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Narragansett Times Index — Background

Partial Index to the Narragansett Times, 1855-1897
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This index to the Narragansett Times was made possible by grants from the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, the University of Rhode Island Library, and the Narragansett Times Company. Kay Hearn was the supervisor for the Index project and began it during her tenure as a librarian at the Westerly Public Library. After she retired from the library, Hearn completed the Index at the University of Rhode Island from 1981 to 1983. Eric Barden, a graduate student in Library Science, converted the paper version into an electronic format. This project was funded by the above institutions from 1981 to 1983.

Eric Barden created the electronic version of the Index in InMagic DB/Textwork. In February 2002, Lisa Chen, University Webmaster, converted the InMagic database to web-usable format. That version is now available from the University Library’s web site, on the Reference Databases ==> Rhode Island & New England page.

The Index consists of 8,733 records and covers the period from May 5, 1855 to September 17, 1897. The Index is searchable by keyword, geographic location, article type, and date. Advanced searches are also possible, allowing the database to be searched using multiple terms.

More specifically, the Narragansett Times Index covers the period from Volume I, May 1855 (when the Times was first published) to January 11, 1895, and additionally from June 25, 1897 to September 17, 1897. These four last months were indexed during the 1982 project and then entered into the database. The original handwritten index from 1855 to 1893 is contained in four 3-ring loose-leaf binders and kept at the University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections; copies of the handwritten index are also available at the Westerly Public Library and the Narragansett Public Library.

David C. Maslyn, Head, Special Collections • March 11, 2002


Last updated: 3/11/02