Past meeting: May 4 & 5, 2001
Getting There: The process of indexing

By Drew Proctor

Opening day of boating season. American and Canadian indexers mingling in Seattle in early May. Kari and the Webettes?!

What do these three things have in common? They were all part of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Indexers spring conference, "Building Bridges: Connecting with Readers, Clients, and Colleagues." Indexers from as far away as Alaska and Alberta joined indexers from around the Pacific Northwest at the South Campus Center of the University of Washington 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.

People began arriving soon after 11:30 am on Friday, May 4, to eat lunch and network before the meeting formally began. At 1:00 pm the first session, a panel on the three types of indexing software, began. Gale Rhoades from Macrex, Maria Young from Cindex, and Cynthia Landeen, an experienced SkyIndex user, demonstrated how each package handled common indexing tasks. Each presenter alternated their demonstrations of each task so we could easily compare.

Mike Hilp followed with his presentation on Web sites for indexers. He began with a short overview of basic Web design, suggesting that it's best to keep the design simple so it will load quickly and not overwhelm the reader. The menu should be easily accessible (the left side of the screen is best) and should go no more than three clicks deep. But building that terrific Web site isn't enough; if you want people to visit it, you must promote it. Mike's four basic steps to promote Web sites: check that the HTML coding is current, populate your meta tags, submit (and resubmit) your site to search engines, and keep working to promote it. He also suggested we not be shy about asking for peer reviews of our sites and soliciting audience feedback.

A fabulous Chinese dinner at the Mandarin Chef closed the first day of the meeting.

The next day we were all back bright and early (7:15) for the peer review breakfast. After some initial difficulty with the facility, everyone settled in to get feedback on their indexes.

Sherry Smith opened the Saturday session with the business meeting and volunteer recognition. Our chapter depends on the work of a dedicated band of volunteers to do the work that keeps it going: Web site committee (aka "Kari and the Webettes"), speakers' bureau, newsletter committee, marketing committee, program planning, and pro bono committee. We're always looking for new volunteers so don't be shy about trying out some of these jobs!

The morning session was a panel facilitated by Colleen Dunham entitled "How do you know your index works?" Since most of us don't have any way to judge that, Colleen had a panel of six different users (ranging from a lay person and a professional to a publisher and a librarian) who each demonstrated how they would use an index to find the answers to a legal problem. Each person highlighted the skills and expectations they brought to the process of researching an issue. While it is not possible to anticipate every user our index might have, this panel made it really clear that as we create an index, we do need to keep user needs in mind.

After lunch, Kari Kells presented an intermediate indexing workshop. We had all been asked to read and index a chapter in Oliver Sacks' book An Anthropologist on Mars entitled "A Surgeon's Life." Kari compiled the indexes submitted to her into a packet that also included a copy of the index that appeared in the book and a sheet comparing how each indexer handled five of the core concepts of the chapter. What an eye-opener! Heated, albeit friendly, debate ensued: How can one accommodate the author's point of view? Should biographical information on the subject of the chapter be included or just information about how Tourette's syndrome affected his life? What about term choice? What's the difference between signs and symptoms of a disease? What about, as the author referred to, the "itness" of the disease? As we discussed these and other issues, Kari emphasized that there are many options and they are rarely right or wrong, but some do work better than others.

The topic of the index as a selling point for a book also arose and it was agreed that although indexes can help sell some books, this shouldn't be the focus while indexing. Or, as Cynthia Landeen phrased it, "If I wanted to sell books, I'd put in 'hot babes'!"

The conference wrapped up with a group dinner at Ivar's.