The Belfast NewsletterIndex data was compiled over the course of five years (1983-88) by a team of indexers led by Dr. John C. Greene, under the aegis of The Institute of Irish Studies of The Queen's University of Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Substantial funding for the project was provided by The British Library, The Economic and Social Research Council (UK), The Department for Economic Development (Northern Ireland), and Enterprise Ulster.

Ireland: I wish to take this means to gratefully acknowledge the support of each of the above, as well as that of John Trew, former editor of the Belfast Newsletter, whose fertile imagination helped to hatch the idea for this index. Thanks also to John Gray, Librarian of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, Drs. Brian Trainor and Anthony Malcomson, former Assistant Keepers of Records at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; and Dr. Ronald Buchanan, former Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast. Professor Leslie Clarkson, formerly of the Dept. of Economic and Social History, QUB, gave important assistance at a crucial juncture.

Special thanks also to Ms. Irene Crews, formerly of the British Library, and Dr. Kieran Devine of the Computer Science Department, QUB, for their early and invaluable support in making the index database a reality.

Sincerest thanks to each of the indexers, part-time and full-time, who spent so many hours of their lives patiently indexing The Belfast Newsletter: Mary Kelly, Rosemary Isaac, Renata Crabtree, Ann Goddard, Marian Clark, Carmel Flynn, Lorraine Young, Mary Donaghy, Pauline Black, Sylvia Morrison, Susan McAree, Sharon Snowdon, James Isbell, Eveline O'Rourke, Kathleen Burns, Murial Brush, Margaret Sturgeon, Averil Sands, James Adamson, Kathleen Finlay, Lilah Clarke, Paula Wynburne, Sheree Devine, Georgina Garbutt, and Maureen Clark.

United States: The present database was prepared with the aid, both financial and intellectual, of many people associated with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Particular thanks go to Drs. James Dugal and Alicia Towster, present and former Directors of the ULL Computing Support Services. Dr. Dugal has been a long and faithful friend to the project. His former assistants, Lane Robert and Mark Bostick, gave invaluable technical assistance, as did Lee Johnson of the ULL Department of Engineering. Jose Lassaigne and Kannan Ramaswammy did a splendid job of data conversion. Most recently, Ms. Lori Chopin of the Computing Support Services has dedicated many hours to updating both the database and interface software.

I wish to acknowledge the help of former Vice-President Gary Marotta, of the current Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, David Barry and the former Dean, Richard Cusimano, who found the money to purchase the hardware and software which made the preparation of the present database possible.

Special thanks to Dr. Doris H. Meriwether, Head of the Department of English at ULL, for her perseverance and financial assistance. Without her personal financial contribution and unflagging moral support, this project would not have been completed.

Of inestimable importance was the help and advice of Prof. Vijay Raghavan of the Center for Advanced Computer studies at U. L. and his graduate students: Kolachana Sastry, Suriyakumar Natarajan, Srinath Unnikrishnan, Mani Nachiappan, Kackie Paine, Reena Kumar, and, especially, Wei Kian Chen and Arijit De.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the loyalty and patience of my wife, Nicole, and daughter, Lissadell, without whom the dream of this database could never have become a reality.

Comments and suggests about The Belfast Newsletter index database should be addressed to John C. Greene, Department of English, The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504; e-mail: jcg3525@louisiana.edu

Please acknowledge the assistance of The Belfast Newsletter Index in all publications benefiting from its use. Such acknowledgements may help to provide evidence of the usefulness of such indexes and encourage financial support for future indexing of other Irish newspapers.

John C. Greene
Lafayette, Louisiana
revised: August 2004

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