Automation of telephone information service

Claim 1

IN A SYSTEM FOR STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION, A COMMON MACHINE-READABLE STORAGE UNIT IN WHICH COMPLATE CODED INFORMATION ITEMS ARE ARRANGED IN NUMERICAL ORDER AND AT PROGRESSIVELY DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, A COARSE MACHINE-READABLE INDEX AND A PLURALITY OF FINE MACHINE-READABLE INDICES, SAID COARSE INDEX CONTAINING SELECTED CODED PARTIAL ITEMS, EACH OF A SMALL NUMBER OF CHARACTERS, ARRANGED IN NUMERICAL ORDER, EACH WITH AN IDENTIFICATION OF ONE OF SAID FINE INDICES, EACH OF SAID FINE INDICES CONTAINING A NARROWER SELECTION OF CODED PARTIAL ITEMS, EACH OF A GREATER NUMBER OF CHARACTERS, ARRANGED IN NUMERICAL ORDER, EACH WITH AN IDENTIFICATION OF THE LOCATION IN SAID COMMON UNIT AT WHICH THE MOST NEARLY SIMILAR COMPLETE ITEM APPEARS, MEANS, AVAILABLE IN SUCCESSIVE TIME SLOTS OF A REPETITIVE CYCLE TO A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENT OPERATORS, EACH OF WHOM MAY SEEK RETRIEVAL OF A SPECIFIED INFORMATION ITEM, FOR PROGRESSIVELY COMPARING THE SPECIFIED ITEM WITH ALL THE PARTIAL ITEMS OF THE COARSE INDEX TO SELECT TWO CONSECUTIVE FINE INDICES AND WITH ALL THE ITEMS OF THE SELECTED FINE INDICES TO IDENTIFY A LOCATION IN SAID COMMON UNIT, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO A SPECIFICATION OF SAID LOCATION FOR READING OUT OF SAID COMMON UNIT A BLOCK OF COMPLETE INFORMATION ITEMS, AND MEANS FOR DISTRIBUTING EACH SUCH BLOCK OF INFORMATION ITEMS TO THE OPERATOR SEEKING RETRIEVAL OF AN ITEM EMBRACED WITHIN THAT BLOCK.