Past Chapter Meetings

The PNW/ASI Spring 2009 Meeting
was merged with the National ASI Conference
April 23–25, 2009
at the Doubletree Hotel near the Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon

The theme of this year’s ASI conference, in the shadow of Oregon’s Mount Hood, was
“Scaling the Heights”

While sitting in front of a computer screen entering index entries or curled up on the couch marking text doesn’t physically resemble fixing a climbing rope to a narrow precipice or cutting steps into a steep ice slope with an axe, mentally it requires many of the same skills: tenacity, attention to detail, familiarity with the terrain, the right tools, a winning attitude, and the ability to think and react when the situation suddenly changes, whether you’re hurtling down the side of a revised deadline or off the Laotse Face. Our conference’s aim is to help you hone the indexing skills that will let you scale the heights, whether you’re a beginner on Ben Nevis or a veteran forging a new route up K2.

For information about:
* Food at the conference
* Opening reception at Powell’s bookstore
* Poster sessions
* Transportation to and around Portland
visit:   http://www.asindexing.org/site/conferences/conf2009/index.shtml

The Pacific Northwest Chapter has also scheduled a dinner at the Newport Seafood Grill inside Lloyd Center on Friday, April 24, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.
Anyone interested in indexing is welcome.
This restaurant is a very short walk from the conference site. We will hold a brief chapter business meeting during the dinner. Dinner is Dutch treat (each person pays for his/her own meal and beverages). For details about the Newport Seafood Grill, see http://www.r-u-i.com/nsg/index.php   Vegetarian options are available. We look forward to seeing you there!

And once you’re safely in base camp, it’s a good idea to have some fun! The ASI conference is a great way to meet other indexers, and it provides good social and networking opportunities. It’s great to get the chance to talk to other people who do what we do—a rarity for many of us. The conference also serves as a good base for building a vacation. Portland, in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, is an exciting city with lots to see and do.

Trends in Indexing: the Long Tail or the End of the Tale?
The Fall 2008 Chapter Meeting was held Fall 2008 Meeting Saturday, August 23, at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. Featured were Jan Wright on Indexing Trends, a panel on the use of PDFs in indexing, and a workshop by Enid Zafran on Legal Indexing. In addition, there were also
   • Opportunities to network and discuss indexing with your peers
   • Friday informal dinners (not included in registration fee)
   • Publisher Recognition 2008 award (info)
   • Volunteer Recognitions
   • Saturday dinner gathering (not included in registration fee)
   • Sunday morning Board Meeting (Minutes in process)

Taming the Wild Project List - Organizing Tools for the Complex Life - The Spring 2008 workshop at Lane Community College was presented by Wilson Award winner Do Mi Stauber. Her book, Facing the Text: Content and Structure in Book Indexing, has become a standard in the indexing field. Sherry Smith also led hands-on workshops working with "The Business of getting Business through Referral Networks, and "Share Your Approach: Strategies for Solving Recurring Indexing Problems." Board Minutes (in process)

The Fall 2007 Meeting took place in Valcouver, Washington at the Water Education Resources Center. Featured speakers included the following: Gale Rhoades, the North American publisher of Macrex Indexing Program. Her topics included Streamlining Indexing with Dragon Naturally Speaking and Making Sense of Macros. Scott Smiley, current chapter treasurer discussed Tax Deductions for Professional Meetings and Pattern Matching In Cindex. Kari Kells, co-author of Inside Indexing and a co-founder of PNW/ASI discussed when and how to use Macros in Sky. Board Minutes

The Spring 2007 Meeting was held in conjunction with the Washington Library Association's Annual Meeting. April 20-22, 2007 in Richland, Washington. Workshops: "What Skills Are Needed to be a Successful Freelancer," Peer Review: a great opportunity to learn from the work of others and to have one of your own indexes critiqued, "Content Management in Museums." "What's This Thing We Call Index Editing?" Facilitated discussion. "Productivity: The Pros Speak Out." "An Indexer's Experience with Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs)." Board Minutes

Tenth Anniversary Celebration and Workshops, Fall 2006 PNW/ASI Chapter Meeting in Olympia, Washington. Featured workshop by Carol Roberts: Painless Editing. Celebratory Dinner honoring Founding Members, Dinner speaker: Charlee Trantino, 2006 Wilson Award Winner. Peer Reviews, Raffle, Networking opportunities, Volunteer Recognition, Pre-Meeting workshop: Skills of the Successful Freelance Indexer with Sherry Smith, Chapter Logo voting. Board Minutes.

Embedded Indexing Overview - Spring PNW/ASI Chapter Meeting (April 2006, Eugene, Oregon). Board Minutes.

NASCAR Indexing - Fall PNW/ASI Chapter Meeting (October 1, 2005, Richland, Washington). Kate Mertes, former ASI President, presented her workshop "NASCAR Indexing." Board Minutes.

Exploring Index Design - Spring PNW/ASI Chapter Meeting (April 2, 2005, Eugene, Oregon). Program highlights include "Exploring Index Design", an indexing workshop presented by Kari Kells and Sherry Smith; "Ergonomics for Indexers", by Karen Poague Brady; and "Experts' Reviews of Indexing Techniques", a panel discussion by four experienced indexers. Board Minutes

Fall 2004 PNW/ASI Meeting (October 3, 2004, Bellevue, WA). You Say Cookies, I say Biscuits: an Exploration of Metadata and Controlled Vocabulaties. Board Minutes.

"Managing Your Indexing Business" panel, presentation by DoMi Stauber, and peer review discussion (April 17, 2004, Eugene). Board minutes

The Fall 2003 Meeting at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, featured two presentations by Janet Perlman: Recognizing and Creating Quality Indexes, and Work Methods: Philosophical and Practical Considerations. Board Minutes.

Journal indexing, Balancing indexing speed with quality, Marketing tips, and Committee roundtables (September 28, 2002, Eugene). Carolyn Weaver, our keynote speaker, will talked about the ins and outs of journal indexing. A panel of veteran indexers discussed how to improve indexing speed without sacrificing quality. We gathered helpful marketing tips from a panel of new indexers. We provided opportunities to learn more about the roles of the chapter committees during an afternoon roundtable session. Board meeting (September 29, 2002, Eugene) and Board meeting (May 25, 2002, Seattle).

Editing your Index (April 6 and 7, 2002, Seattle). This meeting featured a panel discussion called "Life Beyond Book Indexing," presentations by Zoe Holbrooks ("Indexing in Electronic Environments") and Maria Coughlin ("Editing Your Index"), and a chapter-organized Peer Review session. Board minutes.

Cookbooks and Moonlight. (September 28 and 29, 2001, Eugene). Two wonderful workshops, Indexing by Moonlight presented by Carolyn Weaver, and Cookbook Indexing by Therese Shere from the Bay Area. Board minutes

Facing the Text: Content Analysis and Entry Selection in Social Sciences and Humanities Indexing. (August 3 and 4, 2001, Richland). This workshop, presented by our own chapter member Do Mi Stauber. PDF Announcement, Board minutes .

Building Bridges: Connecting with Readers, Clients, and Colleagues. (May 4 and 5, 2001, Seattle). PNW/ASI and IASC/SCAD held a joint spring meeting. We gathered to share ideas and learn new strategies for creating better, more useful indexes. One attendee went so far as to comment that this was the most useful professional conference she had ever attended. PDF Announcement

Getting There: The process of indexing (October 7, 2000, Portland). More than 30 indexers gathered to discuss the art and science of indexing, or more specifically, how do you create an index. Everyone in the room seemed to walk away with either a new idea (or two) on how to make their process more efficient or a calm sense that they had the best process that worked for them. See also PNW/ASI Board meeting minutes from 10/8/00.

Marketing for the Shy (August 5, 2000, Richland). Carol Roberts spoke about marketing.

Non-Book Indexing and Time Management (April 8, 2000, Seattle). Robin Hilp discussed knowledge management, David Brown discussed search engines, Colleen Dunham talked about indexing Microsoft's Encarta, and our featured speaker, Constance Maytum, shared ideas on time management. Meeting Minutes, Board Minutes

Publisher-Indexer Relations (October 23, 1999, Richland). Panelists Julie Miller (Microsoft Press), Marianne Keddington-Lang (Oregon Historical Society), Julie Kawabata (indexer) and Charles Anderson (indexer) discussed the topic du jour.

Picnic in Gasworks Park (September 11 1999, Seattle). (informal meeting)

Introduction to Indexing and Index Editing (July 24, 1999, Richland). This introduction was presented by Kari Kells.

Julie Kawabata on getting started in freelance indexing (April 17 1999, Richland). (informal meeting)

Wilson Award Judging (March 20, 1999, Olympia). Featured presenter was Colleen Dunham.

Learning Indexing: What are your Options? (October 10, 1998, Portland). Multiple presenters, hosted by Jan Wright.

Successful Freelance Strategies (March 7, 1998, Portland). Featured presenter was R. Jean Bryant.

Classification Techniques (October 4, 1997, Olympia). Multiple presenters from many professions discussed this topic.

Publisher/Indexer Relations (April 26, 1997, Tukwila, WA). A panel of editors from area publishers was our featured event.

East of the Cascades (April 5, 1997, Spokane). A few indexers met for an informal lunch with Elspeth Pope and Kari Bero.

Decisions, Decisions! Making Choices for a Quality Index (August 10, 1996, Olympia). This pre-chapter, informal meeting was presented by Anne Leach.

Marketing Strategies for Freelance Indexers (March 25, 1995, Seattle). This pre-chapter, informal meeting was presented by Anne Leach.