- Upcoming Events: The Pacific NorthWest (PNW) chapter of the American Society for Indexing (ASI) will be meeting virtually this fall, Saturday, November 4, 2023. Highlights will include Pilar Wyman on “Best Practices to Avoid Rookie Mistakes”, with a discussion of common indexing errors and Best Practices for preventing them. Get more details from the PNW chapter of ASI.
- Upcoming Events: FREE Online Training sessions (Basic as well as Advanced) from Index-Manager’s Katharina Munk are provided every few weeks. They’re a great way to learn about how to best use Index-Manager and get quality, embedded indexes, whether you’re working with Word or InDesign, or other software.
- Updated Standard on Criteria for Indexes (ANSI/NISO Z39.4) is now available. Download your copy here. The updated standard provides guidelines for the content, organization, and presentation of indexes. It deals with the principles of indexing — regardless of the type of material indexed, the indexing method used, the medium of the index, or the method of presentation for searching. I am grateful to everyone who provided feedback on the draft standard, especially our Working Group members who came from different indexing backgrounds and shared their deep knowledge of indexing across various perspectives. The new Z39.4 standard is usable by a broad spectrum of organizations and users, and provides a more efficient and effective experience for everyone who creates or uses indexes. The NISO Z39.4 standard is available at https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/criteria-indexes.
- Did you miss my live webinar on embedded indexing with Index-Manager? Download the replay here. During this webinar “Indexing with Index Manager: Indexing and Embedding the Forest and the Trees,” I demonstrated how I use Index-Manager for writing quality indexes with headings, subheadings, cross-references, and ranges. I also showed how I edit my work, and how I export for final embedded publication (and re-publication, as you wish). Writing, editing, and embedding index entries can all be done with professional indexing software. Watch this webinar to learn how to craft and edit simple and complex index entries, with page ranges and with cross-references, and how to export and review your embedded indexes.
- An English-language manual for Index-Manager is also available. Download your copy here. This manual has a linked and embedded index, of course.
- I highly recommend the AMA Manual of Style, 10th Edition, a superb guide for authors and editors, especially for Chapter 13, Medical Indexes. NB: The just-released 11th Edition does not include the chapter on Medical Indexes.
—Pilar