Acknowledgements
First of all, my heartfelt thanks go to Esther McIntosh for her continued encouragement, secondly, I am grateful to Richard Bourne for his thorough reading of the original thesis, and lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to Paul Avis, series editor, for his support of my work, and his patience with my queries. I wish to pay tribute to the members of the incomparable Inter-Library Loans Team at York St John whose dedication, diligence, and promptitude in keeping me supplied with books, e-books, journal articles, and theses made pandemic study possible: Katherine Hughes (now Academic Liaison Librarian), Amy Brown, Bryan Jones, and latterly Samantha Belcher. I would also like to thank Jayne Downey, Librarian at Sarum College, for the timely supply of more recent publications. I need also to acknowledge the Service Desk Team in Fountains for their helpfulness and cheerfulness in sending out books and photocopies, scanning chapters, tracking down errant items, and answering queries during my time at York St John. In addition, I would have submitted a lesser manuscript without the assistance and patient help of Steve Siebert at Nota Bene, and the knowledge of the worldwide Nota Bene community. I should also put on record that I would not have been in a position to undertake this research had it not been for the social and educational marvel that is The Open University.
Finally, I must thank the friends who sustained me with conversation and debate; meals and wine; coffee and cake; flowers and home-made jam; days out; and the provision of transport during the research and writing that led to this publication, in particular, Terry, Margaret, Polly, and Phil. Above all, none of my studies would have been possible without the prayers of Jonathan and Anne. I wish to honour them for their wisdom and faithfulness, and I am grateful for their friendship, counsel, encouragement, and hospitality: they know the part they have played in this book becoming a reality.