Evaluating the Accessibility of a Phone Book

Chapter 1 lists accessibility as a measure of excellence in a technical document. Accessibility refers to the ease with which readers can locate the information they seek. If you were to look up a friend’s phone number in a phone book, you would find that the publishers have made finding the number quite easy; they’ve alphabetized all of the personal listings by last name. But what if you needed to find other kinds of information? For instance, what have the publishers done to make it easy to find the number to report a nonworking business phone or an obscene phone call? How easily can you find the area code for Dayton, Ohio? In groups of three or four, analyze your local phone book’s accessibility. Look for information other than personal phone numbers, and identify as many aspects of the phone book as you can that help you locate such information easily. Note any difficulties you encounter. How could the phone book be redesigned to avoid these difficulties? Be prepared to share your findings with the class.