i/s Back Issues

Volume 14

No. 1  September/October 1998

MIT "Blue Pages" Now Online

Barrie Gleason

The printed MIT Directories have a section called the "blue pages" that lists contact information for the Institute's offices and programs. This section gets its name from its blue-tinted page margins.

Now, for the first time, the information in the blue pages is available via two Web search pages: http://web.mit.edu/communications/bp/ and http://web.mit.edu/search.html.

The first page lets you type in a keyword or use an alphabetical index. The second page, which uses keywords only, also lets you search for individuals, personal home pages, or specific text published on the MIT site. Both pages provide instructions for updating Directory information.

While the blue pages will continue to be a part of the printed MIT Directories, there are some advantages to the Web interface.

  Online searching can speed up finding an entry.

  You can enter acronyms (e.g., IS, OSP, LCS) in the keyword field.

  URLs displayed in online entries are live.

  Updates are incorporated regularly, rather than once a year.

Two Listings
Each office has a public and a full listing in the online blue pages. The public listing, approved by each office, is accessible to all Web browsers. The full listing of directory information (as published in the printed Directories) is restricted to the MIT community, for privacy reasons. To access full listings, community members should conduct searches using the alphabetical index.

A Bit of Background
Five years ago, the Communications Office began a collaboration with the Personnel Department and Information Systems to provide electronic access to office and program information. At that time, the blue pages were gray, and TechInfo was the information technology available.

More recently, IS formalized this effort as a discovery project. The project team reviewed customer requirements, especially the needs of MIT¼s telephone operators. On average, these operators handle 3,500 calls a day. Two-thirds of these calls relate to MIT's offices, programs, centers, labs, and departments.

The team's challenge was to create a database that could support both online access and downloading of the information once a year in a clean print format. The team also addressed issues of maintenance and quality control, appropriate technology, and privacy.

The MIT Communications Office was deemed the appropriate gatekeeper, and the Web became the technology of choice.

Online Version Available First
The blue pages for the 1998-99 MIT Directories are already online. The Communications Office encourages you to try the new Web search options. You can send comments to <bluepages@mit.edu>.

The printed 1998-99 MIT Directories will be distributed by the end of October.

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