Handbook of Indexing Techniques : A Guide for Beginning Indexers [5 ed.] 9781573878067, 9781573874618

Citation preview

Fifth Edition

Linda K. Fetters

Medford, New Jersey

First Printing, 2013 Handbook of Indexing Techniques: A Guide for Beginning Indexers, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2013 by Linda K. Fetters All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Information Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, New Jersey 08055. Publisher’s Note: The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Information Today, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fetters, Linda K. Handbook of indexing techniques : a guide for beginning indexers / Linda K. Fetters. -- Fifth edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-57387-461-8 1. Indexing--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. Z695.9.F45 2012 025.3--dc23 2012034296 Printed and bound in the United States of America

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Contents Acknowledgments Preface

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Chapter 1: Learning to Index

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Formal Courses and Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Distance Education (Correspondence Courses) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 American Society for Indexing Training Course in Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Society of Indexers Distance Learning Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Graduate School USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 University of California–Berkeley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Self-Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Internet Discussion Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 INDEX-L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Indexers’ Discussion List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 IndexPeers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 IndexStudents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Writing and Studying Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Professional Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Standards and Index Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ASI/H.W. Wilson Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 2: Starting the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 What Is an Index? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 What the Index Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Getting an Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Length of the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Reference Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Chapter 3: Writing the Index

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Choosing and Writing Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Forest and Tree Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Avoiding Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Nouns and Noun Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Singular vs. Plural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Linked (Precoordinated) Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Paraphrasing Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Writing Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Relationship of Headings to Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Alphabetizing Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Phrasing and Editing Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Running-In a Single Subheading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Page Range vs. Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Bringing Information Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Inverting or Flipping Entries (Double-Posting) . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Levels of Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Classification in Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Recording Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 4: Names and Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Indexing Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Names in Scholarly Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Forms of Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Separate Name Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Indexing Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 5: References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Page References in Printed Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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Page Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Abbreviating Page References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 References to Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 References to Illustrations and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Indexing Books Before Pagination Is Known . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 See References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 See Also References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Placement of See Also References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Format and Punctuation of Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 General See Also References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Cross-References From Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 See Under and See Also Under References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Verifying Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Chapter 6: Finishing Touches

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Alphabetizing the Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Initial Articles and Prefixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Numbers and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Subheadings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 When to Alphabetize the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Editing the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Formats or Styles for Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Indented Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Run-In Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Typographical Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Electronic Index Files and Typesetting Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Introduction to the Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Index Preparation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Dedicated Indexing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 3 x 5 Card Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Word Processor Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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Chapter 7: Periodicals

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Magazines and Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Indexing Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Subject Authority Lists and Thesauri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Newsletters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Indexing Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Locators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The San Antonio Register Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Indexing Decisions and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 What to Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Classification of Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Extensive Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Race-Related Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 How We Worked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Style Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Editing and the Final Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Chapter 8: Electronic Documents

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Indexing PDF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Embedded Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Microsoft Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Adobe FrameMaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Adobe InDesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Cambridge University Press Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 XML Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Coding Index Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Embedding Index Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

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Ebook Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Ereader Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Getting the Index Into the Ebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Ebook Authoring Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Standards for Ebook Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Online Help Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Web Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 A–Z Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Book- and Periodical-Style Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Finding Devices Other Than Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Assessing the Website Before Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Web Indexing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 HTML Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Useful Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Sources of Information and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Finding Web Indexing Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Taxonomies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Traditional Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Website Taxonomies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Tagging and Folksonomies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 The Future of Taxonomies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Resources and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Appendix: The UT Policies and Procedures Web Index . . . . . . . . . 111 Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Alphabetical Bibliography Classified Bibliography About the Author Index

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Acknowledgments I would like to thank Linda Webster, who edited early versions of this book and contributed many examples; Frances Lennie, who encouraged me to complete and publish this book, and who also contributed examples; Elsie Lynn, who proofread the original manuscript and offered suggestions; and Hudson Fetters, for his constant support. Thanks also to Do Mi Stauber (with assistance from Barbara Cohen), who contributed to the section in Chapter 4 about names in scholarly works, and Kate Mertes for reviewing the information about Cambridge University Press indexing in Chapter 8. And, finally, I owe heartfelt gratitude to Jan Wright, who reviewed Chapter 8 in its entirety and contributed a large amount of information for it, especially the section on ebook indexing.

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Preface This handbook on indexing techniques is intended for three groups of people: • Occasional indexers, such as authors and technical writers, who may be called upon to index their own books • Anyone interested in becoming a professional indexer who is looking for concrete examples or techniques for learning how to index • Librarians who need a review of indexing techniques In this book, you will find explanations of indexing techniques along with examples of each topic discussed. Since it is not an exhaustive study of indexing, the Classified Bibliography at the end of the book contains many suggestions for further reading and study. In this fifth edition of the Handbook of Indexing Techniques, information about professional indexing societies, how to get training in indexing, and indexing standards has been thoroughly revised and updated. In addition, Chapter 8, “Electronic Documents,” has been completely rewritten to include discussions of embedded indexing, Cambridge University Press indexing, XML indexing, ebook indexing, web indexing, and taxonomies. Other chapters and bibliographies have been reorganized and updated as needed. In addition, bibliographies have been organized into two separate chapters, one in alphabetical order and the other organized by topic.

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Chapter 1

Learning to Index In the past 20 years, there have been an increasing number of people who are interested in becoming indexers. Some have experience in the publishing field. Some are women who want to work at home on a parttime basis while they also care for their children. Others want to join the working-at-home revolution set in motion by the availability of personal computers with communication links. Professional indexers and members of the American Society for Indexing (ASI) receive numerous phone calls and emails from people asking how to get started. Before thinking about the business aspects of self-employment, prospective indexers should first consider how to learn their intended craft. If you are reading this book because you have to write an index right away, skip this chapter and go to Chapter 2.

Formal Courses and Seminars Some schools of library and information science offer courses in indexing and abstracting. You can get a list of these schools from your public library or the internet. You can contact the school nearest you for requirements. Extension programs at some universities include courses in indexing that are open to people who are not enrolled in regular courses at the university. The ASI website (www.asindexing.org) maintains an up-to-date list of conferences, workshops, and seminars related to indexing. The easiest way to get to this list is to use the A–Z index and click on the entry for Courses and Workshops. The list includes several tutorials and/or workshops offered by experienced indexers. 1

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Distance Education (Correspondence Courses) American Society for Indexing Training Course in Indexing ASI provides an indexing training course available on the ASI website. It was adapted under license from Britain’s Society of Indexers (SI) distance learning course and offers: • Self-paced learning through three separate units • Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of indexing and related activities • Descriptions from experienced indexers on how they work • Practical self-assessment exercises to prepare you for real-world indexing projects • Interactive exercises to test your understanding of what you have studied • Content based on International Standard (ISO 999) guidelines and Chicago Manual of Style recommendations Each unit takes approximately 40–50 hours of study and practice. On completion of each unit, students may choose to be examined. To qualify for the Certificate of Completion in Indexing Training from ASI, candidates must: • Successfully meet the requirements of the examinations • Complete all three units and their associated examinations within a 3-year period Complete information is available at ASI’s website, www.asindexing.org.

Society of Indexers Distance Learning Course The SI describes its distance learning course, “Training in Indexing,” on its website (www.indexers.org.uk) as “consisting of four assessed modules plus a practical indexing assignment and three online tutorials.” The modules include: • Module A. Introducing Indexing: indexers, users, and documents • Module B. Choosing the Words: term selection and the formation and arrangement of headings and subheadings

Learning to Index

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• Module C. Names and Numbers: filing order, proper names, and locators • Module D. Finishing Touches and Beyond: index presentation, specialized forms, and applications Trainees are required to undertake three online tutorials, working with a small group of other trainees. For each tutorial, they compile an index to a short text, compare their results, and receive feedback from an experienced indexer.

Graduate School USA Graduate School USA, formerly the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School, provides continuing education for government workers in Washington, D.C., but it also offers a wide variety of distance learning courses that are not restricted to civil service employees. The school offers two correspondence courses for indexers: “Basic Indexing” and “Applied Indexing.” These courses are prepared and graded by experienced ASI members. They provide much needed feedback on your progress in learning to index. Complete information on all courses can be found at www.graduateschool.edu. You may also call its toll-free phone number, 888-744-GRAD, or email [email protected].

University of California–Berkeley University of California–Berkeley offers an online distance learning course, “Indexing: Theory and Application.” The course is intended for people interested in becoming freelance indexers, as well as for authors who want to index their own work. Requirements for the course are outlined at www.unex.berkeley.edu/cat/course394.html.

Self-Training In the first edition of the ASI publication Starting an Indexing Business, new indexers reported that they learned how to index by taking courses and by several other methods. A few reported apprenticing themselves to experienced indexers who are willing to serve as mentors. A Google search of the keywords mentoring, indexers, or indexing reveals a few indexers who offer mentoring services (and you can find several on the ASI website

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listed under Courses and Workshops). Others learned on their own by finding and studying indexing textbooks, publishers’ style guides, and indexing standards. You can find more information in both the Standards and Textbooks sections of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book. In addition, you can learn from other indexers by participating in internet discussion groups, described in the next section. You can also learn by writing practice indexes for books with existing indexes and then comparing your index to the original, as is described in Writing and Studying Indexes on page 5.

Internet Discussion Groups Although not strictly a method for learning how to index, discussion groups (mailing lists) can be very helpful for beginning indexers. ASI’s website lists current indexing discussion groups as well as many more related groups. The following groups may be the most helpful for new indexers.

INDEX-L INDEX-L is open to anyone interested in indexing. To get an idea of the kinds of topics discussed, go to www.indexpup.com/index-list/faq.html and read through the archives. The FAQ also contains instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing.

Indexers’ Discussion List Indexers’ Discussion List is open to indexers of all skill levels and interests. Any topic related to the practice and business of indexing is open for discussion in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Subscribe through Yahoo! Groups by sending an email to indexersdiscussionlist-subscribe@yahoo groups.com.

IndexPeers Very often indexers have little or no opportunity for feedback on their indexes. Through IndexPeers (www.finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/ IndexPeers), indexers volunteer to review each other’s edited indexes. By

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reviewing and being reviewed, indexers increase their awareness of good indexing technique and gain valuable feedback on their skills.

IndexStudents According to the IndexStudents website (www.indexstudents.com), “IndexStudents is a community for all persons interested in discussing issues related to learning to index books, magazines, databases and the World Wide Web.” Discussion revolves around a variety of issues including the Graduate School USA courses, video instruction, SI courses, college courses, starting a freelance indexing business, marketing, time management, continuing education, and indexing procedures. Beginning and experienced indexers as well as course instructors/teachers are the intended audience for this list, but experienced indexers are encouraged to participate by offering insight to beginners. The list has a number of sporadic or regular education exercises, including practical experience with term selection, index editing, and topic of the week discussions.

Writing and Studying Indexes The best way to learn indexing is to index. If you don’t have any means of getting feedback on your indexing efforts, find a book you like and create your own index for it. Compare your index to the one in the book. Be aware that the index of the book may not have been written by a professional indexer. Also, remember that two people seldom index the same way. Studies have found very little consistency between terms chosen by different indexers for the same document (Markey 1984; McMaster 2012). You can learn a great deal, nevertheless, by comparing your indexing style with that of other indexers. An interesting contemporary study of the thought processes involved in indexing and how two different indexers approached indexing the same book is available in a book written by Sherry Smith and Kari Kells, Inside Indexing (2005). You can view the table of contents and chapter summaries for this book as well as the two indexes produced by the authors at www.insideindexing.com. Studying the indexes of award-winning indexers is another method for learning how to index. ASI/H.W. Wilson Award winners are listed on ASI’s website. You may be interested in reading about some of the award winners

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and what they have to say about indexing. Articles from ASI’s newsletter Key Words can be found in the ASI/H.W. Wilson Award Winners section of the Classified Bibliography. Another way to get some practice is to volunteer to write an index for an institution or organization in your area. Most libraries have projects languishing in boxes for lack of staff. Many corporations have minutes of board meetings or research reports for which they would love to have an index. Once you complete such a project, you have a published index to list on your résumé. Every freelance indexer now in business has faced the same hurdles: learning to index and finding the first job. Studying, determination, hard work, and luck boosted them along the road to self-employment as indexers. Several articles in Key Words and two ASI booklets address this topic and are listed in the Marketing section of the Classified Bibliography.

Professional Organizations Since indexers are generally few and far between, you can find a great deal of support by joining an indexing society. Following is contact information for some organizations for English-speaking indexers: American Society for Indexing (ASI) 10200 West 44th Avenue, Suite 304 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 Phone: (303) 463-2887 Fax: (303) 422-8894 Email: [email protected] Website: www.asindexing.org Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers (ANZSI) P.O. Box 5062 Glenferrie South VIC 3122 Australia Email: [email protected] Website: www.anzsi.org Indexing Society of Canada/Société Canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) P.O. Box 664

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Station P Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4 Canada Website: www.indexers.ca Society of Indexers (SI) Woodbourn Business Centre 10 Jessell Street Sheffield S9 3HY United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)114 244 9561 Fax: +44 (0)114 244 9563 Email: [email protected] Website: www.indexers.org.uk Membership in ASI includes a subscription to Key Words: The Bulletin of the American Society for Indexing, membership in one regional chapter, and optional membership in one or more special interest groups. ASI sponsors one annual conference per year; local chapters hold one or more meetings per year. Information on chapters and their activities appear in each issue of Key Words as well as on ASI’s website. ASI publishes a variety of books about indexing in conjunction with the publisher of this book, Information Today, Inc. (books.infotoday.com/ books/index.shtml#index).

Standards and Index Evaluation Indexing preparation standards are available from several organizations. The international standard, Information and Documentation Guidelines for the Content, Organization and Presentation of Indexes (ISO 999:1996), can be obtained from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is very expensive, however, so you might want to check with your local library for a copy. Two articles in The Indexer summarize and discuss the practical use of ISO 999 and other standards (see Booth 1997 and Calvert 1996 in the Standards section of the Classified Bibliography). BSI British Standards (formerly the British Standards Institution) has removed two of its former standards related to indexing, BS 3700:1988 and BS 6529:1984, and instead sells ISO 999:1996. However, BS 1749:1985,

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Recommendations for Alphabetical Arrangement and the Filing Order of Numbers and Symbols is still available. Other areas of interest include standards for thesaurus development and records management. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) sells several books of interest to indexers, including Guidelines for Indexes and Related Information Retrieval Devices by James D. Anderson and Guidelines for Alphabetical Arrangement of Letters and Sorting of Numerals and Other Symbols by Hans H. Wellisch. Following is contact information for ISO, BSI, and NISO: International Organization for Standardization 1 ch. de la Voie-Creuse CP 56 CH-1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland Email: [email protected] Website: www.iso.org BSI British Standards 389 Chiswick High Road London W4 4AL United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Website: www.bsigroup.com National Information Standards Organization One North Charles St. Suite 1905 Baltimore, MD 21201 Phone: (301) 654-2512 Website: www.niso.org For more information on standards and index evaluation, see those sections of the Classified Bibliography.

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ASI/H.W. Wilson Award One objective of ASI is “to promote excellence in indexing and to increase awareness of the value of well-written and well-designed indexes.” One of the ways ASI does this is by offering, in conjunction with the H.W. Wilson Company, the ASI/H.W. Wilson Award for “excellence in indexing of an English language monograph or other nonserial publication published in the United States during the previous calendar year.” The criteria are reproduced on the next few pages, with permission from ASI. The criteria, as well as the mechanics of the award process, are published on ASI’s website.

Criteria for the ASI/H.W. Wilson Award Substance Elegance Succinctness; the right word in the right place—even if the word isn’t found in the text; “a certain charm”; visual appeal; a sense that the index contains exactly what it needs to, no more, no less; simplicity; grace. Elegance is the quality that makes an exceptional index more than the sum of its parts. Usability • Does the index appropriately anticipate the needs of its users? • Are the significant concepts indexed? • Are there appropriate alternative terms for accessing concepts? • Are special treatments such as italics and boldface appropriate to the complexity of the material and the needs of the user? • Is there a headnote explaining special treatments? • Does the format provide for ease in visually scanning the index? • Is the phrasing of entries and subentries clear, with significant terms first and no unnecessary prepositions?

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Coverage • Does the index cover the ground? Does it do so in an evenhanded fashion? • Look up a few important topics to see if coverage is adequate. • The index should go beyond listing the main headings in each chapter or rearranging the table of contents. • Significant concepts should be indexed, and scattered discussions of a concept should be brought together. • Irrelevant information, such as scene-setting material or passing mentions, should not be indexed. • There should be no apparent indexer bias. Analysis • Are main entries analyzed appropriately into subentries? • Are subentries overanalyzed so that the same page numbers are repeated again and again in close proximity to one another? • Are there strings of undifferentiated locators at an entry? • Are the number and level of subentries appropriate to the complexity of the book? Access • Is there more than one access point to significant concepts? • The index should use the author’s vocabulary but should also provide alternative terms and cross-references that will give the reader access. • Entries should be “flipped” where necessary or appropriate. Cross-Referencing • Are cross-references adequate and useful?

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• See also references should send readers to appropriate related material. (Double-posting is preferable to See references that send the reader to an entry with very few page references.)

Mechanics Accuracy • There should be no misspellings or typos, no odd page ranges or references out of order. • Alphabetization of main entries, subentries, and cross-references should be correct. • Punctuation should be correct. • Forms of names and terms should be correct and appropriate to the field of specialization. • Cross-references should neither be circular nor point to missing or differently worded entries. • “Flipped” entries should have the same page references at both locations in the index. Style • Is the style consistent throughout? • Does the style effectively resolve challenges presented by the text? • Look at such style points as sorting order, punctuation of cross-references, leading and separator punctuation of locators, abbreviation of inclusive ranges, positioning of cross-references, run-in vs. indented subentries, capitalization of main entries, and use of alternative typefaces. [The descriptive categories included here are freely adapted from Carolyn McGovern’s “How to Evaluate Indexes” (1993).] For more information on the topics discussed in this chapter, see the following sections of the Classified Bibliography:

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• ASI/H.W. Wilson Award Winners • Index Evaluation • Learning to Index • Marketing • Standards • Textbooks

Works Cited Booth, Pat F. 1997. “Good Practice in Indexing—The New Edition of International Standard ISO 999.” The Indexer 20(3): 114. Calvert, Drusilla. 1996. “Deconstructing Indexing Standards.” The Indexer 20(2): 74–78. Markey, Karen. 1984. “Interindexer Consistency Tests: A Literature Review.” Library and Information Science Research 6(2): 155–77. McGovern, Carolyn. 1993. “How to Evaluate Indexes.” Key Words 1(9): 1, 21. McMaster, Max. 2012. “Same Publication + Many Indexers = ???.” The Indexer 30(2): 98–100. Smith, Sherry, and Kari Kells. 2005. Inside Indexing: The Decision-Making Process. Bend, OR: Northwest Indexing Press.

Chapter 2

Starting the Index The techniques and principles described in this chapter refer almost exclusively to book indexing. However, they can be applied to technical manuals, magazines and journals, in-house databases, and various kinds of subject files (vertical files, personal collections of articles, and office files).

What Is an Index? An index is a tool for locating specific information contained within a document. Readers can get a good overview of what a document contains by reading the table of contents, but they cannot find the exact page on which a particular bit of information appears. A good index quickly guides readers to any significant piece of information. A common mistake made by first-time or occasional indexers is giving too much information in the index entries. An index is not a summary of the book’s content or an extended capsule discussion of the major subjects treated in the book. If index entries are specific and concise, the index will be an effective finding tool—its primary purpose.

What the Index Includes Indexes for books and journals include names of important people, events, dates, and broad concepts. Indexes for scientific material may include chemical formulas, technical processes, and symbols. An index for a computer manual includes mostly processes, commands, and reports. Most documents require only a subject index; other types of documents require author and title indexes. These are often separate indexes. Subject indexes are made up of main headings, subheadings that further 13

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distinguish different aspects of the main headings, and locators (page references or other numbering systems) that refer to the place where the information can be found. A cookbook, for example, needs entries for the main ingredient of each recipe. In addition, it might include large headings for the various food groups such as breads, rice, vegetables, and meat. Depending on the type of cookbook, it might have entries for categories of foods like desserts, appetizers, main courses, and salads. Other topics could include the country of origin and recipe names. The worst cookbook indexes contain only recipe names. The index usually excludes prefaces and acknowledgments (front matter). Appendixes may or may not be included. If an appendix contains a significant discussion of a topic, by all means include it. Often, appendix materials can be indexed lightly, indicating main ideas, without as much detail as given for the text. For example, if a history of Central America included the text of the Monroe Doctrine in the appendix, you would index that item under Monroe Doctrine, but you would not index the specific details of the document. Words that are listed in a glossary are not included in the index since a glossary, like an index, is a reference device. If the author discusses or defines a term in the book that also appears in the glossary, then the term should appear in the index, but do not include the glossary page reference for it. If there is any question about whether to include glossary terms, consult the editor for a determination. In scholarly works, footnotes or endnotes are indexed if they contain substantive information or further discussion of information found in the chapter. Do not index footnotes or endnotes that contain only bibliographical citations. Examples of footnotes and endnotes appear in Chapter 5. Charts, tables, maps, photographs, or other illustrations should be included in the index. Some publishers designate illustrative materials with special typography, such as boldfaced page numbers for tables or italicized page numbers for figures. Often, “t” is appended to the page reference to designate tables and “f” for figures or illustrations. If it’s important to be more specific, you can use the figure or table number after the page reference as shown in the example. The publisher should inform you of the preferred conventions. Any symbols or use of special typography should be explained in an introduction to the index. Following is an example of a table and a figure designation in an index:

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Antibiotics classes of, 256t molecular structure, 250 fig. 7 therapy with, 260 Sometimes it is appropriate to designate illustrations as subheadings, as in this example: Central America map, 218 function keys quick reference chart, 2–7

Viewpoint In planning an index, you have to think about whom the audience will be and how they are going to look for information. For example, students researching a topic for a term paper might start their search by looking under broad headings in order to become familiar with the subject (e.g., world hunger). Researchers working in the field would go directly to specific information, such as the most recent statistics on food production in West Africa, or they may want to find out who is currently involved in nutrition projects in Central America. Indexes need to accommodate the needs of different types of readers, whether they are the general public, students, researchers, or scholars. It’s important to respect the author’s choice of terminology and the author’s approach to the subject matter. The best indexers, however, consider the readers’ viewpoint as well, keeping in mind that readers may not be familiar with the terms that are used in the text. Cross-references (described in Chapter 5) can help readers get to the proper index heading. For example, a veterinary medicine textbook uses the terms felines and canines rather than cats and dogs. The index should use the words felines and canines as the headings. The index should also include the following cross-references to help readers find the proper headings:

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cats. See felines dogs. See canines On the other hand, a book for pet lovers on the care of dogs, cats, and other small animals should use the term dogs as the main heading with a See reference as follows: canines. See dogs felines. See cats

Getting an Overview Before you begin choosing words or phrases for the index (entries or headings), it is helpful to get an overview of the book. Start with the table of contents and introduction. Look at the conclusion. If each chapter contains an abstract or summary, pay particular attention to this information. Then skim the entire book, looking for chapter titles, subtitles, headers, and boldfaced or italicized text. Once you have a good idea of the content of the book, you are ready to choose subject headings. If you feel unfamiliar with the topic or type of book you are indexing, you may find it helpful to go to a library to look at indexes for similar types of books. You might even find a previous edition of the book you are indexing that you can use as a starting point.

Length of the Index When you start to prepare the entries for a book index, you may wonder how many terms to choose from each page or how long the index should be. There is no easy guide to follow. The more technical or scholarly the book, typically the more index entries per page. For example, one page may contain a short description of five authors and their literary works, in which case you would have five or more entries for that page. Another page may contain a lengthy discussion of the work of one author, so there might be only one entry for that page. The text itself ultimately determines the density of the index.

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Sometimes an editor will tell you how many pages or how many lines have been allotted for an index, which, to a large extent, will govern how detailed the index may be. If you must index under space constraints, proceed as if there were no space problems. When you have finished the index, you can combine subheadings or otherwise condense the index. It is better for the indexer to make those kinds of decisions rather than the editor. For an excellent discussion on handling space constraints, read Anne Marie Houppert’s two-part article, “Strategies for Sizing an Index” (2008a,b). Armed with the basic structure for starting your index, you are ready to start writing index entries. Chapter 3 describes techniques for choosing and phrasing headings and subheadings.

Reference Sources Every indexer will develop a collection of reference resources based on her indexing specialty. Many, if not most, of these resources will be internetbased, but some of us maintain a core collection of printed materials for handy reference. The American Society for Indexing maintains a list of reference sources online (www.asindexing.org), including the following topics: • General reference sources - Dictionaries, thesauri, and other language tools - Encyclopedias, collections of information, and fact books - Phone directories, organizational listings, and maps - Indexing-related sites - Miscellaneous references • Art and architecture sources • Biographical sources • Business sources • Computer and technology sources • Health and medicine sources • Legal sources • Science sources • Technical writers’ resources • Miscellaneous references

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As well, Janyne Ste Marie has compiled bibliographies of helpful reference works for general indexing (2007a), medicine (2007b, 2011), and sports (2007c). For more information on the topics discussed in this chapter, see the Starting the Index section of the Classified Bibliography.

Works Cited Houppert, Anne Marie. 2008a. “Strategies for Sizing an Index, Part One: Before and During the Indexing Process.” Key Words 16(1): 28–29. ———. 2008b. “Strategies for Sizing an Index, Part Two: After the Index Is Completed.” Key Words 16(2): 47–48. Ste Marie, Janyne. 2007a. “Favorite References” (general indexing). Key Words 15(2): 47–48, 62. ———. 2007b. “Favorite References” (medicine). Key Words 15(1): 17–18. ———. 2007c. “Favorite References” (sports). Key Words 15(4): 124–25. ———. 2011. “Medical Indexing in the United States.” Key Words 19(2): 52–54, 58.

Chapter 3

Writing the Index Writing an index consists of reading the manuscript, marking names and concepts for inclusion, dividing complex topics into subheadings, and phrasing or editing the headings and subheadings. In order to accomplish these tasks, you need to choose a method for recording entries. Most professional indexers use one of the three major dedicated indexing programs listed in Chapter 6: Cindex, Macrex, or SKY Index. The techniques and examples in this book are based on the use of an indexing program. If you are an author who is required to write a one-time index for your book and you do not wish to purchase a dedicated indexing program, you may choose to use the 3 x 5 card or word processor method summarized in Chapter 6; however, detailed instructions are not provided.

Choosing and Writing Headings When you skimmed the chapters in the overview process, as described in Chapter 2, you began to form the structure of the index. The next step is to read each chapter in detail, mark important text, and record the index entries. You will continue to build and modify the index structure as you work your way through the book. Some indexers read the entire book before beginning to make entries. Although this may work for small books, it is not possible in all cases. Indexers sometimes receive books in installments—a few chapters per week—with a rush of chapters as the typesetting is completed. If you wait until you have all the pages before you begin to read and mark, you may not have enough time to complete the index by the deadline. A good approach is to read and mark one chapter at a time and record the entries. This will allow you to keep track of the index structure and to modify that structure as you work your way through the book. 19

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The first chapter of a book is usually an introduction of some type. Although you should read it first to get a feel for the book, you may wish to index it last. After you read chapters with more detailed discussion, you will be able to decide how many entries are appropriate for the introduction. To choose entries, proceed as you did in your overview: Read chapter titles, heads, and subheads. Look for topic sentences in each paragraph, as well as words that are boldfaced or italicized. Highlight the words you consider important. It’s better to mark too many entries rather than too few. A book index doesn’t necessarily include every occurrence of a word or phrase that you have marked. Entries should refer only to significant discussions of a topic. For instance, in a book on 20th-century presidents, you would include information on Eisenhower’s approach to foreign policy. However, you would not make an entry for a statement like this: “President Truman, like Eisenhower after him, was beset by many problems.” Like all rules, this one is not hard and fast. Some books, like biographies and histories, require the inclusion of names and minute details that might be legitimately omitted from other types of books. Deciding what to include and what to exclude is the most challenging aspect of indexing.

Forest and Tree Entries When you begin to write index entries (phrasing headings is discussed in the next section), you should make two kinds of headings; I like to call them forest and tree entries. Forest entries are for the broad, general concepts discussed in a chapter. Tree entries are for the narrower topics and detail. Write the general (forest) entries for the chapter first. This builds the index structure quickly and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. It’s similar to getting past writer’s block: You get something on that blank screen that gives you the creative impetus to continue. Next, make the specific (tree) entries. Read through the marked chapter and make an entry for each important point you noted. In many cases, you can make both forest and tree entries simultaneously. That is, you write the general entries with their associated subheadings and create new entries by “flipping” the heading and subheading. This technique is discussed in more detail in the section called Inverting

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or Flipping Entries (Double-Posting) later in this chapter. If the book is very detailed, however, you may find that you will need to make several passes through the chapter to be sure you don’t omit details.

Avoiding Bias When you are choosing and phrasing headings, try not to let any personal prejudices show through. Professional indexers keep a neutral attitude while creating the index; that is, they index the content of the book—not their own ideas about what the book should have said. See Hazel Bell’s article on bias (1991) for more information.

Nouns and Noun Phrases Index entries are always written in noun form. Descriptive phrases are used as subheadings modifying the noun phrase, as shown in this example: assault in public schools corporal punishment considered as, 249 defined, 169 student assaults on school personnel, 169 In selecting terminology for headings, choose the word that the reader is most likely to think of first. In the example just given, assault is the key word. You would probably also use assault as a subheading under public schools. For another example, let’s consider a book about social services available in the United States. The topic being indexed is expenditures for child protective services. The user of your index might not go directly to E for expenditures. Instead, the reader might think first of looking under C for child protective services to find a subheading for expenditures. However, you want to give the reader as many access points as possible (unless the editor has told you that there is not much space for the index). So if the material on expenditures is extensive, it is acceptable to make a See reference from expenditures for child protective services to child protective services. You could also consider making a main heading of expenditures for child protective services and add subheadings if the material extends beyond a page or two.

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Be as specific as possible in selecting headings. If your keywords are too generalized, the reader will have less chance of going directly to the subject under discussion. For example, in a book discussing acquisition policies in public and academic libraries, use the headings public libraries and academic libraries, rather than the more general term libraries, and include a cross-reference from libraries to the more specific terms. (Crossreferences are discussed in Chapter 5.) Usually main headings begin with a noun, but sometimes an adjectivenoun phrase is more specific and more likely to be how the reader looks for the information (for example, public libraries rather than libraries).

Singular vs. Plural Entries may be in singular or plural form, depending on the meaning conveyed. That is, if the topic is one that indicates something that is countable, use the plural form: forks knives ladles spatulas spoons Use the singular form if the heading is a collective term or answers the question “How much?”: cutlery kitchenware silverware Some publishers prefer to indicate plural forms in parentheses: eye(s) gland(s) kidney(s) This practice results in some awkward constructions:

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antibody(ies) glomerulus(i) It is better to use the singular or plural form as appropriate without parentheses.

Linked (Precoordinated) Headings Sometimes entries involve two closely related terms linked with “and”: colleges and universities libraries and librarians However, if the author distinguishes between colleges and universities in providing information about academic programs or if there is a large amount of information about librarians as distinct from libraries, these concepts should not be linked. Instead each concept should be a main heading linked with a See also reference.

Paraphrasing Entries Not all entries can or should be used exactly as they appear in the book or article. For example, the book may have the heading Sources of Roosevelt’s Diplomatic Activism. Your entry would look like this: Roosevelt, Franklin Delano diplomatic activism, 22–25 Sometimes headings in the text contain more than one indexable concept, for example, From the Rogers Act to World War II or Acheson’s Background and Appointment. This is how these headings would look: Acheson, Dean appointment as secretary of state, 36–37 qualifications for office, 35–36 Rogers Act, 19–20 World War II, 22–23

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Consistency If the book you are indexing is long or if you are working on a magazine or journal index over the period of a year, it is easy to forget how you phrased a heading previously. Be sure to check your earlier work as you progress through the index so that you keep all entries for one concept together under one heading. For example, you might make a heading drug abuse one time and substance abuse another time. Indexing software makes it easy to check for consistency of main headings because it automatically alphabetizes entries as you record them. The view and search features of the programs allow you to examine any part of the index you desire. If you are using another method to record entries (as described in Chapter 6), you will need to keep the entries in alphabetical order as you work and then look for inconsistencies during the editing process.

Writing Subheadings Subheadings (also called subentries) are entries that are subordinate to a main heading. Subheadings indicate different aspects of a main heading. If you have more than five or six page references (or other forms of locators) attached to a main heading, you should use subheadings to break up the long list of references, as shown in these examples: Middle East, 64, 72, 76–77, 146–65, 181, 196, 281, 282, 300, 302, 313 Middle East Eisenhower administration policies, 146–65, 181 oil fields, 64, 72, 313 Reagan administration policies, 76–77, 281, 282, 300, 302

Relationship of Headings to Subheadings Subheadings are logically related to the headings they modify, as shown in the many examples in this chapter. Many indexers (and publishers) also want subheadings to be grammatically related—a longstanding indexing tradition. The heading/subheading combination is supposed to form a phrase, as in the following example:

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Angiography adverse effects of of aorta in atherosclerosis contrast media for Showing the grammatical relationship results in subheadings bristling fore and aft with prepositions, articles, and conjunctions; these words are becoming better known as “function words” (Wellisch 1993).

Alphabetizing Subheadings How to alphabetize subheadings that begin with function words is one of the great controversies among indexers. Should the initial function word be ignored or should it be alphabetized? Indexing textbooks and style guides have recommended for many years that initial function words should be ignored and that the subheading should be alphabetized on the first significant word of the entry. This practice, however, is confusing to index users who may be unaware of this filing convention commonly used by indexers and publishers. The following examples show both styles of alphabetization: Function Words Alphabetized Atherosclerosis as risk factor in ischemic stroke, 993 in coronary artery disease, 994 plaque from ischemic stroke caused by, 1024 spinal cord ischemia with, 1082 TIA caused by, 994

Function Words Ignored in Alphabetization Atherosclerosis in coronary artery disease, 994 plaque from ischemic stroke caused by, 1024 spinal cord ischemia with, 1082 TIA caused by, 997 as risk factor in ischemic stroke, 993

Indexing standards recommend that indexes should contain as few function words as possible at the beginning and end of subheadings, and, if function words are used at all, they should be alphabetized just as any other word. Starting the subheading with a keyword also avoids the problem of how to alphabetize function words: Atherosclerosis coronary artery disease and, 994

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plaque from ischemic stroke caused by, 1024 spinal cord ischemia with, 1082 TIA caused by, 997 risk factor for ischemic stroke, 993

Phrasing and Editing Subheadings The wording of subheadings is important because readers must be able to find specific facts quickly and easily. Select the first word of the subheading carefully so that it represents the main idea of the subheading. Compare the following examples; the second one conveys the same information directly and economically: ordination examples of rituals from the 19th century, 182 ordination rituals from 19th century, 182 As you add subheadings to the index, you may discover that you have added several similar entries. Try to combine related subheadings into a single entry with multiple page references (but no more than 5–7 page references per subheading), as shown in the next set of examples:

Preliminary Entries arithmetic assessment addition and subtraction, 476–78 addition calculation, 465, 468 conservation, 425–26 conservation task, 475–76 flexible interviewing, 443–47 interviewing, 495–96 goal of, 415–17 number facts, 469–70, 483–86 standardized measurement, 441–43 standardized tests, 463–65, 491–95 student’s ability to learn, 419–20 student’s learning potential, 496 subtraction, 473 thinking processes, 485, 487 thinking strategies, 442–43, 447–56 types of student thinking, 418–19

Edited Entries arithmetic assessment addition and subtraction, 465, 468, 473, 476–78 conservation task, 425–26, 475–76 interviewing, 443–47, 495–96 goal of, 415–17 number facts, 469–70, 483–86 standardized tests, 441–43, 463–65, 491–95 student’s learning ability, 419–20, 496 thinking processes, 418–19, 442–43, 447–56, 485, 487

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Running-In a Single Subheading You may discover while editing that you have just one subheading for some headings. If you feel that the subheading is necessary to the meaning of the entry, you can “run it in” after the heading, or you can rephrase the heading to incorporate the subheading, as shown in the following examples: configuration file changing, 4–7 becomes configuration file, changing, 4–7 ordination women, 39–40, 183 becomes ordination of women, 39–40, 183 Indexing software can help with editorial chores, such as joining orphan subheadings to their headings, as well as spellchecking and verifying cross-references. But no software can phrase the entries for you. There is no substitute for reading and editing the entire index. This process is described in Chapter 6.

Page Range vs. Subheadings Including the page range after the main heading when the topic is also subdivided by subheadings is another controversial topic in indexing. Some indexers argue that main headings followed by subheadings should not include the page range after the main entry. Others feel that it is helpful to give the page ranges anyway in order to indicate the extent of the coverage. I agree with the latter view because it shows readers how much information exists on a specific topic without forcing them to read through a possibly lengthy list of subheadings. This issue is even more relevant in medical and scientific books. For example, suppose a book on pediatrics discusses measles on pages 89–90.

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Is it better to make a single main heading for measles or to include subheadings, as shown in these examples: measles, 89–90 measles clinical findings, 89 diagnosis, 89 pathology, 89 treatment, 89–90 I would argue for including the subheadings because they inform healthcare workers of the exact topics covered in the text. If readers are looking for some other aspect of measles, they need not bother to consult the text. Otherwise, they can turn to the indicated page and be assured of finding what they want.

Bringing Information Together Subheadings are also used to group together similar entries that readers might otherwise overlook. For instance, in a computer manual, some readers might always look for the term function keys but never look under keys. Other readers might look under keys first, not knowing what specific types of keys are available. The idea is to group together specific terms under a main heading and also make main headings for the specific topics themselves, as seen in this example: cursor keys, 7, 32 function keys, 9, 33 keys cursor keys, 7, 32 function keys, 9, 33 For that reason, subheadings are often used as main headings as well as subheadings. This process is also known as flipping entries, inverting entries, or double-posting.

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Inverting or Flipping Entries (Double-Posting) As shown in the previous example, headings can be used as subheadings and vice versa. This practice allows readers to find the item of interest whether they think of the topic from either the general or the specific viewpoint. For example, if you have marked ordination of women in the text, you would make the following two entries: ordination women ministers, 188–89, 202 women ordination as ministers, 188–89, 202 One thing to consider while writing entries is whether to flip the entries at the time you make the original heading or wait to double-post the entries during a second pass through the chapter. Although it is easy to flip entries when you are using indexing software, you may forget to flip some entries when you are concentrating on writing main headings. Your indexing may be more accurate if you make two or more passes through the marked chapter. On the first pass, write the main headings (forest entries). On the second pass, go back and make main headings from the subheadings you included under the forest entries. It may be necessary to make a third pass through the material to write main headings for even more specific topics.

Levels of Subheadings You are not limited to one level of subheading. Many scientific, legal, scholarly, or technical works are so detailed that they require more than one level. The following example shows two levels of subheadings: abdomen abscess of computed tomography of, 417, 417 drainage of, 1229, 1319–1320 ultrasonography of, 374–375, 375–377 acute complications of, 976–977 diagnostic tests for, 973–974

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intraoperative management of, 974–975 postoperative care of, 975–976 surgery for, 974 anatomy of, 1439 It is easier for the reader to find the desired information if you limit subheadings to one or two levels (the main entry plus one or two levels of subheadings). Your choice in this matter also depends on the publisher’s preference.

Classification in Indexes As noted earlier, one purpose of an index is to bring information together. The indexer must take care, however, not to become too obsessed with gathering every bit of related information into larger chunks, a practice known as classification. For example, in a book on farm and ranch animals, you might make a classified entry like this: cattle bulls reproductive system, 36, 44–46, 93 sexual activity, 99–102 cows artificial insemination, 98–101 estrous cycle, 62–64 reproductive system, 121–125, 198–203 Some indexers argue that classification has no place in an index. In Indexing From A to Z, Hans Wellisch (1995) says that no matter how reasonable a classified index may seem to the indexer, the reader may not understand the thought process the indexer used to create the classified list of subheadings. Wellisch argues that instead of classifying subheadings, you should make main headings for each of the subheadings. There are several options for unclassifying the cattle entry from the previous example. You can convert the sub-subheadings to subheadings and keep the cattle entry, or you can make a See reference from cattle to bulls and cows as shown in the next two examples:

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cattle artificial insemination of cows, 98–101 bull reproductive system, 36, 44–46, 93 cow reproductive system, 121–125, 198–203 estrous cycle of cows, 62–64 sexual activity of bulls, 99–102 In this flattened example, the main problem is that the reader has to scan each subheading to see whether it pertains to bulls or cows. In a situation like this, it is probably better to make the following entries: bulls reproductive system, 36, 44–46, 93 sexual activity, 99–102 cattle. See bulls; cows cows artificial insemination, 98–101 estrous cycle, 62–64 reproductive system, 121–125, 198–203 Whether you classify subheadings depends on the nature of the book. If the entire book is about raising cattle, you probably would not even make a main heading for cattle. Instead, you would make main headings for the specific breeds of cattle and other topics, such as artificial insemination, reproduction, and nutrition. If the book is about farm and ranch animals in general with a few paragraphs or one chapter about cattle, then you would be justified in making an entry for cattle as well as specific breeds, if they are discussed. I believe that classified entries work well for the reader as long as the subject being subdivided is not too general and as long as the entry does not continue for column after column. I think readers appreciate having all relevant information gathered together in one place. It is just as easy for readers to scan a list of classified subheadings as it is for them to scan a long list of unclassified subheadings. I think it is preferable to make classified entries rather than leaving readers guessing whether they have found all the relevant information that might otherwise be scattered throughout the index. For an excellent discussion of classification, see

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Elizabeth Moys’s article, “Classified v. Specific Indexing: A Re-examination in Principle” (1997). For classification in periodicals, see Classification of Entries in Chapter 7 of this book.

Recording Entries When writing index entries, you must make a separate record for each heading and accompanying subheading (and sub-subheading, if any)as shown in the examples that follow. Methods for recording entries using dedicated indexing software, 3 x 5 cards, or a word processor are summarized in Chapter 6. For the sample index segment that follows, you need to make four records: keys cursor keys, 2–7 function keys F1 (help key), 3–34 F2 (save key), 3–36 special purpose keys, 2–5 The page references shown in this and the following examples represent the type frequently found in computer manuals; that is, the first number represents the chapter and the number following the hyphen is the page number. The first record is:

keys cursor keys, 2–7

The second record is:

keys function keys F1 (help key), 3–34

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The third record is:

keys function keys F2 (save key), 3–36

The fourth record is:

keys special purpose keys, 2–5

Please note that records in indexing programs may not look exactly like these examples, but the principle is the same. The purpose of making a separate record for each index entry is to allow for correct alphabetization of each entry. No matter which method you use for recording entries, both humans and indexing software must be able to follow the rules of alphabetization and place each discrete entry in the correct order. For more information on the topics discussed in this chapter, see the following sections of the Classified Bibliography: • Subheadings/Classification • Textbooks • Writing the Index

Works Cited Bell, Hazel. 1991. “Bias in Indexing and Loaded Language.” The Indexer 17(3): 173–77. Moys, Elizabeth M. 1997. “Classified v. Specific Indexing: A Re-examination in Principle.” The Indexer 20(3): 135–36, 153–55. Wellisch, Hans H. 1995. Indexing From A to Z. 2nd ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.

Chapter 4

Names and Biographies

Indexing Names When to include names in an index depends, as usual, on the type of book, the audience of the book, and the author’s or publisher’s wishes. Generally, you include names if there are several sentences of discussion about a particular person or place. Usually, you will omit names that are merely listed (e.g., attendees at a particular event). In biographical works, these minor mentions may be considered important, so you will need to consult with the editor or author on how to handle them. In scientific and technical books, names are frequently cited in the text, but they are not usually indexed. The research cited is important, but it is not the focus of the book, as it may be in scholarly works. Complete bibliographic information is typically provided in each chapter for readers who want more detailed information for a particular study. For social science and humanities works, names may comprise a large part of the index.

Names in Scholarly Works Scholarly books (in the social sciences and humanities) often include many name citations within the text, like this: (Garcia 1998) These names are important because scholarly authors base their research on other scholars’ research. Readers are likely to track this process by looking up names in the index; the name of the researcher who specializes in a subject may be just as familiar an access point as the 35

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subject itself. It is also a reality that scholars’ tenure and reputations can depend on being cited in the works of others. Some indexers and publishers therefore feel that they should be indexed. On the other hand, they should not take precedence over subject entries when space is at a premium. The final decision, of course, is made by the publisher, and scholarly publishers do vary a great deal in their policies. It is common to index all names cited in the text. Some publishers specify that names cited as part of a sentence (e.g., “As Mueller has discussed in her latest work …”) should be indexed, while names cited in parentheses should not. Some publishers do not want them indexed at all. When the citations occur in footnotes or endnotes, the rule about what to index in these locations applies. Substantive material only should be indexed. This means that an author cited in a note should be indexed only if quoted or discussed substantively; recommended further reading on the topic is not indexed. Two last points about scholarly name citations: When last names appear in the text without first initials, the indexer must add the initials, found by scanning the bibliography or endnotes. When cited names (as opposed to names discussed as subjects) are indexed in a scholarly book, they usually do not receive subheadings. (Scholarly book indexers Do Mi Stauber and Barbara Cohen contributed the information in this section.)

Forms of Names When you index biographies, historical books, or other works that contain many names, dealing with names can become a challenge. You may find that the author refers to the same person in different ways throughout the book. In some extremes, the author may cite names inaccurately. You will need to contact the editor to determine how to handle such situations. Another common problem is that the author may refer to a well-known person only by last name. You will need to check your reference shelf (or reference sites on the internet) for the full name of the person. You may encounter many other problems with personal names, such as non-English names, compound names, royalty or nobility, saints and church officials, persons without surnames (e.g., Aristotle), pseudonyms (e.g., Mark Twain for Samuel Clemens), geographical names—the list is endless.

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Fortunately, there are several reference works that can help you deal with names: Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (2005), Chicago Manual of Style (2010), Indexing Books (Mulvany 2005), Indexing From A to Z (Wellisch 1995), Indexing Names (Bridge 2012), and numerous articles listed in the Name Indexing section of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book.

Separate Name Indexes Magazine and journal indexes (and perhaps newsletter or newspaper indexes) may have separate name indexes. These types of indexes are described in Chapter 7.

Indexing Biographies Biographies can be a special challenge to the indexer. After all, most of the book is about the minute details of one person’s life. You certainly don’t want to use that person’s name as the only main heading and list all the rest of the book as subheadings under that name. But there are some subheadings, such as birth of, death of, or personal characteristics that do not easily fit elsewhere in the index. This problem is partially solved by making entries under other people’s names, such as the subject’s mother, father, siblings, or whoever else played an important role. You can also make entries under headings for the biographee’s career, hobbies, and other interests, and place names where he or she lived or visited. For example, if the person is a writer, you can make entries under the names of his or her works. If the subject is a politician, you can make entries under political campaigns, names of the agencies or government bodies, and other relevant topics. If you cannot logically make a subheading fit under one of these categories, it is better to place too many subheadings under the subject’s name than to hide them under some obscure heading that the reader may miss. As an illustration, the following excerpt is from an index I wrote for the Journal of Thomas Moore, a six-volume set (Moore 1983–1991). The entry for Moore, Thomas includes subheadings only for personal information that was not appropriate for main headings. See also references from subheadings lead the reader to personal information that was too voluminous to include under Moore’s name. Page references are indicated by ###.

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(Looking back at this index many years after completing it, I can see that the phrasing could be more consistent and the subheadings could use more editing.) Moore, Thomas: admirers and petitioners of. See Admirers and petitioners; asylum in France. See France, TM’s asylum in; attitude toward dying, ###; attitude toward his children, ###; Bessy’s pet name for (“Bird”), ###; birthdays of, ###; busts of. See Portraits and busts of TM; caricatures of, ###; conversations. See Conversational topics, notable; criticized by Americans, ###; dahlia named for, ###; decision not to sing in presence of professional musicians, ###; early acceptance in society, ###; exaggerated newspaper accounts of his failing health, ###; fall suffered by, ###; farce about (The Irish Lion), ###; financial matters of. See Financial matters of TM; fit of weeping after singing “The Song of the Olden Times,” ###; his failing memory, ###; his mental decline, ###; his religious beliefs, ###; his singing debut in London, ###; his youthful appearance, ###; infected or inflamed leg of, ###; invitations to stand for parliament, ###; lodgings of. See Lodgings of TM; minor illnesses of, ###; muscular pains of; performances as “Peeping Tom” and “Robin Roughhead,” ###; poems to and about. See Admirers and petitioners; popularity of. See Admirers and petitioners; portraits of. See Portraits and busts of TM; recollection of early serious illness, ###; reputation as a dandy, ###; Russell bequeaths his seal ring to, ###; shoulder injury of; Thomas Little as pseudonym for, ###; travels of. See Travels of TM; Trismagistus Rustifustius as early pseudonym for, ###; tumor in groin, ###; wedding anniversaries of, ###; wrist injury of, ### It is customary to use the subject’s initials when you are referring to him or her in subheadings, as shown in this example. The Moore, Thomas heading is followed by 12 pages of Moore, Thomas, works. The editor decided it would be more useful to gather all the works together in one place, especially since many of them were “squibs” published in newspapers, often anonymously or under a pseudonym. These entries serve as an example of the modified run-in style: Moore, Thomas, works—“Ah why that tear?,” ### —“Alarming Intelligence,” ###

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—Alciphron: completion of, ###; conception of, ###; included in new edition of Epicurean, ###; research for, ### —“Believe me if all those endearing young charms,” ### —Fudge Family in Paris, The: admirer talks to TM about, ###; lines about Canning in, ###; lines about Lord Castlereagh in, ###; parody on, ###; praise of, ### Traditionally, subheadings in indexes for biographies or historical works have been arranged in chronological order. Let your publisher and your conscience be your guide in this case. If your audience is scholarly, they may expect to find the subheadings in chronological order (usually page number order, but you may have to add sorting controls in your indexing software to achieve the desired results). If the book is intended for a popular audience, then sorting the subheadings in alphabetical order is likely expected. As for any other index, go to the library and find a biography with a good index and use it as a template for your own index. Hazel Bell discusses the challenges of indexing biographies in her booklet, Indexing Biographies and Other Stories of Human Lives (1998). In addition, the entire issue of The Indexer, volume 30, no. 3 is dedicated to biography indexing. The individual articles are listed in the Classified Bibliography at the end of the book. For more information on the topics discussed in this chapter, see the following sections of the Classified Bibliography: • Biography Indexing • Name Indexing

Works Cited Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2005. 2nd edition, 2002 Revision: 2005 Update. Chicago: American Library Association. Bell, Hazel K. 1998. Indexing Biographies and Other Stories of Human Lives. 2nd ed. Occasional Papers on Indexing, no. 1. London: Society of Indexers. Bridge, Noeline, ed. 2012. Indexing Names. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc. Chicago Manual of Style. 2010. 16th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Moore, Thomas. 1983–1991. The Journal of Thomas Moore, edited by Wilfred S. Dowden, 6 vols. Newark: University of Delaware Press.

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Mulvany, Nancy. 2005. Indexing Books. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Wellisch, Hans H. 1995. Indexing From A to Z. 2nd ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.

Chapter 5

References Two types of references appear in indexes: locators (also called page references) and cross-references. Locators show the reader exactly where a topic can be found. Cross-references lead the reader to entries that might be otherwise overlooked, or point out additional information on a subject.

Locators In printed documents, locators refer to the page numbers where the entries can be found. In some documents, other numbering systems may used. For example, some books use paragraph numbers rather than page numbers, so the paragraph numbers are used as locators. In book-length bibliographies, each entry is numbered, and those numbers are used as locators. Whenever you encounter books that require a locator other than the page number, you will need to include a note at the beginning of the index to explain what the numbers refer to. Locators for printed documents are discussed in this chapter. Locators for magazines may include the volume number or issue date, while newspaper locators may include the issue date, section, or column of the newspaper, as well as the page reference. Locators for periodicals are discussed in Chapter 7. Locators in electronic documents may or may not indicate a page reference. Locators in embedded indexes usually refer to a page number, but locators in ebooks and web indexes are actually hyperlinks between the index and the text or object to which they refer. These types of locators are described in Chapter 8.

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Page References in Printed Documents In books and in magazine articles, you indicate either separate page numbers or a range of pages if the discussion goes on for more than one page. Page references are usually separated from the index entry by a comma, but this depends on the publisher’s style preferences. Some technical manuals separate entries from page references by two or more blank spaces. When an entry has more than one page reference, the page numbers are also separated from each other by a comma: Education free marketplace model, 80–81, 83 objective inquiry and, 99–101 openness to criticism, 102–103 In the run-in style (formats or styles for indexes are described in Chapter 6), the main entry is followed by a colon and subheads are separated by semicolons: Education: free marketplace model, 80–81; objective inquiry and, 99–101, 102–103; openness to criticism, 102–103 Pages in some technical manuals are numbered nonconsecutively; each chapter begins with the chapter number followed by a page number. That is, Chapter 1 is numbered 1–1, 1–2; Chapter 2 is numbered 2–1, 2–2; and so on.

Page Ranges When a topic is discussed on more than one page, an en dash (represented by a hyphen on a keyboard) separates the beginning and ending pages, as in the example in the previous section. An en dash is half the width of an em dash. The em dash is the width of the letter M. Indexing software can insert the en dash, or any other connector, automatically. To designate page ranges in manuals using the chapter/page style of numbering just mentioned, use “to” between pages (e.g., 1–1 to 1–3). The page references in some manuals are separated with an em dash (e.g., 1–1—1–3), but this style is potentially confusing to the reader.

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Abbreviating Page References How page numbers are abbreviated in ranges depends on the style manual you are following. Some publishers don’t want any abbreviations at all: certification alternative routes, 56–57 ethical considerations, 199–201 requirements for principals, 135–136 suspension of, 102–103 The Chicago Manual of Style (2010) would abbreviate these references as follows: certification alternative routes, 56–57 ethical considerations, 199–201 requirements for principals, 135–36 suspension of, 102–3 The editor of the book you are indexing should provide you with the preferred style for abbreviating page ranges.

References to Notes You should index footnotes or endnotes if the information they contain goes beyond bibliographic citations for the material being discussed. Sometimes notes contain information that is considered peripheral to the main topic in the text but may be valuable to readers who are exploring every facet of a particular topic. Indicate such references by adding “n” to the page reference if there is only one note on the page: Yarborough, Ralph candidacy for Texas governor (1952), 37, 412n If there are many notes on the page, add the number of the note you are indexing: Yarborough, Ralph candidacy for Texas governor (1952), 37, 412 n. 8

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Show references to multiple notes on the same page as follows: Yarborough, Ralph candidacy for Texas governor (1952), 37, 412 nn. 8, 10

References to Illustrations and Tables As already mentioned in Chapter 2, charts, tables, maps, photographs, or other illustrations may require special typography, such as boldfaced page numbers for tables or italicized page numbers for figures. Alternatively, “t” is appended to the page reference to designate tables and “f” for figures or illustrations. If it’s important to be more specific, you can use the figure number after the page reference. The publisher should inform you of the preferred conventions. Any symbols or use of special typography should be explained in an introduction to the index.

Indexing Books Before Pagination Is Known Sometimes a publisher may ask you if you want to start working on an index when the book is still in the galley proof stage (before page endings have been determined). Although it may seem like a good idea to get an early start on the index, it is actually more trouble than it is worth. Frequently, however, publishers may be able to give you page proofs with the correct page endings but without final page numbers. Although it is inconvenient to work without final page numbers, it is not impossible. You will need to assign a temporary page number that will uniquely identify the chapter and the page number, such as 10%3. When you receive the final page proofs, you can go back and change the temporary page numbers to the final page numbers. Your indexing program allows you to work on the entries in alphabetical order and then re-sort the index into page number order to make the final page changes. Each of the programs listed in Chapter 6 have findand-replace capabilities for automatically changing temporary page numbers to final page numbers. The manuals for these programs contain suggestions for dealing with temporary page numbers. The 3 x 5 card method is not practical for using temporary page numbers. If the 3 x 5 card method is your only option, then you should wait to

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write the index until the final page numbers are known or consider hiring an indexer who has experience with handling this type of problem.

Cross-References The most common cross-references in book indexing are the See reference, the See also reference, and the general See also cross-reference.

See References The See reference leads readers from a term that is not used to the proper entry. Here are some uses for See references: 1. From an abbreviation or acronym to the spelled-out form of the name: ANSI. See American National Standards Institute If the acronym is better known than the spelled-out form, make the See reference from the spelled-out form to the acronym: American National Standards Institute. See ANSI 2. From a synonym that is not used as the heading to the equivalent or related word that is used as the main heading: rubella. See German measles 3. From a term embedded in a compound heading: university libraries. See college and university libraries 4. For inverted headings or headings that have more than one word, consider terms other than the first word: disabilities, learning. See learning disabilities 5. From variant forms of a geographic location or a person’s name (such as pseudonyms), women’s married and single names, place names

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that have changed, or from trade names to generic names in pharmaceutical and medical works: Advil. See Ibuprofen Ceylon. See Sri Lanka Constantinople. See Istanbul Davis, Nancy. See Reagan, Nancy Twain, Mark. See Clemens, Samuel 6. From popular to technical terms or scientific names in a technical or scientific book (or vice versa, depending on the author’s choice of terminology): Lactrodectus mactans. See black widow spider Be careful not to make a See reference from a term to a main heading that you later decide not to use (a blind reference). Nor do you want the following situation: colleges. See universities universities. See colleges Multiple See references are listed in alphabetical order and separated by semicolons: libraries. See academic libraries; public libraries; special libraries Sometimes, as in the case of synonyms, it is better to list the page reference(s) under both terms rather than using a See reference. This is appropriate only if there are not many page numbers involved and no subheadings or a number of subheadings approved by your editor. This practice is also called double-posting and is described in Chapter 3.

See Also References See also references lead readers from an existing entry to a related entry. For example:

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civil rights. See also African Americans; integration; racism libraries. See also academic libraries; public libraries science. See also astronomy; biology; physics Multiple See also references are listed in alphabetical order and separated by semicolons, as shown in the previous example.

Placement of See Also References Placement of See also references may affect how quickly the user finds the pointers to additional information. See also references typically follow the main heading (after any page references). Alternatively, they may be positioned as the first or last subheading of a group of entries. These styles are shown in the following examples: constitutional rights, 16–18. See also First Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment Bill of Rights, 16, 17 curtailment of rights, 17 constitutional rights, 16–18 See also First Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment Bill of Rights, 16, 17 curtailment of rights, 17 constitutional rights, 16–18 Bill of Rights, 16, 17 curtailment of rights, 17 See also First Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment It is generally better to place See also references after the main heading or as the first subheading rather than the last subheading because readers start their search at the beginning of a main heading and work their way down the list. If they find what they are looking for before they reach the end of the list, they may not notice the See also reference. They are less likely to miss the reference to related material if it is placed immediately following the main heading.

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Format and Punctuation of Cross-References The examples in this chapter show the cross-reference separated from the entry with a period (.). Cross-references may also be preceded by a comma, or enclosed in parentheses: colleges. See universities colleges, See universities colleges (See universities) The keyword See may be in upper- or lowercase letters, depending on the publisher’s style guide. You will need to check the publisher’s style guide for other formatting and punctuation requirements. See also references are formatted and punctuated the same as See references. Multiple See or See also references are listed in alphabetical order and separated by semicolons: infections. See bacterial infections; fungal infections; viral infections science. See also astronomy; biology; physics You can find examples of unusual and less-often-used formats and styles of See also references in Nancy Mulvany’s Indexing Books (2005) and in the chapter on indexing in the Chicago Manual of Style (2010).

General See Also References General See also references are used when you want to be sure that readers consult not just a general concept but also specific terms that are related to the general concept. If there are too many specific terms to list individually (making the index unnecessarily long), you can make a general statement about other topics to check: Central America. See also names of specific countries churches. See also names of specific churches and church leaders

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organizations. See also names of specific organizations

Cross-References From Subheadings In addition to the See and See also references from main headings, you may also make either kind of reference from subheadings as shown in the following examples: cardiac arrest circulatory support in, 22–23 myocardial ischemia during, 32 outcome evaluation of, 18t resuscitation for. See cardiopulmonary resuscitation kidney failure, chronic dietary limitations in, 269–270 etiology of, 267–268 transplantation for. See kidney transplantation

See Under and See Also Under References See under and See also under refer readers to subheadings listed under main headings: malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. See under nerve sheath tumors outcome. See also under specific topics definition of, 178, 179–180 pediatric, 202–203 These types of cross-references seem to be most common in medical or scientific books. Hans Wellisch (1995) recommends against using them at all, and I agree.

Verifying Cross-References Before you commit the index to its final form, check all your See references to be sure they refer to an actual entry with a page reference or subheadings

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(i.e., no blind references). Sometimes during the editing process you may delete main headings to which a See reference points, resulting in unintentional blind references. A similar error to watch for is See also references that refer to each other (i.e., circular references). In this case, no page reference is attached to either entry. Also check that the wording of all cross-references matches the main headings to which they refer. If you are using one of the better dedicated indexing programs, the software will assist you with cross-reference verification. For more information on locators and cross-references, see those sections of the Classified Bibliography at the end of the book.

Works Cited Chicago Manual of Style. 2010. 16th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mulvany, Nancy. 2005. Indexing Books. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Wellisch, Hans H. 1995. Indexing From A to Z. 2nd ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.

Chapter 6

Finishing Touches After you have completed making and recording entries, several tasks remain. These include alphabetizing the index, editing headings and subheadings, selecting a format or style, and committing the index to paper or computer file.

Alphabetizing the Entries Main headings are alphabetized in either letter-by-letter or word-by-word order. Letter-by-letter alphabetization ignores spaces between words and treats the entire entry as if it were one long word. Word-by-word alphabetization considers each word letter by letter, starting over after each space. The following example shows the difference between the two styles: Letter-by-Letter New Amsterdam Newark Newberry New Brunswick New England Newfoundland

Word-by-Word New Amsterdam New Brunswick New England Newark Newberry Newfoundland

Your publisher’s style guide will determine which sort order you use. If the choice is left to you, however, you should try both systems to see how they affect the index. If headings that the reader might expect to find together are being separated because of the sort order, select the system that will work best for the reader. One quirk of the letter-by-letter style is the rule that alphabetization starts over at each punctuation mark. This rule can result in the separation of similar terms as shown in this example: 51

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DNA, recombinant DNA, ribosomal DNA, single-stranded DNA recombinant proteins. See Recombinant proteins DNA repair You may wish to change the order of the alphabetic arrangement if you feel that your readers will miss information that is separated because of the punctuation rule. Your indexing software may offer alternative sorting orders (such as the Chicago Manual of Style order or the International Organization for Standardization order) for both letter-by-letter and word-by-word alphabetization. Alphabetization is far more complicated than it may seem at first glance. Some of the problems with alphabetization are mentioned briefly in this section. You can obtain further guidance from the filing rules set forth by various standards organizations and other bibliographic bodies. Guidelines for Alphabetical Arrangement of Letters and the Sorting of Numerals and Other Symbols by Hans Wellisch (1999) is available from NISO. Also refer to discussions in Nancy Mulvany’s Indexing Books (2005) and Wellisch’s Indexing From A to Z (1995). For other articles, see the Alphabetizing/ Sorting section of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book.

Initial Articles and Prefixes Initial articles in titles of literary or artistic works are usually transposed, as recommended by the ISO 999 standard: Old Man and the Sea, The Articles or prefixes in foreign languages can be difficult to handle if you are not familiar with the language. Wellisch presents an excellent discussion of prefixes in a variety of languages in Indexing From A to Z (1995, pp. 362–66). Initial articles in place names are not transposed, and the article is not disregarded. If you encounter these types of names, do your reader a favor by making a See reference from the inverted form of the name to the initial article: Hague, The. See The Hague

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Initial articles in personal names are not disregarded: El Greco Forbes, Lady Adelaide Hobhouse, John Cam La Fontaine, Jean de Prefixes (particles) in personal names in foreign languages can also be difficult to work with. If you are indexing a book with these kinds of names, refer to Wellisch (1995), the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (2005), or Noeline Bridge’s Indexing Names (2012).

Numbers and Symbols Numbers and symbols have traditionally been alphabetized as if spelled out. In some works in the social sciences and humanities, there may be very few numbers or symbols. You can probably sort them as if spelled out, but you may also place them at the beginning or end of the index in addition to the spelled-out forms. You should mention in the introductory note where the numbers and symbols can be found. In technical books and computer manuals, numbers and symbols may have considerable significance and should not be sorted as if spelled out. Sorting numbers numerically is no problem, but symbols are another matter since there is no real standard for their placement. You can leave symbols in the default ASCII order (used by computers), accept the order used by your indexing software, or devise a sort order that is satisfactory to both you and the publisher. Enid Zafran discusses these issues in her article, “When Numbers Meet Letters” (2010).

Subheadings Subheadings are alphabetized the same way as for main headings. See the section Alphabetizing Subheadings in Chapter 3 for a discussion of sorting function words in subheadings.

When to Alphabetize the Index Most indexers using dedicated indexing software work with the index in alphabetical order. If you are writing an index for a book using temporary

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page numbers, as described in Chapter 5, your indexing software makes it easy to sort the index by page number and substitute final page numbers for temporary numbers. However, before you have the final page numbers, you will be able to finish writing entries and edit the index. Another reason you may need to sort the index by page order is to check entries you made for a particular chapter or range of pages. If you discover during editing that you have inadvertently entered the wrong page number, you can isolate the entries in that page range, check them against the page proofs, and correct the page numbers. You may also wish to sort the index in page number order after the edit is complete in order to recheck your entries for each page to make sure you have not overlooked an entry you intended to make. Although it is a good idea to go back through the manuscript and check each entry against the marked pages, you may not have the time available to do so.

Editing the Index Editing the index is not something that occurs only after you have completed writing entries. Editing is an integral part of the entire indexing process. As you progress through the marked manuscript, you will find new topics that need to be integrated with existing entries. Entries that you made earlier may have been minor discussions of a topic that will need to be rephrased after you read a major discussion of the same topic. The same is true for subheadings. When you discover new material that belongs with an existing subheading, you will need to add page references to the existing entry and possibly reword the entire subheading in light of the new information. Nonetheless, you still need to read and edit the index before sending it to the editor. The following checklist details the tasks involved in editing the index: • Proofread - You can proofread entries at the same time as you are performing other editing tasks. This is second nature for some indexers, while others insist that proofreading should be a separate step. You may not have time to read through the index more than once, especially if it is a long one.

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• Spell-check - It is difficult to catch every spelling error while proofreading. Use the spell-checker in your indexing software or your word processor to help with this task. • Check main headings for consistency - Are some of the main headings in singular form and others in plural form? - Is some other inconsistency keeping headings in separate groups? Can these headings be combined or should they truly remain separate? - If the index is large, you may wish to take advantage of the summary view in Cindex or the headings utility in Macrex to look at just the main headings. • Read for sense - Have you expressed the concept in the most understandable form? - Is the phrasing concise but still understandable? • Check subheadings - All the items in this list apply to subheadings as well. See the Phrasing and Editing Subheadings section in Chapter 3 for examples of editing subheadings. • Create double-postings - Check See cross-references to determine if you should double-post the entry instead of using a cross-reference. • Check locators - If you discover that some of your locators (page references) are incorrect, check related entries for incorrect locators as well. You can do this by sorting the index into page number order (or by using the group feature of indexing software to find a certain range of pages for checking). - Ensure that you have formatted locators in the style required by the publisher. Again, your indexing software can help you enter locators accurately and format them correctly.

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• Check cross-references - Verify that See references refer to an entry that actually appears in the index (i.e., no blind references). - Check that the wording of See and See also references match the text to which they refer. - Ensure that See also references are not circular; that is, they do not refer to each other without having page references or subheadings at either location. - Good indexing programs will check these things automatically and print a list of inconsistencies for you to check. When you have completed editing the index, you are ready to save it as a file in the desired format and email it to your editor (unless he or she prefers another method of transmission).

Formats or Styles for Indexes There are two common formats for back-of-the-book indexes: indented style (or entry-per-line) and run-in (or paragraph) style. Always check with the editor before you begin an index to determine the required style. If a publisher prefers some format other than the standard ones, the editor should give you a style sheet describing the requirements.

Indented Style The indented style is most commonly used for scientific or technical books. Although it requires more space, it is easier for readers to find specific subheadings. The indented style, seen in the following example, has been used in most of the examples in this guide: colleges and universities academic freedom, 97–98, 101–102 classroom evangelicalism, 77–78 president’s role, 101–102 student’s reactions to faculty, 10 trustees’ role, 6–7

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Run-In Style The run-in style is used in most general (trade) books, biographies, the humanities, and scholarly publications. The main heading is usually followed by a colon, and subheadings are separated by semicolons. Although there are some hybrid versions of the run-in style that allow you to use sub-subheadings, they are rarely used. (See Indexing Biographies in Chapter 4 for an example of a modified run-in style index.) If you are asked to use the run-in style, you are limited to one level of subheading for the index, as shown here: colleges and universities: academic freedom, 97–98; classroom evangelicalism, 77–78; president’s role, 101–102; student’s reactions to faculty, 10; trustees’ role, 6–7

Typographical Considerations You will find almost as many different typographical conventions in indexes as there are publishers. The goal is to make the index easy to read. Whether the first word of the main entry is capitalized depends on the style guide you are following (as does whether the word is a proper noun). The existing and proposed indexing standards recommend lowercase entries. All subheadings begin with lowercase letters except for proper nouns.

Electronic Index Files and Typesetting Codes Most publishers require indexers to submit indexes in electronic form, usually by email, but possibly on some form of storage media. They also require the indexer to insert typesetting codes. As for style or format requirements, the editor will supply you with the required codes. The best indexing programs can insert these codes for you automatically.

Introduction to the Index If your index uses special conventions, symbols, or anything else that may not be clear to readers, include an introduction in a paragraph at the beginning of the index:

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Introduction Page references for charts and tables are indicated by a “t” (e.g., 151t). Photographs and illustrations are indicated by an “i” (e.g., 134i). Maps are indicated by an “m” (e.g., 28m). There are separate indexes for subject terms and authors’ names. Zafran (2012) discusses all the uses for introductory notes in her Key Words article, “Hitting the High Notes.” An introduction for a magazine index is presented in Chapter 7.

Index Preparation Methods There are several methods for getting the index entries from scribbled notes on the manuscript to the final version that you send to the publisher: making entries in dedicated indexing programs, typing or writing the entries on 3 x 5 cards, or typing the index in the word processing program of your choice.

Dedicated Indexing Software Since 1982, many specialized indexing programs have been developed by and for indexers, mostly for computers running Windows, but Cindex also makes a version that runs on Mac. Generally they follow the traditional 3 x 5 card pattern—that is, they store each index entry as a separate record—and they take care of alphabetizing, formatting, inserting typesetting codes, and printing. Reviews of these programs are available in the American Society for Indexing’s publication Software for Indexing, edited by Sandi Schroeder (2003). Sylvia Coates describes the use of these programs in her article “Software Solutions” (2009). The most popular indexing programs are Cindex, Macrex, and SKY Index. Cindex offers versions for both Windows and Mac computers. Macrex and SKY Index Professional both run on Windows computers. For additional information or demonstration versions of these programs, contact the vendors: For Cindex: Indexing Research 620 Park Ave. #183

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Rochester, NY 14607 Phone: (585) 413-1819 Email: [email protected] Website: www.indexres.com For Macrex: Wise Bytes 3056 Castro Valley Blvd. #194 Castro Valley, CA 94546 Phone: (888) 348-4292 Email: [email protected] Website: www.macrex.com For SKY Index : SKY Software 114 Lariat Court Stephens City, VA 22655 Phone: (800) 776-0137 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sky-software.com

3 x 5 Card Method The traditional 3 x 5 card method may be the most comfortable method for someone indexing a book for the first time or for an author who is writing a one-time index. A brief summary of the procedure follows. Type or print only one entry on each card. Alphabetize the cards as you proceed so that you can quickly find and compare existing entries with new entries. However, if you plan to check the cards against each page of the manuscript before you alphabetize them, keep the cards in the order that you write them or in page number order. As noted in Chapter 5, the 3 x 5 card method is not practical for using temporary page numbers. If the card method is your only option, then you should wait to write the index until the final page numbers are known or consider hiring an indexer who has experience with handling this type of problem. When you have completed indexing the entire work, edit the entries. That is, combine page numbers, decide which subheadings are pertinent

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and whether the phrasing is correct, and finally, verify cross-references, as described in Chapter 6. Although you have alphabetized the cards as you have worked, it’s a good idea to check the order of the cards before you begin typing the final version of the index. Then familiarize yourself with the required format (or style) and type the index. After typing the index, you must once again carefully proof the typed entries against the original cards. If you are indexing a magazine or a collection of records or reports that will continue into the future, you will want save an electronic version of the index, as this makes it easier to cumulate the index annually (or more often).

Word Processor Method If you prepare the index using a word processor (the most common being Microsoft Word), you basically follow the same procedure as for 3 x 5 cards, except that you don’t type the entries on cards. Each time you add a new page reference or subheading to an existing entry, use the find (or search) feature of the word processor to locate the proper entry and insert the new page number or subheading where it belongs. Word processing is not very satisfactory for long books or cumulated magazine indexes, but it works well for documents that are short and straightforward and avoids the necessity for retyping pages and checking against the cards. For more information on the topics discussed in this chapter, see the following sections of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book: • Alphabetizing/Sorting • Editing and Related Issues • Finishing the Index • Indexing Software

Works Cited Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2005. 2nd edition, 2002 Revision: 2005 Update. Chicago: American Library Association. Bridge, Noeline, ed. 2012. Indexing Names. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc. Coates, Sylvia. 2009. “Software Solutions.” The Indexer 27(4): 168–72.

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Mulvany, Nancy. 2005. Indexing Books. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Schroeder, Sandi, ed. 2003. Software for Indexing. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc. Wellisch, Hans H. 1995. Indexing From A to Z. 2nd ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Company. ———. 1999. Guidelines for Alphabetical Arrangement of Letters and Sorting of Numerals and Other Symbols. Oxon Hill, MD: NISO. Zafran, Enid. 2010. “When Numbers Meet Letters.” Key Words 18(4): 117–19. ———. 2012. “Hitting the High Notes.” Key Words 20(3): 46–48, 54.

Chapter 7

Periodicals Periodicals (also called serials) are publications that appear on a regular or irregular basis. This chapter describes magazine (journal), newsletter, and newspaper indexing.

Magazines and Journals There are two approaches to magazine and journal indexing. The more traditional method—the kind seen in indexes to large collections of magazines, such as the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature or Index Medicus—is similar to cataloging books in a library. Rather than making a detailed analysis of each article as you would for each chapter of a book, you generally assign five to seven subject headings to each article. The title of the article (or a shortened form of the title) is used as the subheading. The author’s name may or may not be included in the subheading. The locator consists of the month and year (or volume and issue), plus a page reference. Examples of subheadings and locators appear in the Locators section of this chapter. The second approach is to index periodicals the same as for books. In this style, the title of the article may be adapted to use as the subheading, or the indexer may write a more specific subheading without making any reference to the article title. The book-style indexing approach allows the index to reference topics that appear on a specific page instead of using the “shotgun” approach that simply gives the first page number or page range for the whole article, leaving the reader to search through the entire article to find the desired nugget of information. Examples of this approach can be viewed in the indexes for Key Words on the American Society for Indexing (ASI) website (www.asindexing.org) or in the index for The Indexer on the Society of Indexers (SI) website (www.indexers.org.uk). 63

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Periodical indexes may include separate author and subject indexes. An author index may consist of a simple list of names and locators, or it may contain the name of the article as a subheading to the author’s name. The larger the collection of magazines indexed, the more need for article titles. Author names may consist of the surname followed by the initial(s) or, if the publisher prefers, they may include the surname followed by the spelled-out form of the author’s given name(s). Frequently an article will have more than one author, in which case each author’s name is listed individually in the author index.

Indexing Decisions Periodical indexes require many decisions about what should be included. Magazines may have sections on restaurant reviews (or listings of favorite restaurants in a city), brief news items or gossip columns, letters to the editor, book reviews, movie and theater reviews, music reviews, and other types of information in addition to major articles. Before you start to index, you need to decide which of these types of information you are going to include in the index. As usual, you will need to consult with the publisher or editor about what types of materials should be included. You will also need to include these decisions in an introduction to the index. The introduction to the 5-year cumulated index for Third Coast magazine (created as a class project by indexing students at the University of Texas at Austin) is reproduced here as an example. You may not need such a detailed introduction for your index. Introduction This is a five year cumulative index to Third Coast, from its beginning in August, 1981 through July, 1986. The index consists of two parts: an author index and a subject index. Subject Index: The terminology of the subject index is as specific as possible and is based on the authors’ wording as much as possible. See references lead readers from terms that are not used in the index to the appropriate term. See also references lead readers to groups of terms that are related to each other.

Periodicals

Because Third Coast provides a large number of articles on art, music, and various types of reviews, there are some special considerations to be aware of. Art terms: General articles about art are listed under the heading Art. Articles about specific types of art are listed under the specific type, such as Painting, Sculpture, etc. There is also a separate heading for Artists, as well as listings for each type of artist, such as Painters, Sculptors, Women—Artists, etc. Music terms: Much like the terms for art, general articles about music appear under the term Music. There are also headings for Musicians and Music Groups, as well as listings under the names of individual music groups, musicians, and types of music. Reviews: Book reviews, movie reviews, and record reviews can be found only under those headings. There are no listings for individual books, records, or movies, unless some article that was not a review discussed a specific movie, book, or record. Alphabetization: Entries are listed alphabetically word-byword rather than letter-by-letter. For example, Air traffic is listed before Aircraft. Abbreviations and acronyms are listed as if they were words. MUDs file between Mud wrestling and Muehlen. Numbers are listed as if they were spelled out. Abbreviations and Acronyms: Abbreviations and acronyms usually appear in the index with a See reference to the spelledout form of the name, that is, NSA. See National Security Agency. The exception to this rule is if the acronym is better known than the spelled out form, such as AIDS rather than Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Excluded Materials: Sections of the magazine not included in the index are gossip columns, advertisements, and the following specific columns: Architest Letters to the Editor Listings On the Aisle Short Takes Wrestling in Review

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Photographs and illustrations are not specifically indexed. That is, no special typography was used to designate photographs or illustrations. They can be located, however, by looking under the subject term or name you are interested in.

Locators In periodical indexes, you need to include the date of the issue as well as the page number, since each monthly or quarterly issue of a magazine may begin with page one. The reader needs to know which issue to consult, as well as the first page number or page range, as shown in the example here: Day care facilities Computers can’t play by themselves, Feb. 1984, 44 The dark side of the moon, Nov. 1984, 74–97 Kindergardens, Oct. 1983, 100–103 Some publishers don’t require the year as part of the locator, only the month and the page range (or perhaps just the first page number for the article). Some journals may require the volume number and the page number instead of the month. Note in the following example that the author’s name (just the lead author) is included as part of the subheading: Ankle ankle and hindfoot fusions: comparison of outcomes (Jones et al.), 25: 46 If you are creating an index for a collection of magazines, the entry should include the name of the magazine, as well as the title of the article and possibly the author’s name. Sometimes magazine indexes include the volume and issue number as well: Money International aspects Cooper, Richard N. A monetary system for the future. Foreign Affairs 63: 166–184 Fall ’84

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Subject Authority Lists and Thesauri Choosing subject entries for periodicals is different from choosing subject headings for books. Book indexes are usually prepared by one indexer who generally follows the author’s terminology. If a new edition of the book is released, the new index, although it may be based on the old index, is unique for that book. When you are preparing an annual or cumulated index for a magazine (or a collection of magazines) or for a collection of in-house reports that will continue to grow, choosing subject headings with consistency becomes more difficult for several reasons: • There may be more than one indexer working on the project. • The periodical articles or reports are multi-authored, so there is less consistency of terminology. • The terminology changes over time. A subject authority list (or subject heading list) can help you and fellow indexers maintain consistency throughout the index. An authority list contains subject terms for a particular area or discipline, such as education, medicine, or library and information science. Or a subject authority list may be general and all-encompassing, such as the Sears List of Subject Headings or the Library of Congress Subject Headings used by many libraries. Subject heading lists also indicate synonyms that are not to be used as headings. In addition, See and See also references indicate relations between terms. Sometimes they also include approved subheadings. A thesaurus is a similar tool that is usually compiled by experts in a subject field and is more highly structured than a subject heading list. Some thesauri and subject authority lists commonly found in libraries include the following: • Engineering Index Thesaurus • Library of Congress Subject Headings • Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) (National Library of Medicine) • PAIS International Subject Headings (Public Affairs Information Service) • Sears List of Subject Headings (H.W. Wilson Company) • Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors (Educational Resources Information Center)

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• Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms (American Psychological Association) In addition to thesauri, you can refer to periodical indexes published by some of the indexing and abstracting services, such as the H.W. Wilson Company (Education Index, Social Sciences Index, General Science Index), as guides for assigning subject headings. If you are involved in setting up procedures for indexing magazines, a collection of reports, or other similar files, you need to decide whether you want to develop your own subject authority list or whether a thesaurus or list already exists that you can use for your own indexing. It is much easier to use or modify an existing thesaurus if possible. Developing and maintaining your own thesaurus is a time-consuming and expensive process— one that is rarely needed for most book or magazine indexes. If you feel you must develop your own thesaurus, refer to the works listed in the Taxonomies/Thesauri section of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book. In recent years, controlled vocabularies and thesauri have metamorphosed into taxonomies. Indexers involved in web indexing may also become taxonomists and develop taxonomies for structuring websites. See the Taxonomies section in Chapter 8 for more information.

Newsletters Indexes for newsletters are similar to magazine indexes. You may use the titles of articles as subheadings or a shorter or reworded version of the title. See the guidelines in the Magazines and Journals section at the start of this chapter for the phrasing of subheadings. As for magazine indexing, you will need to make decisions about what to include. Most likely, you will want to index everything published in newsletters except the advertisements. Locators will be the same as for magazines, indicating the month, year, and page(s), or the volume, issue, and page(s), or some variation of these elements. Newsletters may require a separate author index, unless the newsletter is written entirely by the staff of an organization and no credit is given for individual articles. Some publishers include the author entries in the subject index.

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Newspapers The procedure for indexing newspapers is similar to that for magazines. You have to decide whether to use a thesaurus or to establish your own controlled vocabulary. In addition, you may also need to establish a name authority file since you will be dealing with a large number of names, depending on how many newspapers you are including in the index and how many years you are covering.

Indexing Decisions As with magazines, you need to decide at the start what classes of information you will include. Lesley McGee Sandlin, June Schlessinger, and Bernard Schlessinger (1985) considered the following categories when making decisions for indexing the Texarkana Gazette: Accidents Advertisements Awards Births Book reviews Buildings Business and industry Churches Clubs and organizations Columns Crime Editorials Fillers

Government bodies Holidays and festivals Legal proceedings Letters to the editor Library activities Marriages Minority groups Obituaries Photographs and clippings Politics Schools Sports Town agencies

In magazine indexes, you generally use the title of the article (or some form of the title) as the best means of specifically identifying an article. Newspaper headlines do not always convey the true sense of the article, so you will most likely need to phrase the subheading yourself.

Locators The other major difference between magazine and newspaper indexes is the locator. You will need to devise a method that shows the month, day and year, section, column (optional), and page. You may also want to

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include some designation for photographs, charts, and other graphics. For example, you could include a type indicator after the date, section, and page references to show what type of graphic is displayed. In the following example, “P” represents photo. For the reader’s ease of use, you should explain in the introduction to the index what the abbreviations above the column represent.

Drug Abuse emergency rooms overloaded with cases mayor presents Service Award to teens treatment program established

Date

S P Typ

6/12/93 8/15/93 9/10/93

B 2 A 1 P B 6

As for any other index, you may find it helpful to look at other newspaper indexes before starting your own. Also, the articles listed at the end of this chapter contain many helpful suggestions and examples.

The San Antonio Register Index In 1999, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) obtained a Texas Treasures Grant to index the first 10 years of the San Antonio Register (SAR), the longest-running African American community newspaper in San Antonio, which began publication in 1931. They contacted the ASI’s office for indexers in Texas, and the request was forwarded to me. I asked Ellen Hanks, a San Antonio medical librarian and indexer, to work with me on this project (Fetters and Hanks 2002). UTSA asked for a sample index and sent several issues from the 1990s. As it turned out, they bore no resemblance to the 1931–1941 issues we were to index. Before writing the sample index, I went to the Corpus Christi public library to examine newspaper indexes, including the Corpus-Christi Caller Times and the New York Times Index. I also downloaded Barbara Semonche’s chapter on newspaper indexing from the book News Media Libraries: A Management Handbook (1993). This article not only provided the rationale for making indexing decisions but was also useful in showing our contacts at UTSA what goes into a newspaper index. Unfortunately, the article is no longer available for free on the internet. However, the book is available on Amazon.com and other booksellers’ websites. Keep in mind that it is expensive, so you may also want to check your local library for a copy.

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Finally, in October 1999, we met with our UTSA contacts. We looked at some microfilm samples and some of the old printed newspaper issues, and we tentatively agreed on what should go into the index. We decided that Ellen would work in a room at UTSA provided with a microfilm reader, the old printed issues, and a laptop computer. I would work in my office in Corpus Christi using a portable microfilm reader to be provided by UTSA.

Indexing Decisions and Policies As one might expect, vocabulary control was the most difficult aspect of this project. Although it was helpful to look at other newspaper indexes, our strategy was to base the index on its own terminology and not to try to make it fit someone else’s thesaurus. As time went on, it was helpful to return to index and vocabulary sources such as the New York Times Index and Library of Congress Subject Headings. We used these sources to provide examples of subject terminology about which we were vacillating, such as headings related to World War II and associated battlefronts, entertainment (actors and actresses, movies), and sports terms. Because language changes with time, some of the terminology required cross-references from more modern terminology to that used during the 1930s.

What to Index In any large, ongoing project, indexers must decide what topics should be covered. Detailed explanations for most of our indexing decisions are included in the introduction to the web-based index (lib.utsa.edu/Data bases/Sar). We chose to omit the following subjects: • Advertising • Community news (news from other cities in South Texas) • Fictional accounts (animal stories for children) • Household advice columns • Legal advice columns • Medical advice columns We decided to go with selective coverage of the following topics: • Gossip columns (“Social Notes”)

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• Movie/play reviews • Musical performance/reviews • National and international news • Texas news • Sports The rationale for our choice of selective coverage follows. There were a series of gossip columns, including three long-running columns: “Alamo City Briefs,” “Sharps and Flats,” and “Jo’s Jottings.” The latter was devoted to the social scene and was written for many years by Josephine Ballinger, the publisher’s wife. We put the titles of the gossip columns under the heading “Social Notes” (shown in the example that follows) and grouped them by year. Occasionally, these columns revealed engagements, weddings, births, and deaths, which we added to the index. Otherwise, we ignored the content. SOCIAL NOTES Alamo City Briefs for 1935, 1935/11/08: 9; 1935/11/15: 7; 1935/12/06: 7; 1935/12/13: 7; 1935/12/27: 7 Drippings from the Pen of Samuel T. McKibben, 1939/01/27: 5; 1939/03/03: 7; 1939/03/10: 7; 1939/03/24: 7; 1939/03/31: 7; 1939/04/07: 7; 1939/04/14: 7; 1939/04/21: 7; 1939/04/28: 7; 1939/05/05: 7; 1939/05/12: 7; 1939/05/19: 7; 1939/06/02: 7 “Hank’s Wonderings,” 1933/10/27: 2; 1933/11/03: 7; 1933/11/10: 7 Jo’s Jottings for 1933, 1933/12/08: 6; 1933/12/15: 6; 1933/12/22: 6; 1933/12/29: 6 Jo’s Jottings for 1934, 1934/01/05: 6; 1934/01/12: 6; 1934/01/19: 6; 1934/01/26: 6; 1934/02/02: 6; 1934/02/09: 6; 1934/02/16: 6; 1934/02/23: 6; 1934/03/02: 6 … We only included national and international news if it impacted the San Antonio African American community. We included stories about the president of the U.S., war news affecting local citizens, civil rights, voting rights, jobs and joblessness during the Great Depression, and more. Texas news was included if it affected African Americans. News of other cities was included if there was a special article about a particular city, or if the story was of national interest, such as the construction of public housing. We did not include city news from the Community News section. Lastly, we decided full coverage was necessary for the following topics:

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• Anniversaries • Births • Church news • Deaths • Local news • Social clubs • Weddings Each of these categories is discussed further in the Classification of Entries section later in this chapter.

Names As expected, names gave us the most difficulty. We knew that we would include names of individuals when they appeared in major articles. It didn’t take long to become familiar with community leaders—pastors, doctors, teachers, business leaders, civic leaders, and other prominent citizens. It was the hundreds of other names related to the gossip columns, births, anniversaries, and accidents that challenged us to find the proper place for them. We faced the same problem with business names, church names, social club names, sports teams, and other types of corporate names. We finally decided on a system of classified and semiclassified entries, plus an extensive system of cross-references to get people from classes of subjects to specific subjects and names and vice versa. This system is explained in the following section.

Classification of Entries When we first started out, we classified several categories of entries for several reasons. First, we didn’t know how large some of the categories were going to grow, so we lumped them together for convenience and gradually grouped them into subcategories. We also assumed that users would not know what names to look for. We did not make entries for individual names that appeared under these categories, nor did we make cross-references from individual names to their proper location. Much later, we decided to declassify some of those categories, but we also made extensive cross-references to lead users from the broader categories to

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specific name entries—something we wouldn’t ordinarily do for a book or journal index. For example, we started out putting all church names under the heading Churches. It didn’t take long to realize that the Churches heading was going to go on for pages and pages. So we broke out the church names to individual entries. We were still worried, however, that users would not know the names of all the churches, so we made an extensive list of See also references to each church name as shown in this abbreviated example: CHURCHES See also African Methodist Episcopal Church See also Antioch Baptist Church See also Bethel AME Church See also Butler Chapel AME Church See also Church of God See also Church of God in Christ See also Corinth Baptist Church For some types of information, though, we decided that both classified and semiclassified entries would serve the reader best. The classified entries we used were: • Anniversaries/weddings and engagements • Births • Burglaries, robberies, and thefts • Business and businesses Names of people celebrating anniversaries appear only under the Anniversaries heading unless there was also a separate article describing the celebration in detail. The same is true for weddings: WEDDINGS AND ENGAGEMENTS See also Anniversaries Abram/Steen Dorothy Mae Abram and Willie A.Z. Steen, Jr., engagement announced (Alamo City Briefs), 1939/11/03: 7 Adamson/Bibbs Grace Adamson and Elmo Bibbs wed in California, 1932/07/08: 6; 1932/07/15: 6

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Barksdale/Wesley Dorothy Barksdale and James Wesley repeat “I Do,” 1935/05/17: 6 Dorothy Barksdale and James Wesley unite in matrimony (Personal Activities), 1935/05/17: 7 Births appear only under that heading: BIRTHS See also Infants Adams, Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie, girl, 1942/02/13: 7 Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar, girl Events, 1942/01/23: 7 Jo’s Jottings, 1942/01/16: 6 Dunn, Mr. and Mrs. Charles, girl Alamo City Briefs, 1940/05/31: 6 Jo’s Jottings, 1940/05/31: 6; 1941/07/25: 6 Erebb, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sullivan boy, 1931/10/02: 6 girl, 1931/10/02: 6 We probably went overboard with burglaries, robberies, and thefts. You can’t imagine how many chicken thieves worked during the Depression. Since column space was given to these topics, we decided to include them. No main entries were made for victims or perpetrators unless there was a major article or unless we noticed that the perpetrator’s name started to appear over and over again. In that case, we would search for the name and give him or her a place in history. One aspect that made indexing this category difficult was the fact that many of these stories were only one or two sentences or a paragraph long but frequently were included on the front page, probably as filler. In addition, sometimes no headlines were provided. We had to be sure we included all of these stories, which necessitated scanning the page several times. As for business and businesses, we originally had all business names under this heading. Gradually, we were able to categorize them into subheadings by type of business. As the list grew longer and longer, we decided to break them out into main headings for each type of business. We made extensive cross-references, however, from the Business heading to each type of business. We also made cross-references from names of

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well-known businesses or names that appeared frequently to the business category where they could be found. The SAR provided support to new black businesses by frequently running articles about grand openings as well as new and added embellishments to services provided by these businesses. People who were given awards, rose to supervisory positions, or acquired licensure of some sort also were usually featured in an article. Here are some cross-references we used: BUSINESS AND BUSINESSES See also Chambers of Commerce See also Colored Merchants Association See also Employment and Unemployment See also National Negro Business League See also National Recovery Act/Administration See also San Antonio Negro Chamber of Commerce See also specific type of business Automotive Businesses Banks Barber Shops Beauty Salons and Schools Beer Industry Clothing Stores Coffee Companies Department Stores Fabric Stores Florists Funeral Homes The semiclassified entries we used were: • Accidents and Injuries • Assaults • Deaths • Movies/Theater and Theaters • Music and Musicians • Restaurants and Clubs Major accidents were covered in front-page stories, so we made entries both under Accidents and Injuries, as well as the names of the persons

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involved. Frequently, however, news of accidents was peppered throughout the issue in little blurbs. These minor reports were covered only under the Accidents and Injuries heading. Assaults were handled like accidents and injuries, with some exceptions. Names of victims and perpetrators received their own headings only with major articles. In the editing process, however, we started to notice that some of the perpetrators appeared under Burglaries, Assaults, and Crime and Criminals. We decided to pull together main entries for these perpetrators. Deaths were listed under this heading and under each individual’s name. We did not make separate entries for names of movies or plays. We classified them under either Movies or Theater and Theaters. We made a separate heading for Actors and Actresses and also made main entries for individual actors if there were more than three entries. Names of theaters were included under Theater and Theaters with cross-references from specific names to this heading. Although we listed particular restaurants and clubs that were mentioned in news stories only under the Restaurants and Clubs heading, we made cross-references from individual club and restaurant names to the main heading where they could be found.

Extensive Cross-References Extensive cross-references were made for the following topics: • Churches (and Pastors) • Colleges and Universities • Social Clubs • Sports Churches were enormously important so we included every mention of them. We started out listing each church under the Churches heading, but the entry became too large, and we broke them out into individual entries for each church. To solve the problem of users not knowing the names of all possible churches, we made a cross-reference for each church (as shown in the Classification of Entries section in this chapter). Only general news about churches remained under the original Churches heading. We also made a general entry for Religion. For colleges and universities, we started out with just this heading but later moved them to individual entries with a cross-reference from under

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the Colleges and Universities heading to each school. We handled elementary and secondary schools the same way. Since African Americans were excluded from white society, they formed their own society within a society. Social clubs proliferated. We handled them just like churches, colleges, etc.: SOCIAL CLUBS See also Acme Social Club See also Alamo CDC Social Club See also Alamo Royal Links See also Alamo Social Club See also American Beauty Club See also American Culture Club See also Army Circle Club See also Army-Civilian Club See also Army Post Club See also Avalon Social Club See also Bachelor La-Maids Club What a nightmare sports were! We originally ignored all nonlocal sports, except the Olympics and boxing. As with most of the larger groups of entries, we started by placing all sports entries in one place. The first ones we split off were college and school sports. We put those entries only under the names of the school or college. Otherwise we grouped all team names under the specific sport heading (e.g., Baseball, Football) and made crossreferences from specific team names to the individual sport heading.

Race-Related Issues We used Negroes as a main entry because this was how SAR referred to African Americans at the time. The term Race was used as a substitute term for Negroes. For example, a headline might say “Race girl chosen queen of NYU senior prom.” The term Colored was used in the same way: “Colored legionnaires join in Chicago meet.” Negroes as a main entry was used only for very general topics. Other headings such as Civil Rights, Negro History, Race Relations, and Racial Prejudice are available. We also made headings for specific rights (e.g., Jury Service, Voting Rights). If the project hadn’t been discontinued at the end of 2010 when we were indexing the early 1970 issues, we had planned to

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add See also references to Blacks and African Americans as these terms began to be used.

How We Worked Indexing from microfilm was something we had to adjust to, dealing with issues such as moving equipment into the best location to avoid neck strain and so on. I found that placing a laptop computer directly at the foot of the microfilm reader worked best, so that I could read from the screen and type the entry at the same time. Another difficulty was not being able to mark the text. Many articles contained multiple names, requiring multiple scans to avoid omissions. Merging our index files was another issue. Ellen emailed her Cindex.arc files to me, and I edited the files to conform with the master file as much as possible before merging. We used the Cindex label feature to differentiate Ellen’s entries. Once the files were merged, I would search for the labeled records to ensure a good fit with the master index. After each edit, I would send the master file to Ellen for reference. Eventually, Ellen wrote her entries directly in the latest master index file and then extracted her entries at the end of each month to send to me to merge with the master file.

Style Issues Very few articles had bylines, so we omitted them from the entries. We paraphrased headlines for entries when possible. Otherwise, we wrote them just as for any other index. For locators, we decided to use the date: page format. A nasty problem appeared immediately with the microfilm. Because of the physical layout of the paper, page 8 of all the issues appeared next to page 1 of the next week’s issue. For example, page 8 of the April 22, 1932, issue appeared next to page 1 of the April 29 issue. We noted this anomaly by giving the date where it should have appeared, followed by the date where it actually appeared in parentheses: BETHEL AME CHURCH AME parsonage pillaged by thief, 1932/10/28: 8 (filmed in 11/04 issue) Bethel Presiding Club meets, 1931/12/25: 6

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Book of Redemption program to be held, 1933/12/15: 1; 1933/12/15: 8 (filmed in 12/22 issue); 1933/12/22: 8 (filmed in 12/29 issue) Both See and See also cross-references were placed as the first subheading, following the style of other newspaper indexes. It also happened to be the way the HTMLPrep program needed to have them in order to create cross-reference links in the web version of the index. It was also easier to read because it creates a list of cross-references instead of a long string.

Editing and the Final Product Our contract called for a monthly printout of the index for review by library representatives. We supplied UTSA with a Word file for the first few months, but as the index got closer to its final form (and a lot larger), we no longer sent monthly updates but provided an HTML version of the index for posting on the library’s website once a year. When we started editing, we discovered that many of the same personal names appeared under Assaults, Burglaries, Robberies, and Thefts, and Crime and Criminals. We had to decide whether these people deserved their own main entry or if we needed to make cross-references from their names to Crime and Criminals. We had to search for each criminal’s name and gather entries together in one or more places. It was during this time as well that Ellen decided we absolutely had to add all the boxing entries that we had previously ignored. Because of the major editing work, we were relatively confident that the index structure was sound enough to accept thousands of new entries without any major changes. That was true until another major edit in 2005 when we examined all the major main headings. Since then, we have been satisfied with those changes and have found that most entries now fit under the existing headings. After we completed the first phase of the index in July 2000, we provided one camera-ready copy of the index and a web file created with HTMLPrep. The index can be viewed at lib.utsa.edu/Databases/Sar. Since that time, we received additional funding for all but 3 years. We completed issues from the beginning in 1931 through June of 1970, for a total of 192,785 entries. The project was discontinued at the end of 2010.

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For additional information, see the following sections of the Classified Bibliography: • Magazines and Journals • Newspapers • Taxonomies/Thesauri

Works Cited Fetters, Linda, and Ellen Hanks. 2002. “The San Antonio Register Index.” (Excerpt of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Indexers, Galveston, Texas.) Sandlin, Lesley McGee, June H. Schlessinger, and Bernard S. Schlessinger. 1985. “Indexing Smaller-Circulation Daily Newspapers.” The Indexer 14(3): 184–89. Semonche, Barbara P. 1993. “Newspaper Indexing Policies and Procedures.” In News Media Libraries: A Management Handbook, edited by Barbara P. Semonche. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Chapter 8

Electronic Documents Electronic documents are any type of computer-created files that can be displayed on a computer screen, a handheld device, or the web. In the book publishing industry, all documents are produced on computers, no matter how the original authors created them. Since the turn of the century, indexers are increasingly receiving page proofs as electronic files and providing indexes in electronic form via email or FTP. In this chapter, you will get an overview of the techniques for working with or indexing the following types of electronic documents: • PDF (portable document format) files • Documents in which the indexer will embed index entries • Cambridge University Press books (coded in XML) • XML documents • Ebooks • Online help files • Websites An overview of taxonomies is included as well since they are frequently used for structure and search in websites.

Indexing PDF Files In the past, indexers worked almost exclusively with printed page proofs. Now it is common for indexers to receive PDF files. You still have the option of printing these files yourself, but most indexers avoid that expense and view the PDF document on the screen. It’s possible to work with two monitors (screens), one for the PDF and the other for your indexing program. However, if you have a large enough monitor, you can open the PDF in one 83

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window and open your indexing program in a second window. This makes it easy to copy text from the PDF directly into your indexing program. An advantage of indexing PDFs is the ability to search the PDF for names, words, and phrases. For a good summary of working with PDFs, read Enid Zafran’s “Making the Most of PDFs” (2011).

Embedded Indexing It is becoming more common for all types of publishers to ask the indexer to insert index entries directly into computer files. In the past, publishers that used this technique were mostly technology companies producing their own manuals for the software or hardware they manufactured. Now we are seeing many trade publishers and textbook publishers asking for embedded indexing. They may contract with freelance indexers for this work, or they may expect the author or another writer to do the job. In embedded indexing, the indexer inserts each index entry into the file using the indexing module provided in the program that was used to produce the book. The index entries are tagged so that the program can gather them from each chapter, alphabetize them, and format them according to the rules coded into the indexing module. Once you have saved the index entry, it is normally hidden from view, but it can be found and edited when necessary. Software that includes indexing modules are either desktop publishing programs such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker, or Quark, or word processing programs such as Microsoft Word. Modules for indexing also exist in online help software such as MadCap Flare, Adobe RoboHelp, Doc-To-Help, and Author-it, and within many content management systems. These indexing modules are nothing like dedicated indexing programs such as Cindex, Macrex, or SKY Index. Here are some advantages of embedded indexing: • Publishers can send files for indexing as chapters are finished or even before they are finished. More text can be added or deleted after indexing, and changes to the layout can be made. • Books and their indexes can be updated if the content changes are not extensive.

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• Content can be published in different forms, such as hyperlinked PDF, paper, help systems for software, apps, or webpages, without re-indexing. • Content can be translated, and the index can be translated. When regenerated, the index will work with the newly translated edition. • Active links in the index can be created when a book is output to PDF if the program supports hyperlinks (FrameMaker, InDesign). Links can be activated in a Word-generated index by using Sonar Activate. However, there are some disadvantages of embedded indexing, including: • The indexer must use the same software that the publisher used to create the documents. These programs, such as InDesign, FrameMaker, and Quark, are very expensive. (Note: Adobe makes free 30-day versions of FrameMaker and InDesign so that you can try them.) The indexing modules in these programs are primitive compared to dedicated indexing software. The indexer may choose to buy third-party add-on software that makes indexing somewhat easier. • No one else can edit the file that is currently being indexed. The project manager must ensure that work on those files is halted until the indexer returns the files with embedded entries. • Index entries may be unintentionally deleted by someone editing the files. • Consistency of main entries is difficult to achieve because the indexer may not be able to see how the index is developing as she works, depending on the program. When working with InDesign, you can see how the index is progressing in the Index palette, and with FrameMaker, you can use EmDex to see the alphabetical view. • There is little or no control over sorting. The programs that do provide sort controls are tedious to use. • There are no time-saving features such as the ones available in dedicated indexing software.

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Microsoft Word If you are working with Microsoft Word documents, you can index the content in your usual dedicated indexing program (Cindex, Macrex, or SKY Index). Once you have edited the index, you can sort it in page number order and then embed it in the files. Both Cindex and SKY Index allow you to drag and drop entries into Word, where they are then converted to XE fields. Alternatively, you may use one of several embedded Word indexing utilities. DEXter (www.editorium.com/dexter.htm) and IndexAssistant (www.jambient.com/indexassistant) replace Word’s indexing module. DEXembed (www.editorium.com/dexembed.htm) and WordEmbed (www.jalamb.com/wordembed.html) both embed index entries that you first create in your regular dedicated indexing program. These programs and the techniques for using them are described in Lucie Haskins’s “Digging In for the Long Haul: How to Get a Handle on the Embedded Word Indexing Utilities Out There” (2005).

Adobe FrameMaker If you are indexing in FrameMaker, there is currently one utility to compensate for the built-in indexing module: IXgen (www.fsatools.com). For many years, another utility, emDEX, was also available, but it has recently been removed from the market. Both these utilities are described in detail in Haskins’s article “Embedded Indexing: Learning the Smart Way to Index in Adobe FrameMaker and Microsoft Word” (2010). Haskins provides additional information about indexing in FrameMaker, the IXgen utility, and about indexing in general on her website (www.luciehaskins.com/resources.shtml). If you are not currently indexing with FrameMaker but are interested in trying it out, you can download a free 30-day version of the program from Adobe (www.adobe.com).

Adobe InDesign Although there are no articles about indexing with Adobe InDesign in Key Words or The Indexer, you can get an idea of what the process is like by reading the tutorial at AdobePress (www.adobepress.com/articles/article. asp?p=1332860&seqNum=8) and the Adobe help article (help.adobe.com/

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en_US/indesign/cs/using/WS8721440D-5F68-4fd6-8115-CA3BED ACF001a.html).

Recommendations To remain competent in the embedded indexing field, consider the following recommendations from Jan Wright (2012c): • You will have to keep up-to-date with developments in the field and must be willing to quickly purchase and learn new software as required. • You may need to keep multiple versions of the software, as each publisher may not buy the newest version when it first comes out. • You need to be willing to learn software with steep learning curves. • You will have to understand the outputs that publishers need and how you can create each output with working indexes: print, PDF, ebook, or HTML. Develop a set of questions for publishers before they call about their output plans. • You will need to know which outputs from the software do not have working indexes (i.e., indexes exported from InDesign to EPUB format do not work). • You will often be working in teams with editors and production artists. The production artists will be very concerned that you will be using their meticulously laid-out files, so you need to know how not to interfere with their designs or cause issues as you index. • You may need to install matching fonts to be able to view the book correctly. • You will need a file version management system so that you are not accidentally working on the same file as another person. See the Embedded Indexing sections of the Classified Bibliography at the end of this book for articles on embedded indexing in general and for the indexing utilities that can make your work easier.

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Cambridge University Press Indexing In the early 2000s, Cambridge University Press (CUP) decided to encode its books in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) so that in addition to printing its books in the usual way, it could also reformat them as other types of electronic documents. Therefore, the indexes for these books must be embedded in the XML files (by CUP employees, not the indexer). CUP provides the author (many authors also index their own books) or professional indexer with either a manuscript of the book without final page breaks, an Adobe PDF file of the book, or a Microsoft Word file. If you choose to use the PDF file, you must have the full version of Adobe Acrobat in order to insert the information required by CUP. The CUP editor will also provide you with an indexing style sheet and guidelines, plus the instructions for inserting the necessary codes that CUP typesetters will use to embed the index entries in the XML file. Instructions for authors are available from CUP AuthorNet (authornet.cambridge.org/ information/productionguide/hss/indexing.asp#indexing_process) in two PDF files. The first file is “XML Indexing Version 2,” and the second file, “XML tsv Version 2,” is a sample manuscript marked up with index entries. Professional indexers index the book using dedicated indexing software, but instead of page numbers, they insert a unique number to mark the indexable text. Some indexers use a system based on the page and number lines provided in the file; others choose one that represents the chapter plus a paragraph number. For example, 01:15 would represent Chapter 1, paragraph 15. Numbers do not need to be assigned to each paragraph, just those paragraphs that will contain an index entry. One indexer (Wyatt 2003) suggests incrementing the paragraph numbers by 10 in case you need to add another entry in between the numbers that have already been assigned. The indexer can mark either specific points or may indicate ranges by appending an initial B and a concluding F to the number assigned to the chunk of text. If you work with the printed manuscript and you mark the text where you plan to make an index entry, you can highlight that text and write your chapter:paragraph number (which, for convenience, we’ll call the locator) at that time. Then, when you write your entries in your indexing software, you will already have the locator to insert in the page field of your software. If you do not mark the paper copy or file beforehand, you can make up the locator as you input the index entries. When you have finished data entry and have edited the final index, you can print it in locator

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order and then insert the index entries and locator in the file or on the paper manuscript. If you are working with a Microsoft Word file of the book, you can use James Lamb’s WordEmbed utility to insert the special format tags with a single keystroke. WordEmbed assigns a number to the text for you, so you don’t have to make one up. It then places the locator number on the clipboard for pasting into your indexing software. He describes his own procedure for embedding unique numbers in Word at www.jalamb.com/ cup.html.

Recommendations Some helpful tips for indexing CUP XML files include: • You will need to keep up-to-date with developments in the field of CUP embedding and will have to be willing to quickly purchase and learn new software as required. • You will need to be willing to learn software that interacts with your indexing software and test it until you are comfortable that you can predict how it will work. • You will need to be comfortable with Adobe Acrobat (Wright 2012c). For more information on CUP indexing, see the Cambridge University Press (CUP) Indexing section of the Classified Bibliography. You may also wish to join the CUP XML discussion group on Yahoo! (finance.groups. yahoo.com/group/CUP-XML).

XML Indexing As exemplified by CUP in the previous section, “Publishing is in the middle of a period of dramatic change … Many publishers are trying to achieve publishing efficiency through what is known as ‘XML first’ publishing” (Gibson 2012, 44). XML, like the well-known HTML, is a simplified version of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). It is used to structure plain text documents with tags that define elements such as the beginning and end of chapters, paragraphs, various kinds of lists, and so on.

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Coding Index Entries Index entries are embedded directly in the XML file using elements (tags) to define the index entry. The first three examples that follow show coded entries that have been formatted for easier viewing. The fourth example shows an entry the way it appears in the XML document. For a main entry:

arthritis

For an entry with a subheading:

arthritis therapy

For an entry with a sub-subheading:

arthritis therapy nonprescription drugs

Example of actual entry in the XML file: arthritis

There are additional elements for See and See also references, start of range and end of range, and so on. For more examples of these codes, see Michele Combs’s article, “XML Indexing” (2012).

Embedding Index Entries It is possible to edit XML files and embed index entries using a plain text editor (but not a word processor like Microsoft Word, which inserts formatting

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codes of its own that invalidates the XML file). You may also use specialized XML authoring software such as or page layout software like FrameMaker or InDesign. This approach is similar to embedding index entries described in Embedded Indexing earlier in this chapter and involves similar difficulties. Another approach is to write the index using your preferred indexing software. These programs can insert XML tags, but they may not be what you need. However, you can use the tagged output from these programs and then use the Find and Replace option in a text editor to add and adjust elements as needed. Once the coding is correct, you can cut and paste the index entries to the proper location in the XML file. There is much to learn about XML and Document Type Definitions (DTDs) before you can advertise yourself as an experienced XML indexer. For a more complete explanation of XML and indexing in XML documents, again see Combs’s article, “XML Indexing” (2012).

Recommendations Here are some tips on becoming proficient in XML indexing: • If you are indexing in raw XML, you will have to mimic the file and folder structure of the publisher, so that the XML calls to critical files follow the paths specified by the publisher. • You will have to understand and use the precise indexing codes the publisher has established. • These element names can vary with the DTD that the publisher is using. • You will need to use an XML editor like or set up FrameMaker or InDesign to handle XML files. • Knowledge of DocBook and other XML standards for books and indexing will be of enormous help (Wright 2012c). For more information, see the XML Indexing section of the Classified Bibliography.

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Ebook Indexing Ebook indexing is in a state of flux at this time. The problems are related to the ereader technology, the ebook industry’s lack of interest in providing indexes due to its belief that a search engine makes indexes unnecessary, and the perception that the index is a luxury item that adds cost to production. .

Ereader Issues Each ereader has its own technology for displaying a page. Obviously, ereader devices do not display the same size page as in printed books; rather, they are scaled down to match the size of the screen. Not only that, but the reader may choose a larger or smaller font, which also affects the amount of text displayed. Each ereader, when displaying a link to a page from a table of contents or an index, displays the anchor point on the screen at different locations. For instance, a Kindle will display the linked page with the anchor at the top left corner. Other devices display the link in the middle of the screen. Since page sizes vary according to the factors noted, the reader might have to scroll through several screens to find the actual location to which the index entry refers. Most ebooks that have indexes link the entry’s locator to the top of what was the printed page, not to the actual paragraph or word. As a result, the reader may have to scroll for a while to find the information, as it could be several screens down. Page layout programs such as InDesign do not currently output the index codings when they export a book to the EPUB format. This means that carefully embedding entries in InDesign does not result in an active index in an ebook. Hopefully, Adobe will take note of this issue soon and resolve it, so that an ebook index works like the index in a linked PDF file (Wright 2012b).

Getting the Index Into the Ebook In spite of these difficulties, some indexers are writing ebook indexes, but at this time, there is no practical method to embed the index markers into the ebook file. For example, Nancy Humphreys (2012) sends her indexes to Joshua Tallent at eBook Architects (www.ebookarchitects.com). This company offers assistance in ebook conversions, formatting advice, customized ebook process development, and other ebook-related needs, including integrating indexes in the ebook file. At this time, eBook

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Architects links index locators at the top of the page, as it was in the print edition.

Ebook Authoring Software New software for creating ebooks is appearing nearly daily, and each one changes the horizons for indexing. Apple has introduced iBooks Author, which combines the index with the glossary function. This limits the usefulness of the index, as it displays very few locations, no analysis, and uses the title of the chapter or heading as the locator (Wright 2012b). Inkling Habitat is another new package for creating ebooks for reading on Apple devices. Habitat relies mainly on search but is built on XML and has unique IDs for each piece of content. It is possible that indexes can be included in these books. Habitat is for larger workgroups than iBooks Author and allows collaboration and version tracking (Wright 2012b). Amazon released an index-like feature called X-Ray on its Kindle Touch models. The feature displays information for names, people, places, and subjects, pulled from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. The quality of the X-Ray feature seems to vary by the age of the book. In her article in The Indexer, Wright (2012a) found that in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, there were meaningful term entries, and X-Ray even showed search results from the index. However, for the book that was the focus of her article, The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, about the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition during the World’s Fair in Chicago, the coverage of names was incomplete and only partial names appeared, among other discrepancies. The subject indexing in X-Ray is very weak, so it could pose an opportunity for indexers to help make it a richer experience. At the time of this writing, some Adobe InDesign scripts have been developed and are in the beta-testing stage that will allow linking index entries in ebooks to the paragraph level. These scripts will work with InDesign books and traditional indexing software packages, allowing the indexer to designate hypertext anchors in the InDesign files and use those anchors as locators. It avoids using the InDesign indexing module. These scripts will be posted once the first test book goes through the conversion process without errors or issues. Documentation for the scripts and updates can be found at www.wrightinformation.com/Indesign%20 scripts/Indesignscripts.html (Wright 2012b).

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Standards for Ebook Indexing The American Society for Indexing (ASI) is addressing ebook indexing problems through the Digital Trends Task Force (DTTF), whose purpose is to: • Gather information about changes in digital publishing practices as they affect indexes. • Interface with leading digital publishing companies, digital ereader hardware and software suppliers, and industry partners to find solutions to ensure inclusion of usable indexes in nonfiction digital book formats and ebooks. • Inform ASI members regarding digital trends in a timely manner so that indexers can prepare for and participate in technology-driven and process changes. In October 2011, the DTTF team submitted a proposal to the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), the group responsible for the specifications that make up EPUB 3.0. In February 2012, ASI reported that IDPF approved the Indexes Charter Proposal to establish an Indexes Working Group, which is identifying additional participants and setting its meeting calendar and agenda. The Indexes Working Group will then go forward with writing the specification. The Working Group’s charter (code.google.com/p/epub-revision/wiki/ IndexesCharterProposal#Use_Cases) proposes four user case scenarios for indexes in an ebook world: 1. Chapter-like index: • User navigates to chapter-like index to browse topics and find information. • User expands or collapses main headings/subheadings. • User selects special symbol, prefix, or suffix (e.g., asterisks, dagger symbols) to display meaning of symbol. • User hovers over index link to display contextual information (e.g., three or four words from each side of target location in text). • User clicks index links to navigate to the book’s content. • User clicks cross-reference to navigate to the target heading or to view a list of target headings.

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2. Pop-up index: • User selects a term or phrase and triggers a pop-up view of the index displaying the first matching main heading. • User opens index from book’s content with nothing selected, displaying top of pop-up index or last-used position in index. • User browses for terms or enters search text in pop-up index display. Entering search text triggers stemming and autofill. • User expands or collapses main heading/subheading levels. • User hovers over index link to display contextual information (e.g., three or four words from each side of target location in text). • User clicks link in pop-up index display and returns to book content. 3. Reverse index: • User selects a range of text and triggers a pop-up list of all in-context index entries for the range. • User selects in-context index entry and triggers access to a selected entry in pop-up index. 4. Stand-alone index: • User opens a publication that consists of one or more master indexes that contain links to other EPUBs. • User browses topics and finds information. • User expands or collapses main headings/subheadings. • User clicks index links to navigate to other EPUBs. The January–March 2012 issue of Key Words presented three articles about issues related to ebook indexes and indexing by Peter Meyers, Jan Wright, and Nancy Humphreys, and the entire March 2012 issue of The Indexer was devoted to indexing electronic documents, with a large number of articles covering ebook indexing issues. See the Ebook Indexing section of the Classified Bibliography for these references.

Recommendations Some useful suggestions for ebook indexing include:

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• You will have to keep up-to-date with developments in the ebook field and will have to be willing to quickly purchase and learn new software as required. • You will need to be willing to learn software with steep learning curves. • You may need to work with scripts and macros to get indexes to work in ebooks. • You will have to understand the outputs that publishers need and how you can create each one. Develop a set of questions for publishers before they call. Publishers may not be aware of the limitations of the tools they have chosen. • You will often be working in teams with editors, production artists, and ebook converters (whether human or software). Test a sample set of chapters and indexing with the designated converter to be sure you are getting the output that is needed. Look at it on an ereader to check the indentation at various font sizes and where the locators take you. • You may need a file-version management system so that you do not accidentally work on the same file at the same time another writer is using it (Wright 2012c). For more information, see the Ebook Indexing section of the Classified Bibliography.

Online Help Indexing Wikipedia (2012b) defines online help as “topic-oriented, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of user assistance. Most online help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad range of subjects.” An index to the online help files is essential to find the topic of interest. Online help and related indexes are usually written by technical writers, editors, or indexers who work for the company that produces the product for which the help information is being prepared. However, if you are a freelance indexer who is already providing embedded or traditional indexes for technical companies, it is possible that you could expand your services into this area. You should be aware that many of the authoring

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programs are expensive and that the market for freelance indexing has decreased in recent years. Many companies have substituted search and natural language features for the index. Common help system authoring software tools include the following: • Adobe RoboHELP (www.adobe.com/products/robohelp.html) • Author-it (www.author-it.com) • Doc-To-Help (www.componentone.com/SuperProducts/Doc ToHelp) • Help & Manual (www.helpandmanual.com) • Help Producer (www.mgtek.com/helpproducer) • HelpSmith (www.helpsmith.com) • HelpStudio (www.innovasys.com) • MadCap Flare (www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/ overview.aspx) As a starting point for finding help authoring software, use Wikipedia’s “List of Help Authoring Tools” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_help_ authoring_tools). At the bottom of the page, you will find a reference to Indoition Engineering’s “Checklist: Choosing a Help Authoring Tool” (www.indoition.com/online-help-authoring-tool-choosing.htm), which provides a valuable checklist of features and functionality needed in online help systems. A second page from Indoition, “Help Authoring Tools” (www.indoition.com/online-help-authoring-tools-survey.htm), gives a summary of each authoring program. It includes both proprietary and free or shareware programs. If you would like to try out some of these programs before buying, Adobe makes available a free 30-day version of FrameMaker and InDesign. Trial versions of RoboHelp and Flare are also available. Check the company websites for more details.

Recommendations The following guidelines can assist you with online help indexing: • You will have to keep up-to-date with developments in the user assistance field. • You will need to be willing to quickly purchase and learn expensive software with steep learning curves.

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• You will have to understand the outputs that help developers need and how to create each one: PDF, ebook, compiled help, HTML-based help, and media. The help authoring tools will create these outputs, but you should examine index output in each type of compile. Check for places where special characters may corrupt the indexing or how multiple locators are handled. Check to see how See and See also references work. • You will often be working in teams with writers. You will have to mimic their folder and file structures so that you can do test compiles. You may need a file-version management system, so that you do not accidentally work on the same file at the same time another writer is using it (Wright 2012c).

Web Indexing According to the Web & Electronic Indexing Special Interest Group (SIG) of ASI (2012), “A web index is often a browsable list of entries from which the user makes selections, but it may be non-displayed and searched by the user typing into a search box. A site A–Z index is a kind of web index that resembles an alphabetical back-of-the-book style index, where the index entries are hyperlinked directly to the appropriate webpage or page section, rather than using page numbers.”

A–Z Indexes Web indexes resemble the familiar book index, but instead of page references, the index entries are hyperlinked to locations within the website, such as a webpage, associated PDF, or Word files, or it may link to a specific paragraph on a page. Even though there are no page references, web indexes for periodicals may include the volume and issue number and perhaps a date. Parenthetical information is sometimes added to index entries to distinguish similar subheadings. An A–Z index may also be called a site index, a topic index, an alphabetical index, or a browsable index (Hedden 2007).

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Book- and Periodical-Style Indexes Examples of book and periodical indexes on the web, as well as many other types of web indexes, can be found on the ASI Web & Electronic Indexing SIG webpage (www.web-indexing.org/web-index-examples. htm). In the periodical index examples, the index entries are linked directly to the article they reference. My first experience with web indexing was for the University of Texas (UT) at Austin policy and procedures manuals. Although the administration eventually decided not to maintain the indexes, the procedure may still be instructive for new web indexers and is found in the appendix at the end of this chapter. Another index that I created, along with co-indexer Ellen Hanks, is the San Antonio Register Index, displayed on the UT at San Antonio Library website (lib.utsa.edu/Databases/Sar). The locators are not linked to the text they reference since the newspaper was never converted to electronic form. The process we used for indexing is described in Chapter 7. Marilyn Rowland describes, in great detail, her method of indexing an online newsletter, Case-in-Point, for Acxiom Corporation in “Plunging In: Creating a Web Site Index for an Online Newsletter” (2000). She includes examples of the index entries and the HTML codes required to format the entries.

Finding Devices Other Than Indexes Search Engines Most websites have a search engine, but the quality varies. The inadequacy of search engines is well known. The user may be trying to locate a concept for which an exact word or phrase does not exist in the site. The indexer can identify such concepts to include in the index and add appropriate cross-references from the words that actually appear in the site to the concept identified in the index.

Navigation Menus Navigation menus are useful for understanding the structure of the site and for getting to the desired section of the site; however, they do not help the user find a specific topic that does not appear in the menus.

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Site Maps Site maps may be confused with site indexes; however, they function like a table of contents in a book, and for the same reason, they can’t help the user find a specific topic.

Taxonomies A taxonomy is a hierarchical classification of terms, concepts, or topics, and it is often an indexer who creates the taxonomy. Taxonomies are discussed in more detail later in this chapter. For more information on these finding devices, see Heather Hedden’s Indexing Specialties: Web Sites (2007, 140–44).

Assessing the Website Before Indexing Before you actually begin the index, you need to decide if an A–Z index will be appropriate for a particular website. Here are things you should consider: • Size of website • Frequency of content change • Variety of content • Number of repeat visitors

Size of Website Very small websites probably do not need an index. Hedden suggests a minimum size of 25 pages. Conversely, large websites may also present problems. By the time you complete the index, the content may have changed, rendering the index at least partially invalid. That doesn’t mean large websites shouldn’t be indexed. Rather than making one large index for an entire site, you can consider making a separate index for each subsection of the site (Hedden 2007, 135–36).

Frequency of Content Change Websites with content that changes extremely often probably should not be indexed. However, if a website has many categories of information and

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the specific topics within each category change frequently, you could still index to the level of each category (Hedden, 2007, p. 136). Consider my favorite free crochet pattern website, Crochet Pattern Central (www.crochetpatterncentral.com). New patterns are added weekly and old patterns either have broken links or get removed. Rather than indexing each specific pattern, you could index each category. Many of the site’s subcategories are hidden under an umbrella group. For example, there are separate subcategories for Cardigans/Sweaters/Pullovers, Coats/Jackets, Dresses and Skirts, and so on, but these subcategories are not listed in the Free Pattern Directory. They are all lumped together in a main category called Women’s Clothes. So the index for this site could include individual entries for each of those subcategories of women’s clothing.

Variety of Content A website with a variety of content or information-oriented sites are suitable for indexing. But it depends on the type of content. For example, sites selling products are better served by a classified list of products (Hedden 2007, 136–37).

Number of Repeat Visitors Websites that are analogous to reference books get many repeat visitors who appreciate a good index (Hedden 2007, 137).

Web Indexing Process Starting the web indexing process is similar to that for book or periodical indexing. You start by getting an overview of the website. You can look at the site map, if there is one, to grasp the structure and content of the site. Next, you need to decide which pages merit indexing. Hedden says that navigation-type pages don’t need to be indexed (Hedden 2007, 103). Wright (2012b), however, believes that for websites that are unstable (i.e., have frequent content changes, redesigns, or updates), the navigation page and portals may be the most stable addresses that will guide readers to the desired materials. Some types of pages to avoid include user feedback forms and nonHTML documents such as Microsoft Word or Excel files, which cannot be

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viewed in a browser. PDF files, on the other hand, should be indexed to the first page if the website owner wants PDF files included. Choosing and writing index entries and adding cross-references is the same as for other forms of indexing, but instead of using page numbers for locators, you need to insert the file name and anchor name for the section of the webpage that you are indexing. (See HTML Codes later in this chapter.) Before you add links to index entries, you will need to determine whether the links will be relative or fixed (absolute). Relative links refer to webpage files that are all kept in the same folder. In this case, a link like tells the browser to look in the same folder it is currently in for the file and anchor name. If the website owner can keep all the files in one folder, the index will withstand changes better. Fixed links mean that the website is complex, consisting of many folders and files. In this case, the link has to navigate out of the folder where the page is located, and the link name has to give the complete path to the external folder and filename. Fixed links may sometimes be shortened for users during browsing, so that they need not see the complexity. Check with your client to be sure you are capturing the full path that will be needed (Wright 2012b). Another issue to clarify is whether you have permission to insert HTML anchors in the files or whether the website owner will insert anchor names that you can use in the index. How to insert the anchors in your index entries and what you need to know about HTML codes is discussed next.

HTML Codes You can learn everything you need in order to index websites on your own, but you can save yourself a lot of time by buying one book: Hedden’s Indexing Specialties: Web Sites (2007). Hedden tells you what you need to know about HTML, how to use dedicated indexing software to insert the codes, and what other HTML indexing programs are available and how they work. Although Hedden describes HTML codes that pertain particularly to indexing, you will want to know about the other codes as well when you are examining webpages and when you are making the final preparation of your index for publication on the web. You will find it helpful to have a book on the latest version of HTML, cascading style sheets, and XHTML on your

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reference shelf. If you look at the example web indexes on ASI’s Web & Electronic Indexing SIG, you can view the codes and style sheets used for sophisticated indexes by turning on your browser’s page source view.

Inserting HTML Codes in the Index Once you understand HTML coding, you need to find the most efficient way to get those codes into your index. For an indexer who has a lot of experience using a dedicated indexing program, the most efficient approach may be to write the index with your program of choice: Cindex, Macrex, or SKY Index. You will need to have the webpage you are indexing open in your browser so that you can view the page source. Switching to page source view depends on which browser you are using. What you want to find is the filename for the webpage you are indexing, as well as the anchor name. You can search for the anchor name using the Find tool to find each