Post Office As Publisher.

Thames Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 19686, 18 April 1936, Page 3

Post Office As Publisher.

BIG TONNAGE OF PAPER. ’PHONE DIRECTORY METHODS. Among the many activities of tho Post Ollico is that of publishing on a large scale. Every six months it- distributes new telephone directories, and the extent of that, business can be illustrated by the actual weight of paper required for these books for the Dominion’s four chief centres alone. Auckland s telephone directories involve the uso of 1G tons of paper, Wellington 11 tons, Christchurch 71 tons, Dunedin 4if tons, a total of 39j tons. There are 21 telephone directories, issued with up-to-the-minute corrections every six months. , The organisation of this publishing work very much resembles that of a newspaper in its accuracy and despatch, because the telephone subscribers cannot get lull value lov his rental until his number is listed. So that the very latest corrections and additions can be incorporated, it is the practice of the Post Office publishing staff to deal with corrections right up to the moment of authorising printing, and even to include further alterations if the sections of the volume affected have not yet been printed off. Corrections lrnm distant points arc received by telegram, and the addenda page at -the beginning of every directory contains the very latest changes, bringing the information up to within a tort night or'three weeks ol: the date ot publication, as it takes this time to print in time the larger lists. The (lovernment Printing Office has a special staff continuously occupied ill th(' production ot telephone directories, the year’s programme being as follows: January and July: (lisborne, Hamilton, Rotorua. Taiimarunui. February and August : Wellington, Timaru. Oamaru and North Auckland. Maid) and September: Auckland, . CreynnmlhWestport. April and October: Wanganui, Christchurch. May and November: Dnnedi.li, Manawatu, Nelson. Blenheim, "Thames. June and December: Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Invercargill, Wairarapa.