Renowned actor and Bell Atlantic spokesman James Earl Jones on Wednesday honored a group of federal employees and phone company workers who redesigned the government listings, or "blue pages," of Baltimore and Washington telephone directories.
Speaking at a ceremony in which 23 Bell Atlantic workers and four government employees were awarded Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for improving government service, Jones said surveys show that half the people who try to find a government service in the blue pages can't find what they're looking for.
"Your dedication will help millions of people in America get closer to their government," Jones told the award winners.
In the old blue pages, government services were listed by department and agency. The revamped blue pages is organized into topics, like the Yellow Pages.
For example, instead of looking under "Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service" for tax information, people can now look under "Taxes." Instead of looking under "Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs" for passport information, people can now look under "Passports."
The General Services Administration headed up the project to make the Blue Pages customer-friendly. Two divisions of Bell Atlantic teamed up with the Baltimore Federal Executive Board and the Department of Veterans Affairs to give the Baltimore and Washington blue pages the new look.
Richard Howell, executive director of the Baltimore Federal Executive Board, said executive boards across the country would be participating in blue pages redesigns in other cities. There are more than 6,200 telephone directories nationwide.
Jones presented each Hammer Award winner with a framed cover of a Bell Atlantic telephone book autographed by him and Vice President Gore.
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