SF Library Yellow Pages Research
Budget: $15 – $25 USD
The project is a deep-dive into San Francisco’s Yellow Pages from the 1960s through the 1980s. I need the full run of those telephone directories reviewed on site at the Main Library (or any local branch or archive that keeps historical phone books) and the relevant pages captured in high-resolution images or flatbed scans.
What I am after is a complete, legible set for certain business-listing pages for those years. Once gathered, the pages should be organized chronologically in clearly named folders and delivered to me through a shared drive link.
Acceptance criteria
• Every year between 1960 and 1989 represented, even if a substitute regional edition must be used when the San Francisco volume is missing.
• Each page photographed or scanned edge-to-edge, at least 300 dpi, with no glare or cropping.
• File names: YEAR_SECTION_PAGE (e.g., 1974_Restaurants_p112).
• A brief note of any years or sections that could not be located, so I know what is incomplete.
A modern phone camera with a scanning app such as Adobe Scan, or a portable flatbed scanner, will work fine as long as the final images meet the clarity requirement.
What I am after is a complete, legible set for certain business-listing pages for those years. Once gathered, the pages should be organized chronologically in clearly named folders and delivered to me through a shared drive link.
Acceptance criteria
• Every year between 1960 and 1989 represented, even if a substitute regional edition must be used when the San Francisco volume is missing.
• Each page photographed or scanned edge-to-edge, at least 300 dpi, with no glare or cropping.
• File names: YEAR_SECTION_PAGE (e.g., 1974_Restaurants_p112).
• A brief note of any years or sections that could not be located, so I know what is incomplete.
A modern phone camera with a scanning app such as Adobe Scan, or a portable flatbed scanner, will work fine as long as the final images meet the clarity requirement.