Looking for a phone number for a campus employee or a student? Most MU faculty, staff and students search online. Some years past, they would have pulled out a copy of the MU directory to find that number or to reach a campus office or department.
But times — and information sources — have changed.
Due to a 40 percent decrease in campus demand over the last three years, and changes in search patterns from print to online, the MU Student, Faculty and Staff Telephone Directory will no longer be printed.
The 2012–13 directory, printed last October, will be the final book, said Karen Worley, director of Publications and Alumni Communication. Over the years with the rise of the Internet, the online directory gained in popularity, while demand for the printed version has declined.
The MU community’s online directories remain available at missouri.edu/directories. Visitors can search by entering a name, and can fine-tune the search by including a phone number, email or department.
Contact information for departments, colleges and offices can also be searched.
Plans for the Online Department Directory began around 2000, said Lori Croy, director of Web Communications. Publications and Web Communications partnered with the Division of IT to develop it.
“At the time, the print directory was still heavily used across campus,” Croy said, “but it was obvious that change was on its way.”
After about a year, training sessions were created to introduce the MU community to the online directory.
About 400 departmental information editors were trained to input data to the site, keeping the online information current at all times.
The online directory has at least two advantages over its printed counterpart.
First, the online version is more convenient, allowing people to do searches from wherever they have Internet access.
Second, the directory can be updated by department editors throughout the year; the printed directory was updated only yearly with a new edition.
Copies of the final 2012–13 edition may be purchased from Printing Services at ps.missouri.edu.
Cost is $3 per book for up to 10 purchases, and $1 per book for 11 or more purchases.