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Use "Contact Us" to report anything that doesn't work or is confusing. Tell us what you like, what you don’t like, and make any suggestions for future additions (to be added to our already long wish list). Constructive comments are always welcome.

Thanks,

The TCI Library Administrators
   - Paul Wills, Remco Enthoven and Paul Fassbender

Major TCI Library Sections

  • Bell System Practices
    • Index Documents
    • Handbooks
    • Early AT&T Specifications
    • BSPs: Letter-coded
    • BSPs: Numeric Division Numbers
    • Canadian Practices
  • Bruce Crawford Switching Library
    • WEco Switching Documents
    • SDs and CDs
    • Manufacturer Catalogs and Data Sheets
  • Wiring Diagrams
  • Catalogs, Manuals and Educational Documents
    • Employee Publications
    • Marketing Brochures
    • Training Manuals

To browse the Library by category, start with Browse the Library in the Black Menu Bar above and select Document Repository.

When searching, watch for these formats and abbreviations in document titles:

BSPs - e.g. C38.904NY_iA_Oct58_Keysets_Receiver_Amp

  • NY - New York (Operating Company)
  • i1 - issue A
  • Oct58 - Publication Date (October 1958)
  • Following words are search keywords based on the document name

Catalogs and booklets - e.g. 1923 WE Catalog 5 - Telephone Apparatus and Supplies T-667-A

  • 1923 - Date
  • WE Catalog 5 - Catalog Number
  • Following words are search Keywords based on the document name

Articles in documents - e.g. 65jun_BLR_p214_No1_ESS

  • 65jun - Date
  • BLR - Publication Name (Bell Labs Record)
  • p214 - Start page
  • No1 ESS - Article Title (abbreviated)

TCI Members Only Documents (MOD)

In addition to documents in the Library, TCI Members can access documents that were contributed to TCI with the restriction that they are made available to TCI Members only, and are not to be posted on any publicly available web site.

 

Most are large manufacturer catalogs, restricted distribution documents or files that have had extensive processing by TCI volunteers, such as page straightening, clean-up and OCR.

 

The MOD area is accessed from the Members Area menu entry on the TCI site or the Members Only Docs link under TCI Sites in the menu above on this page.
Go to Members Only Docs

 

Not a member?  Join now!

BSTJ Archive

Check our our comprehensive index with hotlinks to articles in the Bell System Technical Journals published from 1922-1983, provided by Sam Etler.  Follow the BSTJ Archive link under "Browse the Library" in the black menu bar above.

You can do an on-page search by keyword (usually initiated in a browser  using Control-F), then click to pull up the complete issue.
Go to the BSTJ Archive

Telezonia and Teletrainers

Check out the 1964 Teacher's Guide and Student's Guide for Telezonia -- the Bell System's program to educate elementary school students in how to use the telephone.  The program started in 1950 and used several generations of Teletrainer hardware.  Paul Fassbender and John Novack have collected BSPs for many of them.  Find them with a simple search for "teletrainer"  Also check out articles in the October 2018 Singing Wires and on www.paul-f.com/Teletrainers.html

Call-a-matic Automatic Dialers

Call-a-matic

First there was the 1671, then the 2671.  Find out the differences in the BSPs and read about the history in a Bell Labs Record article.  Simply search for "Call-a-matic"

Reference pages for Kellogg, Stromberg Carlson and Select-O-Phone

The TCI Library hosts the web sites created by Mike Neale. Check them out for downloads of technical and marketing literature. Pages open in a new window.

kelloggtelephone

strombergcarlsontelephone

selectophone

Site links can also be found under TCI Sites in the black menu bar on each TCI Library page.

Note that the documents on these sites are currently NOT found using the TCI Library's search feature. We hope to add them to the Library as volunteer time and priorities permit.

 

New User?

Read the articles under "Introduction" in the black menu bar above.

Recent Contributors

Thanks for new documents from Bruce Patterson, Jon Kolger, Paul Ivester, Len Hicken, Paul Fassbender, Fred Haynes, Kurt Rudolph, Wade ("Kellogg KITT"), the Connections Museum, Rick Walsh, Jeff Lamb, Jeremy Walters, Mark Cuccia, Alan David, Harry Joseph, Charlie Terry, Karl Brose, Dennis Hock, Tim Griffin, Remco Enthoven, and Steve Cichorsky.

Please send a file to add your name to this list!

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Hints for using the TCI Library

"Menu Bar" for site navigation.
Many menu choices are hidden until you mouse over words in the black Menu Bar (above).  If you want help getting started, see the links under the word "Introduction" in the Menu Bar.
 
The user interface is oriented toward the user’s choice to either Browse or Search for information.  The Browse the Library menu entry offers many quick links to move around the Library quickly.  Try it!

Three search options.
The Library’s keyword-based searches, called Basic Search and Advanced Search, accept keywords as short as 2 characters (WE, AE, etc.) and search strings up to 255 characters.  If you get more than 1,000 items, refine your search or try the Google Search option.
 
When selected from the Menu Bar, Google only searches for files in the TCI Library.
 
Library INBOX.
The INBOX may hold some files that have been submitted but not fully processed into the Library.  These are often topics of current discussion on the TCI Email Group. Items in the INBOX are not found using Basic or advanced searches, but ARE found by a Google Search.
 
Remember to check the INBOX if you don't find something with the other searches.
 
Finding BSPs.
Many BSPs are currently only identified by BSP number. If a text search doesn’t produce a BSP, try looking in one of the many BSP index documents to find a BSP number for the product you are researching just as you would do if referencing a paper library of the BSPs. Then enter the BSP number in the search box.
 
Finding CDs and SDs.
Some related CDs and SDs are filed in different areas. Try searching for just the numeric portion of the name.  Remember to check the INBOX if you don't find something with the Basic or Advanced searches -- or use the Google search.
 
Compact Category Listing.
When browsing, to change the category listing view from normal to compact, click on Browse the Library in the black menu bar.
 
To change from compact to normal view, click on Document Repository in the drop down under Browse the Library.

 

 

Telephone Collectors International was incorporated under the laws of the state of Kansas on May 13, 1986. The goal of the organization is "to educate the public, as well as the members of the Corporation, regarding the history of telephony, the value of old telephones and related items, their collectability and preservation; to research telephone history and publish and provide literature thereon; to promote the public exhibition of old telephones and related items; and to promote common courtesies and guidelines for use by the public." Telephone Collectors International is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization, to which U.S. tax deductible contributions can be made.