Last week a truck pulled up in front of my house, and its passenger dumped two huge phone books into my driveway. I immediately scooped them up and tossed them into the recycle can. No point bringing them inside ... They're bulky and take up space, and I haven't picked up a physical phone book (other than to recycle it) in at least five years.

I'm not starting a debate here about the value of the Yellow Pages or any such thing. There's already plenty of dialogue on this issue among self-storage operators, especially those who would like to cut costs by minimizing their YP expenses. (See the poll titled, "Do You Use the Yellow Pages?" on Self-Storage Talk.) I mention it because it got me thinking about directories, and how/if people still use them.

We've just begun collecting data for the Inside Self-Storage 2010 Buyer's Guide, which will be published in our August 2010 issue. As the industry's largest directory of product and service suppliers, it's an incredibly useful resource for facility operators and builders. But I wonder how the print version fares compared to our online Buyer's Guide, which is updated and accessible year-round.

There may well come a time when we cease to publish a hard-copy version of the BG. In the meantime, we find the print guide to be a widely requested item at tradeshows and through our circulation. It seems operators still appreciate a hands-on version they can keep at the ready and mark with dog ears and notes. They use it to find all the things they need to run a successful operation, from buildings, doors and consultants on the building side to retail product, software and security equipment on the management side. Whatever it is you might need for your existing or proposed facility, you'll find it in our comprehensive directory.

If you're a vendor who provides any type of self-storage product or service, it's never too late to be included. To submit a free listing for the 2010 print version, which will be distributed to 18,000 readers, simply complete the online form at www.insideselfstorage.com/bg_form. We'll accept entries through the end of May. If you're reading this past the deadline, do not fear. We update the online guide regularly throughout the year. Submit your form, and we'll make sure your company is included.

I hope the ISS Buyer's Guide never goes the way of the dinosaurs, becoming an extinct beast remembered only through the tattered remains of fossils. But should it come to pass, I know the guide will live on in new form. Like the print Yellow Pages and residential phone directories of today, it will find resurrection on "the Interwebs. "