This blog posting focuses on the Best Professional Practices for Indexers, which is published on the American Society for Indexing website at https://www.asindexing.org/best-professional-practices/ Information Access As Indexers, we promote access to information in all of its forms. We dedicate ourselves to conciseness, clarity, coherence, and creativity, striving to meet the needs of all clients who… Continue reading Best Professional Practices
Category: indexing
Ethics in Indexing
Ethical issues occur in any workplace. Ethical issues are principles that force professionals to “do the right thing.” Ethics enable us to choose the right action under the circumstances. Indexers and indexing are not exempt. An indexer has to make decisions that involve ethical standards and that demonstrate professionalism. A Code of Ethics is a… Continue reading Ethics in Indexing
More on Cross-References in an Index
This is a reprint of a blog posting that was originally published on May 15, 2011. Continuing our discussion of cross-references, this post explores additional references in the form of see under and see also under. When a cross-reference directs readers to a subentry another a main heading, see under may be used. The use… Continue reading More on Cross-References in an Index
Cross-References in an Index
This is a reprint of a blog posting that was originally published on April 24, 2011. Cross-reference refers to internal index navigation guides. These guides generally take the form of See or See also. The See cross-reference performs a vocabulary control function. It directs readers from a term not used in the index to a… Continue reading Cross-References in an Index
Double Posting of Index Entries
This is the reprint of a blog posting that was originally published on January 15, 2011. In an index, the indexer may choose to provide multiple access points for the same information. Given the importance of the main heading, it may be reasonable to assume that readers may look up a topic in more than… Continue reading Double Posting of Index Entries
Index Formats
Run-In Versus Indented Indexes This is the reprint of a blog posting that was originally printed on September 27, 2010. The Chicago Manual of Style describes two index formats that publishers use: run-in and indented. In run-in style, the subentries follow one another without each one starting a new line. In indented style, each subentry begins… Continue reading Index Formats
Why is an index needed?
This is a reprint of a blog post that initially appeared on February 7, 2010. Even if a book is well-written and contains a clear table of contents, a reader may still have trouble finding what he or she is looking for. A good index acts as a bridge between the author’s concepts and the… Continue reading Why is an index needed?
Common Subheading Problems
In this blog posting, I will discuss common subheading problems, based on an American Society for Indexing webinar given by Fred Leise on September 17, 2014. The common subheading problems are the following: repeating text confusing/awkward indexing what the reader doesn’t know uncontrolled locators An example of repeating the text in the subheading is the… Continue reading Common Subheading Problems
Still More Characteristics of Successful Subheadings
In this blog posting, I will discuss the final characteristics of successful subheadings, based on an American Society for Indexing webinar given by Fred Leise on September 17, 2014. Top 10 Characteristics collocation complete differentiable good information scent audience relevant concise points to information parallel construction important word first clear relationship to heading In the… Continue reading Still More Characteristics of Successful Subheadings
More Characteristics of Successful Subheadings
In this blog posting, I will discuss more characteristics of successful subheadings, based on an American Society for Indexing webinar given by Fred Leise on September 17, 2014. Top 10 Characteristics collocation complete differentiable good information scent audience relevant concise points to information parallel construction important word first clear relationship to heading In the last… Continue reading More Characteristics of Successful Subheadings