Phone book not so
heavy this year

Complaints prompt a separate
directory for the yellow pages

Oahu residents who were bothered by the size of the combined white and yellow pages directory last year won't have to deal with the bulk anymore.

COURTESY IMAGES The covers of the new Oahu Yellow Pages and White Pages directory from Hawaiian Telcom feature photos taken by John DeMello.

Officials of Hawaiian Telcom, which purchased Verizon Hawaii for $1.6 billion in May, decided to split the white and yellow pages after they conducted a survey that included questions on the directory.

"When they were out speaking with people, they heard a lot about the size of the directory," spokeswoman Barbara Heckathorn said.

In April, Ward Research conducted a poll that involved 205 Oahu residents and 208 Oahu Yellow Pages advertisers.

The survey revealed that 66 percent of residents and 78 percent of Yellow Pages advertisers said the directory was too big.

Twenty-nine percent of residents and 14 percent of Yellow Pages advertisers said the directory was just right, while two percent of residents and two percent of Yellow Pages advertisers said it was too heavy.

Based on the survey, Hawaiian Telcom officials decided to separate them.

"They'll be happy with the change," Heckathorn said.

The covers for the white and yellow pages will also differ this year compared with previous years, when the covers were identical.

The cover of Oahu's white pages is a scenic photo taken by John DeMello of the Koolau Mountains from the ocean, while the cover of the Oahu Yellow Pages, also a DeMello photo, is a beach scene.

Directories for the neighbor islands will have different photos for their covers.

Also, 75 of 900 entries of the Oahu Keiki Art Contest sponsored by Hawaiian Telcom will be featured in the Yellow Pages.

Oahu residents are expected to receive their new directories in October.