Past meeting: March 7, 1998
Wilson Award Judging, Explained
Olympia, Washington
The process of evaluating indexes competing for the H.W. Wilson Award was explained by a judge at the PNW ASI spring meeting in Olympia on Saturday, March 20.
Colleen Dunham, an indexer for Microsoft's Encarta Encyclopedia who has judged indexes submitted for the award for the past two years, described the process and circulated former award-winning indexes for her audience to browse. Although any indexer or publisher can submit books, Colleen said few are actually received. Last year, the committee judged 11 books; this year, the number increased to 12. Indexers don't have to be members of ASI to enter.
"People who judge their own indexes are too critical," which is why Colleen believes more indexers refrain from entering their indexes in the competition. "Excellence doesn't mean perfect," she said. "The idea is to get a lot of participation and contenders."
Submissions are sent to ASI's headquarters in Phoenix, where all identifying marks are removed. The books are then sent to a central location, usually a hotel, where the committee meets and spends a day evaluating the indexes. Sometimes, despite all the care taken to keep books from being identified, a judge will recognize a book. When this happens, the judge will disqualify himself or herself.
Indexes are evaluated on the following criteria:
- Accuracy
- Style
- Level of analysis
- Format
- Thoroughness of coverage
- Usability
- Elegance
The award is presented at the annual ASI conference, which will held June 9-13 at the Union Station Crowne Plaza in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The H.W. Wilson Award, modeled after the prestigious Wheatley Medal, was established in 1978 and first awarded in 1979. Past winners, judging criteria, and submission instructions are listed on ASI's Web site at http://www.asindexing.org/site/awards.shtml.