Past meeting: October 7, 2000
Getting There: The process of indexing

On October 7 at the PNW/ASI meeting in Portland, Oregon, 30+ indexers gathered to discuss the art and science of indexing, or more specifically, how do you create an index. The discussion proved to be quite lively, with indexers of all experience levels providing ideas. 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. Here is a sample of the discussion ...

Q: How do you keep track of the problems in the index as you are working?

Everyone who provided an answer agreed on two main points. First, don't beat your head against the wall when you can't come up with the solution to a problem. Flag the problem in a way that works best for you and your software, then come back later. As Cynthia Landeen confidently assured the group: "The solution will appear!"

Second, do a final search at the end to remove your flags, whether they are asterisks with notes and question marks, or A's at the top of the index listing your problems and questions. Colleen Dunham reminded us that "indexers, like surgeons, must remember to take the sponge out."

When the conversation turned to flagging problems on text pages, little yellow Post-It(r) notes, a perennial favorite with several indexers, were often mentioned.

Q: What sort of quality control list do you use and how do you use it?

Martha Osgood recommended the ASI brochure "Indexing Evaluation Checklist" as a quality control tool for all the standard items. In addition, she checks her indexes using a list she developed for certain items, such as "the," "and," "whether," and prepositions. She searches for these terms, then decides individually about possible changes that would improve the entries.

Cynthia Landeen offered some additional suggestions for a kind of impressionistic, intuitive dimension to the quality control process. According to Cynthia, "a good index reads well and is warm. Conversely, ask yourself if there are places where the index feels uncomfortable?"