Software/Workflow for Directory

[Anna]

{Well! Serendipity lives! <g> I haven't been to the Compuserve DTP forum in forever, and after I post a message I start looking around. You're moving! Now that I'm starting to get a little more involved in DTP than I ever thought I would, I've joined and will be stopping by more often. So, Congratulations on the new forum! I'm thrilled to see names that I remember from the old, old Compuserve forum! And they're on staff, too. Yahoo! (Except for Steve Rindsberg who seems to have some sort of infection... <G>) Now I'm going to repost the message I just posted on the "old" forum.}

I have been given a project to create a membership directory for a non-profit organization. This directory is a letterhalf size with contact information for 6000 members and has organizational information both before and after the membership listing (Board of Directors, Trusts, Bylaws/Standing Rules, etc.). The main contact portion is not what concerns me, I can do that in my sleep. What I DON'T know how to do is to create an index for these members- alphabetical, giving the page number that their actual contact information is on. I've been told that Pagemaker will create an index, but I'll need to click on every piece of information that needs to be indexed. 6000 times??? Um, NO. To quote a word that I first heard Kathleen Tinkel use years ago- that's an "inelegant" solution! I want an elegant one. <g>

The main database is in Lotus Notes, but it will likely come to me in an Excel spreadsheet. The membership listing will be organized by region and then by chapter. Hence the need for the alphabetic index to find a specific name in the book. I work on a PC and have Pagemaker 7 and MS Office 2000 (with Access). I have various other pieces of software, but not any that I believe to be a help to this project. And, of course, I'll need to get this to a printer in a form that will not make them run for the hills or hit us with charges that make our Treasurer commit suicide.

So, what do I need to know? Is there some flavor of automation I can use to create the index? Is there software and/or plugins specifically for this sort of thing? I am not adverse to buying new software (within reason $$) and getting training for it. Can you point me in the right direction? Luckily, the project won't be due until this fall, but I want to get ready for it long before then. Also, to answer the obvious question- how did they do it before? Well, a) I don't know yet and b) it was done so poorly in the past that I don't think I want to go that direction anyway!

Help!

Anna Taylor