Lisa Ryan – Page 8 – Optimal Indexing

Consistency in a Quality Scholarly Index

Consistency The eight qualities of a scholarly index are that it must be accurate, consistent, comprehensive, concise, readable, reflexive, audience-sensitive, and elegant. I discussed the first factor, accuracy, in the last blog posting. Consistency, the second factor comprising a quality scholarly index, is the focus of this blog posting. “Qualifiers,” the parenthetical additions that clarify… Continue reading Consistency in a Quality Scholarly Index

Qualities of a Scholarly Index

Scholarly books are the books that are published by academic presses. A good quality scholarly index, according to Margery Towery, must be accurate, consistent, comprehensive, concise, readable, reflexive, audience-sensitive, and elegant. This is the first of a series of blog postings on these principles comprising a good quality scholarly index. I will first examine accuracy… Continue reading Qualities of a Scholarly Index

Indexing Historical Documents

A seminar on “Indexing Historical Documents” was held on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at the annual conference for the American Society for Indexing at San Antonio, Texas. Kate Mertes, owner of Mertes Editorial Services, and winner of the ASI Wilson Award for Excellence in Indexing was the leader of the seminar. A good index mediates… Continue reading Indexing Historical Documents

Technology and the Indexing Process

“Technology and the Indexing Process,” was a seminar held on Friday, April 19, 2013 at the annual conference for the American Society for Indexing at San Antonio, Texas. The seminar was led by Kate Mertes, the 2013 ASI Wilson Award winner for the most outstanding index of the translation of Montesquieu’s My Thoughts. In the seminar,… Continue reading Technology and the Indexing Process

Digital Trends Task Force Update

During the annual conference for the American Society for Indexing (ASI), held in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, April 19, 2013, a Digital Trends Task Force (DTTF) Update was given as part of the Plenary Session. The co-chairs are David Ream and Jan Wright. The mission of the ASI DTTF is to gather information about changes in digital… Continue reading Digital Trends Task Force Update

Indexing in the Age of e-Books

A Plenary Session, held on Thursday, April 18th at the Hotel Contessa during the annual conference for the American Society for Indexing focused on “Indexing in the Age of e-Books.” Joshua Tallent, chief e-Book Architect for Firebrand Technologies, gave the presentation. “Indexes are at a crossroads,” he said. “The worst thing you can do is… Continue reading Indexing in the Age of e-Books

American Society for Indexing Conference

I recently attended the annual conference for the American Society for Indexing (ASI) in San Antonio, Texas. Held at the Hotel Contessa on the San Antonio’s famed Riverwalk, the keynote address was given on Thursday, April 18th by Judith Pascoe, Professor at the University of Iowa and author of “My Last Index.” Prof. Pascoe gave an… Continue reading American Society for Indexing Conference

Solutions for the Index Locator Problem with e-Book Indexes

A paragraph-numbering system for locators, such as the one the Chicago Manual of Style uses, might possibly work for linking all e-book version of indexes the same way. But this might happen only if all e-reader devices would use a paragraph-based system, a standardized method of numbering screen pages/locations, and consistent placement of the index… Continue reading Solutions for the Index Locator Problem with e-Book Indexes

Still More Problems with e-Book Indexes

The E-Book Screen Locator Problem Linked indexes are vital in an e-book because a reader has to “flip” through hundreds of screens of the e-book one at a time to get to a particular page. The way each type of e-reader divides up an e-book also impacts the text reflow issue for indexes. Kindle books… Continue reading Still More Problems with e-Book Indexes