Next year marks the 111th anniversary of the Icelandic phone book, and the last year it will be printed.
Stundin reports that Margrét Gunnlaugsdóttir, the Product & Business Development Manager for Já hf., the company which publishes the phone book, says the decision is in keeping with the times.
“We at Já will miss the phone book, as doubtlessly many others who grew up with it will,” she said. “Changing times call for changing emphases, but we will of course continue to provide information on the phone numbers of people in the country with media in keeping with the needs of our consumers,” referring to visiting ja.is or calling 118.
In honour of this momentous occasion, historian Stefán Pálsson has been hired to write the 111-year history of the phone book. This will include such milestones as when the phone book was available on diskette, and when famed strongman Jón Páll Sigmarsson ripped a phone book in half on live television.
The cover of the final edition of the phone book will be designed by artist Guðmundur Oddur Magnússon, also known as Goddur.
The first phone book was printed in Iceland in 1905. It was 13 pages long, and contained 165 phone numbers in all.
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