Posts Tagged ‘American Society for Indexing’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

ASI Virtual Conference: Macros

Thursday, October 1st, 2020

This is the sixth in a series of blog postings on the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Virtual Conference, held on Saturday, May 2nd.  The Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19.

Held on Zoom, the sixth and final session, Macros for Indexer Profitability, was presented by Gale Rhoades.  She defined macros as a collection of keystrokes or commands for a program, such as Microsoft Word or dedicated indexing software.  The purpose of macros is to manage repetitive or frequently used actions.  Reusable, macros can be transferred from one document file to another within the same program.

She demonstrated the internal Microsoft Word macro “InitCleanup.”  This macro prepares a PDF file of a previous index, which she imported into Macrex, the dedicated software she uses for indexing.  PDF files can be easily converted into Word and then edited for use in dedicated indexing software.  The macro performs dozens of operations, including many find/replace occurrences, yet takes only a few minutes.  She said it is worth the usually brief time needed to set up a macro.  All dedicated indexing software programs have the functionality to create macros.

She also demonstrated the external macro set Megabit Macros, created by Margaret Berson.  Megabit Macros operates with the engine Macro Express, both of which must be purchased in order to work.  The indexer highlights the chosen text portion in the open PDF of the manuscript page proofs and presses the appropriate keyboard shortcut.  Megabit Macros is especially helpful when entering names from the PDF into the index.

This concludes my discussion of the Virtual Conference.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

 

 

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

ASI Virtual Conference: Before You Say Yes (Or No)

Tuesday, September 1st, 2020

This is the fifth in a series of blog postings on the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Virtual Conference, held on Saturday, May 2nd.  The Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19.

Held on Zoom, the fifth session, Before You Say Yes (Or No), presented by Anne Fifer, focused on how to evaluate an indexing project before accepting–or declining.    To evaluate a potential project, she suggested asking questions about the client, the client’s indexing expectations, and questions about the text.

Questions about the client:

  • How did the client find you?
  • What does the client know about the indexing process?
  • Will the client treat you like a professional?
  • Will there be respect for personal boundaries?

Questions about the client’s indexing expectations:

  • Is this an embedded indexing, standard back-of-the-book, or e-book indexing project?
  • Expectations for length or granularity of the index.
  • Project style, layout, and typography requirements.
  • What is the turnaround time?  When will the manuscript be available for indexing?

Questions about the text:

  • How structured is the text?
  • Evaluate the topic and level of subject.  Is the topic in your comfort zone?
  • How will the quality of writing affect the indexing process?
  • Determine what needs to be indexed.  Are there special elements, for example: illustrations, tables, footnotes or endnotes, or appendices?
  • Evaluate several chapters from the middle of the book to assess the quality of the writing and the organization of the book.

I will discuss the sixth session of the Virtual Conference in the next blog posting.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

 

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

ASI Virtual Conference: Tables of Cases

Thursday, August 6th, 2020

This is the fourth in a series of blog postings on the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Virtual Conference, held on Saturday, May 2nd.  The Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19.

Held on Zoom, the fourth session, Tables of Cases, presented by Bonnie Taylor, gave an overview of the rules for legal indexing of cases.  She began by describing a table of cases, which is an alphabetized list of the judicial decisions cited in a work, a type of bibliography for legal cases.  Other tables include those for statutes, regulations, constitutions, and court rules.

Case citations follow rules, which can be found in the legal Bluebook, available in print or as an online subscription from https://www.legalbluebook.com.

She broke down a citation into its parts, explaining what each meant and how it was written.  Every case mentioned in the text is included in the table, by specific citation.  A citation includes the name (Party v. Party), the volume of the report in which it’s found, the series name, the page number, and the date.

Reversals are flipped citations that put the leading information first with a cross-reference.  For example, use the cross-reference “United States v. See name of opposing party,” and use “Doe, United States v.” as the actual entry in the table of cases.

This presentation served as an excellent introduction into legal indexing and tables of cases.

I will discuss the fifth session of the Virtual Conference in the next blog posting.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

Tags:, , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

ASI Virtual Conference: The Naked Indexer

Wednesday, July 1st, 2020

This is the third in a series of blog postings on the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Virtual Conference, held on Saturday, May 2nd.  The Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19.

Held on Zoom, the third session, The Naked Indexer, featured an experienced indexer, Fred Leise, working on an index in real time.  The session opened a window into his indexing processes and methods as he explained his choices along the way. On a split screen, he showed the PDF of the document and the Cindex indexing software in which he was working.  He selected headings and subheadings and entered page references for the scholarly book which he was indexing for the first time.  He also answered questions, prompting lively discussion.

The session, often presented at ASI past conferences, was a highlight of the virtual conference.

I will discuss the fourth session of the Virtual Conference in the next blog posting.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

 

Tags:, , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

ASI Virtual Conference: Time Management Techniques

Monday, June 1st, 2020

This is the second in a series of blog postings on the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Virtual Conference, held on Saturday, May 2nd.  The Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19.

Held on Zoom, the second session, New Time Management Techniques for the Savvy Indexer, was presented by Diana Witt.

She started with a review of basic time management techniques.  She recommended using time tracking tools to see how fast you are indexing.  Dedicated indexing software often keeps track of how long you have been indexing in a session.

Although she said embedded indexing is slower than back-of-the-book indexing, software such as Index Manager can reduce the amount of typing by highlighting terms and, thus, increase speed.

She said it is important to manage the amount of time spent on clients’ e-mails.  Be sure to give a prompt response and have indexing samples ready in case they are requested.

She also focused on how publishing industry changes have impacted our ability to manage our time and workflow.  She described portal systems now used by publishers, which are third party billing systems that require more documentation.  These changes have greatly increased the amount of time indexers must spend on non-indexing tasks in order to run their businesses efficiently.

I will discuss the third session of the Virtual Conference in the next blog posting.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

 

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

ASI Virtual Conference: Standout Self-Promotion

Friday, May 8th, 2020

Since the American Society for Indexing’s (ASI) Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina was postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19, a Virtual Conference was held on Saturday, May 2nd.  In a series of blog postings, I will discuss the six sessions at the Virtual Conference.

Held on Zoom, the first session, Standout Self-Promotion: Four Steps to Winning More Work Before You Start Chasing Clients, was presented by JoAnne Burek.

Four Steps

  1. Specializations
  2. Indexing society directory profile
  3. Website
  4. Responses to email queries

Step 1: Specialization

  1. Makes it easier for clients to find you
  2. Helps you focus your marketing
  3. Reduces the number of sample indexes you need
  4. Makes it easier to produce your first paid index

Step 2: Indexing Society Directory Profile

  1. How clients make buying decisions
  2. How we read a web page, most critical at top
  3. Write your profile “excerpt-first”
  4. What not to put on your profile – meaningless statements applying to all indexers

Step 3: Website

Template includes:

  • Home Page (Specialties, Contact Info)
  • About Page  (Qualifications)
  • Portfolio Page  (Books published, Sample Indexes)
  • Services Page  (How I work)
  • Testimonials
  • Authority Content

Step 4: Responses to Emails

Elements for Emails

  1. Meaningful connection
  2. Unique value … your Why
  3. Credibility and proof
  4. Soft call to action

I will discuss the second session of the Virtual Conference in the next blog posting.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

Conclusions on Ethics in Indexing

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019

This blog posting concludes the discussion on ethics in indexing.  Ethical issues are concerns that compel professionals to think about doing the right thing.  Janet Perlman includes a section, “Ethics and Professionalism,” in her book, Indexing Tactics & Tidbits: An A-Z Guide, Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, 2016, pp. 41-44.  On March 25, 2015, Heather Ebbs presented an American Society for Indexing webinar on “Ethics in Indexing.”  She focused on a number of scenarios highlighting ethical situations that indexers might face.

In all the cases, Ms. Ebbs said, communication with the client is key.  The indexer has a responsibility to the reader, the publisher, and the author.  To resolve differences, “communication is huge.”

If an indexer encounters biased language, Ms. Ebbs said she has an ethical obligation to the reader.  In addition, Ms. Perlman describes how bias in indexing may occur from the inclusion or exclusion of material.  An indexer may create more entries for material or points of view that she agrees with than for those she disagrees with.  This may be done without her even realizing it.  Or, an indexer may be aware of her disparagement of a certain point of view and intentionally create no entries for that material, or fewer entries than the text warrants.

The indexer should also adhere to business ethics and a code of ethics.  I discussed the American Society for Indexing’s Best Professional Practices for Indexers in a previous blog posting.

For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

Tags:, , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

Best Professional Practices

Saturday, April 6th, 2019

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 may require the services of indexers.

Quality
We strive to produce the best indexes possible within time and budget constraints. We negotiate realistic agreements on schedules, price, and delivery format, and we fulfill contractual obligations in a timely, responsible manner.

Confidentiality
We respect the confidentiality of clients and employers, disclosing business-sensitive information only with their consent or when legally required to do so.

Fairness
We avoid conflicts of interest and disclose any potential conflicts to clients and employers before proceeding with negotiations or projects.

Professionalism
We are devoted to education about indexing.  We seek to advance the profession of indexing through our own integrity and excellence. We assist others in our profession through mentoring, networking, and instruction.

In future blog postings, I will discuss different ethical indexing scenarios.  For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

Ethics in Indexing

Saturday, March 23rd, 2019

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 systematic way of documenting the principles of action based on our core values.  An indexer has an ethical responsibility to his/her professional circle (colleagues), clients (including quality, business ethics), readers, and self.

Heather Ebbs discusses different scenarios presenting an ethical dilemma in her American Society for Indexing (ASI) webinar, “Ethics in Indexing,” which originally aired on March 25, 2015.  Janet Perlman includes a section, “Ethics and Professionalism,” in her book, Indexing Tactics & Tidbits: An A-Z Guide, Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, 2016, pp. 41-44.

I will discuss ASI’s Best Professional Practices in the next blog posting.

For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

Tags:, , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

Textbook Indexing

Wednesday, October 5th, 2016

Leoni McVey led a session, “To Textbooks, with Love,” on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at the American Society for Indexing/Indexing Society of Canada Annual Conference in Chicago.  She discussed the process of elementary to high school and college textbook indexing, and some ways in which textbooks differ from other types of book indexing.  These books are well-organized, she said, with key terms in bold face.

She gave a handout listing “callouts”:  illustration (i), box (b), map (m), document (d), visual (v), chart/graph (c), table (t), and figure (f).  Callouts may be abbreviated or spelled out partially, and may or may not be italics.

Indexable and nonindexable book sections include the following: book preface and introduction: indexable.  Chapter introduction: indexable.  Timelines and chronologies: indexable.  Activities: nonindexable.  Case studies: depends, not if fictional.  Key term lists: indexable.  Review questions: indexable.  Bibliographies: nonindexable.  Glossaries: can be.  Glindex (combined glossary and index): questionable.

She said she compiles two indexes for a teacher edition and a student edition.   She indexes them separately, and then they are merged together, with ‘T’ noting Teacher Edition and ‘SN’ noting Student Notebook.

For more information about the services provided by the author of this blog, see the Stellar Searches LLC website, http://www.stellarsearches.com

 

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in indexing | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »