Not so long ago, if you wanted a phone number and address for a Yale staff or faculty member, your best bet was to reach for the University Directory on your desk and look it up. Now, however, if you turn to your computer keyboard and access that information online, you have a source of that information that will be much more current.

For years, the campus directory was compiled from its own database, which was maintained by the Office of the Secretary.

This year, as part of the Project X overhaul of campus administrative systems, the separate databases maintained by the Secretary's Office and the Department of Human Resources (HR) were combined to create a new, central Oracle database. After a massive data "clean up" by directory staff last summer, the new database was used to create the University Directory that was published this fall.

A transition team labored long hours to produce the most accurate printed directory possible. "The new data base contains nearly 12,000 entries," notes Assistant University Secretary Dianne Witte, who oversees the directory project. "We are glad that, in a difficult transition year, there were so few mistakes overall."

Unlike in the past, however, you won't have to wait for the publication of a new University Directory before seeing these wrongs righted, says Witte. The online directory is linked to the HR database, which is corrected and updated by HR's new data quality control team, led by Suzanne Lewis. That means changes made to the staff listings will appear within days in the directory's web version and, at the same time, the database is being prepared for the next printing of the book.

"We are working to enter all the corrections we receive as quickly as possible to make the online directory a useful tool throughout the year," says Witte. "It also means less work next spring when we get ready to publish the University Directory."

If you haven't already done so, you should check your online listing, recommends Witte. You can do so by going to the Yale "front door" on the World Wide Web (www.yale.edu), and clicking on the "phonebook" link beneath the image of the books. There is also a link to the phonebook on the YaleInfo web page (www.yale.edu/yaleinfo/index.html) beneath the image of the bulldog. Those with the Eudora email program, can access the listings by pressing the Control key plus the "y" key.

The online directory not only allows users to look up information about Yale staff and faculty, it includes a correction form that can be printed, filled out and faxed directly to Lewis at 432-6073; Lewis can be reached by phone at 432-6525. The correction form also appears at the beginning of the printed versions of the 1998-1999 University Directory.

"Yale is encouraging a shift away from dependency on the book version of the University Directory, which is a static annual snapshot of a living database, and is urging all those who have the capability to use the online directory whenever possible," says Witte. "Although it may not be possible to use this tool in every instance when trying to get in contact with your colleagues, it is Yale's most accurate source of employee information."

For those who prefer them, additional printed versions of the University Directory are still obtainable. Order forms are available from your department's directory coordinator or by calling Jean Fappiano, Witte's assistant, at 432-2318. Additional copies are also available by over-the-counter sales at the Yale Visitor Information Center, 149 Elm St.