Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages Introduces New Storytelling Series at the Boston Public Library

Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages Introduces
New Storytelling Series at the Boston Public Library

Company Also Announces "Get an IDEA" Essay Contest

April 23, 1999

BOSTON -- Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages this morning joined the
Boston Public Library in announcing a $15,000 donation to fund a new
storytelling series. An audience of more than 300 children filled the
library's Rabb Auditorium to watch noted storyteller Laura Simms present
the first performance of the "Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages Storytelling
Series."

During her performance, Simms shared folk tales and her own true story
about how a dentist's daughter became a storyteller. Bell Atlantic Yellow
Pages' donation will fund 26 storytelling performances throughout
branches of the Boston Public Library system from April through August.
The events will feature stories and folk tales from a group of nationally
recognized storytellers.

Stevan Brinkert, vice president of Northeast sales for Bell Atlantic Yellow
Pages, began the event by presenting the $15,000 donation to Boston
Public Library President Bernard Margolis.

"Bell Atlantic's funding for this new storytelling series is part of a
company-wide commitment to improving children's literacy," said
Brinkert. "By helping children harness the power of their
imagination, storytelling encourages them to open books and explore their
minds."

At the event, Brinkert also announced that Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages is
sponsoring an essay contest for children from kindergarten through sixth
grade. Entries for the "Get an IDEA" essay contest will
identify the best idea of the twentieth century, and suggest how the idea
can be improved for the 21st century. Three winners will each receive
$1,000 savings bonds, and will join Bell Atlantic spokesperson James Earl
Jones at a reading at the Boston Public Library on June 15, 1999. Entry
forms are available at branches of the Boston Public Library. The contest
supports the Yellow Pages Publishers Association's "Get an
IDEA" campaign.

"Libraries offer people of all ages new ways to look at and interact
with the world around them, " said Margolis. "The
storytelling series represents another way for our library to bring the magic
of learning to a new generation of readers, and we are proud to be a part of
Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages' efforts."

Founded by an act of the Massachusetts Great and General Court in 1848,
the Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first free and publicly supported
municipal library in the world. Among its many distinctions, the BPL was
the first library to institute a formal system of neighborhood branches
linked to a central library and a pioneer in the development of special
services to children, young adults and senior citizens.

Bell Atlantic is the world's largest publisher of Yellow Pages shopping
directories. Its affiliate, Bell Atlantic Electronic Commerce Services, is the
creator of BigYellow^SM, a leading national
online shopping service.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of
the new communications and information industry. With more than 42
million telephone access lines and 8.6 million wireless customers
worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced
wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services. Bell
Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-
growth global communications markets, with operations and investments
in 23 countries.