims the majority of unwanted phone books will end up in the landfills, and are bad for the environment. But local producers argue, that’s not the case.”The book is made entirely from recycled paper. There are no trees cut down, so its actually the greenest product you could put out there,” says Tom Surnbrock, Vice President of Marketing for the Santa Barbara Community Phone Book.If you would rather not get a copy of the phone book delivered to you house, there is a way to opt out. Go to: https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/