Specialized Indexes > Observer Index (student daily newspaper), 1969 – 2003

The Observer has been Notre Dame’s daily student newspaper since 1969. The online index varies in format and is complete only from 1984/85 to 2002/03, after the newspaper began issuing an online edition. The online index also covers the years 1969/70 and 1970/71. In the Archives there is a card index for the years 1966/67, 1967/68, 1969/70, and 1977/78. Between 1971/72 and 1977/78 notebook indexes (containing alphabetically arranged main entries with specific citations under them) were compiled annually. These main entries are available in the online index. They alert the user to the existence of a subject in the index, but to get the specific citations the appropriate notebooks have to be consulted. Finally, for the years 1979/80 through 1983/84 there exist both online entries and index cards, and while there is much duplication between the two, both must be consulted to achieve full index coverage for the period.

This program searches the index for whatever words you indicate. It is not case-sensitive, and it will find the words you type regardless of the order in which they appear. If you type Theodore Martin Hesburgh it will also find records that say Hesburgh, Theodore Martin. But it makes more sense to put the less common name first and to omit the middle name, which the indexer might have omitted in making the index.

You can exclude records by placing a minus sign before any word except the first (with no space between the minus sign and the word you want to exclude). Sheed Fr -Sheedy will find Francis Sheed and Frank Sheed but not Fr Sheedy.

When you search for hyphenated words, you should substitute a space for the hyphen. Search for anti apartheid, not for anti-apartheid. If you truncate words, the program will find all records that have the letters you have included. If you type Sheed Fran it will find Francis Sheed, Frank Sheed and Frank Sheedy.