What are the Different Types of Address Books?

We're living in the computer age. Since we store most of our important contact information on our cell phones, computers, Blackberries, Treos and Palm Pilots, many of us have no use for address books. This could be a mistake. Hard drives crash and cell phones become misplaced. What happens if there's an emergency and you can't access an important contact electronically? It's best to enter all your information into an address book for backup.

Most address books share the same features, numerous tabbed pages with a different letter of the alphabet imprinted on each tab. A few blank pages can be found between each tabbed-letter page to write in names and addresses. Every page has spaces designated for names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, cell phone numbers, email addresses and web pages. Good address books will have plenty of room to write in all the necessary information. Be sure to purchase one that is not only esthetically pleasing, but functional, with enough space to enter all the information you deem necessary.

Address books come in several different designs. Some resemble mini-binders and others look like small notebooks or journals. Each is large enough for the average person to write a couple of hundred names and addresses, and some even have spaces to note birthdays, anniversaries and other pertinent information. If you have a large circle of friends, relatives and associates, you probably want to find address books that allow for extra pages to be added, if necessary. Binder type address books work best for this.

Busy executives may prefers to use a Rolodex —- a small, round filing system, where one only has to turn a wheel to have the address card he's looking for rotate towards him. The benefit of the Rolodex is that cards can be easily added or taken away. For executives on the go, Filofaxes, binder systems that not only contain detailed address books, but also date books, notepads and other essentials, might work best.

There are clear benefits to using paper address books. For instance, batteries run out and power can be shut off during inclement weather. It's best to have information that's easily accessed. Sometimes, it's just quicker or easier to open a side table drawer and pull out an address book than peck through a contact list on a cell phone or iPod. Who likes to wait for a slow computer to boot up to find an important address?

For having information at your fingertips, there's nothing like good old-fashioned address books. Why not keep one handy just in case?