In my last post I wrote about entries and arrays, which I described as the building blocks of an index. I defined an entry as “what this thing is + where to find it.” Today I’m going to expand on “what this thing is,” also known as main headings and… Read More »Telling Readers What This Thing Is
An index is a document that is scanned to find information. It usually spans several pages. But if you had to break an index down into its smallest part, what would that be? An index is not like most books or documents in that it does not contain a narrative.… Read More »The Building Blocks of an Index
So the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style dropped in September. I have to admit I have not bought a copy. While I think their recommendations are solid, I find I don’t use it very much, since I only index and not edit. But I do know some… Read More »Making the Index Invisible
I am writing today about some decisions that I needed to make on a recent index. In the grand scheme of the index, these decisions only affected a few entries. I am tempted to brush these off as not very important and not worth discussing. Yet much of indexing is… Read More »Paying Attention to Terminology
Last time I wrote about reading like an indexer and what it is I do and look for when reading a text and writing the rough draft of an index. Today I’d like to reflect on my editing process. A few months ago I started tracking my time when I… Read More »My Index Editing Process
So you are sitting down to write an index. You scroll to the first page in the PDF, or, if you’ve printed out the proofs, you place the first page on the desk in front of you, and then…what? What is your thought process? How do you decide what entries… Read More »Reading Like an Indexer
No surprise, publishing continues to react and interact with artificial intelligence. A couple of colleagues recently raised AI on a couple of indexing email lists. I get the sense that many indexers are concerned about the potential for AI to replace us, or at least that publishers will believe that… Read More »Is AI Indexing Nearly Here?
I love subheadings. They add so much to an index, breaking down long strings of locators into smaller chunks, highlighting meaning distinctions, and gathering related entries into lists so readers only need to search in one place. As I discuss in my last reflection, subheadings can also reflect the story… Read More »When Subheadings Are Not So Useful
Local history can be both a joy and a challenge to index. It can be deeply personal, both for those telling and writing the stories, and for those reading, as it reaffirms our bonds with each other and with the places we belong. The index is often the first point… Read More »Indexing Local History: Stories I’ve Been Told Series
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you are probably aware that indexing can get pretty technical. Details matter. Creativity works best when interwoven with the rules and conventions that make an index tick. All that to say, today’s reflection is going to get geeky. East Asian Names… Read More »East Asian Names, Deep Dive