Past meeting: October 23, 1999
Sylvia's Italian Restaurant
Portland, OR
Publisher-Indexer Relations

It was a beautiful fall day, a little overcast but nice traveling weather for those who ventured from far and near to gather at Sylvia's Italian Restaurant in Portland for the 1999 Fall Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of ASI. Introductions revealed that 25 well-seasoned, established, beginning, and "wannabe" indexers were in attendance; from 28 years to 2 weeks experience

Following introductions, President Sherry Smith recognized Robin Hilp and Deone Terrio for their efforts in coordinating the facility, food, and related logistics. As the day unfolded, it was indeed apparent that they had done an excellent job.

Announcements included:

• Information on the November ASI Board meeting in Chicago that Charles Anderson will be attending
• Formation of the Indexing Special Interest Group with the Society for Technical Communication
• Lending library, which is available to members and contains back issues of The Indexer, monographs and other materials - contact Elspeth Pope
• Publishers Book Convention in Portland November 6-9; chapter will be staffing a table to network with publishers.

Sherry also reminded everyone that there were several committees that keep the chapter humming, and more volunteers are needed on all the committees.

Following the short business meeting, publishers Julie Miller and Marianne Keddington-Lang, and indexers Julie Kawabata and Charles Anderson talked about publisher-indexer relations.

Publisher's Perspective

Julie Miller of Microsoft Press indicated that the indexing done by her organization was driven by the software **industry, so that it was very time sensitive and required a lot of flexibility by the indexer. However, she is aware of the important role that the indexer plays in the formation of a strong publication, so she tries to advocate for the indexer whenever possible.

Marianne Keddington-Lang of the Oregon Historical Society indicated that the environment she works in is more academic and not quite so consumer driven. She too recognized the importance of indexing and how it adds to the quality of the publication. She encouraged chapter members to reach out to academic presses and historical associations with education about indexing and its importance.

Indexer's Perspective

Julie Kawabata, an indexer with 14 years experience, urged chapter members to be sure that the publishers and authors they work with are educated about the purpose of an index and the important role it plays in making the book a useful tool. She shared several stories of where she has worked closely with either editors, publishers, or authors to educate them on the role of the index and the value of having a "strong, usable" index. Her lessons that she shared included 1) expect to explain the basics of indexing, 2) be proactive and reassuring, 3) be patient and flexible, 4) ask to proof the index after it is laid out, and 5) for new indexers, have a mentor to call.

Charles Anderson, a retired librarian with 28 years experience of indexing, shared his experiences in working with authors. When he first started indexing, he worked with several authors and found that it was a difficult task at best. But now he realizes that it is an untapped market and that if you can educate the author about indexes that the process goes much smoother.

Following the panel's individual responses, the questions which had been submitted by members before the meeting and sent to the speakers were addressed. The editors agreed that they would like to know about the errors, but first find out if the text that you have has gone to the proofreader first. In some cases this is not so - the proofreader may have it at the same time the indexer does. Also the errors should be returned to the editors in a timely manner, not at the end of the indexing project. A discussion ensued about index readability and the feasibility of having and index review either before or after the book is published. The characteristics that were noted for a good indexer were thoroughness, precision, and flexibility as well as one who thinks thematically.

At noon a sumptuous lunch of salads and lasagna were served, with the members meeting in small groups of 4-5 to discuss marketing and office layout.

Ergonomics: Saving Your Self

Ergonomics speaker (Mary is going to write on this)

Index Peer Review

The group once again broke into small groups of 3-4. Then each group member shared an index for critique by the other group members. The indexers were very gentle, providing a safe place to get positive feedback. Each of us had an index we had done or were currently working on and shared our thoughts on styles with each other.

All in all a day well worth the 400-mile round trip! If you didn't make this one, do plan to be at the one next spring. It is a great opportunity for networking and learning.