Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 1 | Jan–Feb 2013 ANZSI News Welcome to 2013 The indexes to the various years will be placed on the new year, new colour banner for the webpage with their issues and there will be a combined A Newsletter and the start of an exciting index formed and placed on the website as well. This year for ANZSI and indexing, with the is a wonderful opportunity to showcase an index to an work on specifications for indexes in the organisation’s newsletter and to provide guidelines to other EPUB standard progressing well. organisations contemplating a similar project. As you sort out your diaries and plans Why not explore the past issues when you have a spare for 2013 I hope you are including a trip to Wellington in moment?
2 | ANZSI Newsletter (Conference update, continued from previous page) American Society for Indexing (Information Today) Indexing Names NZ$52.00 Indexing Specialties: Cookbooks NZ$38.00 Marketing Your Indexing Services (3rd Ed) NZ$33.00 Indexing Specialties: Psychology NZ$23.00 Index it Right! Advice from the Experts, Volume 1 Accidental Taxonomist (Heather Heddon) NZ$47.00 NZ$33.00 Running an Indexing Business NZ$30.00 Indexing it Right! Advice from the Experts, Volume 2 ‘Glossary of Terminology’ in Abstracting, Classification, NZ$33.00 Indexing, and Thesaurus Construction (2nd ed) Starting an Indexing Business (4th Ed) NZ$30.00 NZ$16.00 Indexing for Editors & Authors NZ$38.00 Genealogy & Indexing NZ$30.00 Indexing Specialties: Scholarly Books NZ$33.00 Tordis Flath
SA group report – 2012 ANZSI comes alive in South Australia ersonal and work commitments dictated that only Jane The climate of friendship and engagement was cemented POliver and Silvia Muscardin (pictured below, at left and over a pleasant drinks and dinner at Saldechin Restaurant. right respectively) met for the 2012 ‘End of Year Do’ in We would like to thank Jane Oliver, Janet Wilkinson Adelaide. The ‘intimate’ event concluded a successful year and Silvia Muscardin for organising the event. for the small ANZSI group in South Australia. Silvia Muscardin, Committee Member, ANZSI does not have a South Australian branch and ANZSI in South Australia. it depends on the Victorian Branch, with Jane Oliver performing the role of SA Liaison. The Committee, formed early in the year, was successful in organising the first ANZSI training program in Adelaide. Three training sessions were delivered at DOME in Currie Street: Max McMaster was the tutor for Book Indexing 1 and Book Indexing 2, and Glenda Browne for Website Indexing. All three sessions were booked out. Participants came from different professions, proving that indexing is needed in many and varied situations: state librarians in charge of special collections, law librarians entrusted with organising specialist literature, and book editors were all represented. The feedback was very positive from all participants and tutors.
Practical indexing course SW Branch will run an Intermediate/Practical indexing course, led by Glenda Browne, from 1 February to N28 February. Students will work at home, indexing a short book over four weeks. An optional face-to-face meeting is held after the first week, so that students can meet one another, have a chance to discuss planning issues and hear practical information on running an indexing business. Students have access to a YahooGroups mailing list on which they introduce themselves, discuss their approaches, and can ask questions of each other and the trainer. Students will also receive individual, written feedback on a draft and final copy of their indexes. Further details, including prerequisites and software use are at
ANZSI Newsletter | 3 State/territory news: Tasmania here are currently just three members of ANZSI in that, however, I allowed my membership of ANZSI to lapse TTasmania, namely, Clodagh Jones, Vivienne Wallace for a couple of years, due to health issues, but I have now and Christopher Brennan. We meet from time to time rejoined. informally to discuss indexing matters, but, for more formal As for me, Christopher Brennan, my formal, academic continuing education in indexing, we attend Victorian background is in, first, the health sciences – dentistry and Branch training courses or the ANZSI Conferences. clinical epidemiology – and, more recently, in philosophy, The local members theology and editing. As a theological student and graduate, I worked for ten years in-house as editor, then senior editor, Clodagh Jones, as a science graduate, initially worked in a with St Pauls Publications, Sydney. Subsequently a call to College of Further Education in England. But from early help establish an ecumenical monastic community brought on in her 50-year marriage to Roy, she has indexed books, me to Tasmania, where I have continued editing as a the first being one of Roy’s that dealt with fish migration. freelancer, joined the Society of Editors (Tasmania) and, In 1984 she and her family moved to Australia, settling in encouraged by editorial colleagues, taken on indexing. Hobart, where she has continued as a part-time freelance indexer. As well as meeting other indexers in Melbourne I joined ANZSI in 2010, have completed several ANZSI and beyond at meetings, conferences and workshops, training courses, and have since contributed indexes to Clodagh has been a Tasmanian Contact for ANZSI. several books in areas ranging from philosophy, education and the fine arts to theology and church history. Along While Clodagh has tended to index scientific texts, with Clodagh, I too am indexing of some of the back issues especially those dealing with Antarctica, as an accredited of the ANZSI Newsletter. I am the current Tasmanian indexer she has nevertheless successfully fulfilled Contact for ANZSI. commissions to index biographies and Tasmanian historical works. The latter have included colonial diaries, notably the Forthcoming events of interest Journal of Annie Dawbin 1858–1868, edited by Lucy Frost, The Tasmanian Writers’ Centre (TWC), in association with and the second edition of Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Ten Days on the Island, will present the Tasmanian Writers’ Journals and Papers of George Augustus Robinson 1829– Festival 2013, entitled ‘The Shock of the Now’, from 22 to 1834, which Clodagh indexed with the help of Vivienne 24 March. The festival promises to be a weekend of ‘literary Wallace (see below). Clodagh is currently assisting with the and cultural inspiration’ (to quote the TWC), where indexing of back issues of the ANZSI Newsletter. There is ‘thinkers will come together to engage in conversation and more about her in ‘Quiet Achievers in indexing – Clodagh exchange ideas’. Participants will have the opportunity Jones’, ANZSI Newsletter 2012(4):10–11. to ‘delve behind a writer’s words, or to hear about their Vivienne Wallace, like Clodagh, is a past Tasmanian motivation, inspiration and aspirations’. Contact for ANZSI. Vivienne writes of herself: Distinguished authors will speak about what is important I joined ANZSI in late 2006, after decades working as to them, to us and to our planet. They will include Peter a librarian, and attended some ANZSI indexing courses Singer, Anita Heiss, Robert Dessaix and Anne Summers. and also the 2007 ANZSI Conference. In 2007 I was Peter Singer, ethicist, international author and controversial able to take part in an ANZSI mentoring program, provocateur of thought and analysis, will present the indexing Louisa Meredith’s Notes and Sketches of New keynote address. Frank Moorhouse will host the Martini South Wales (1844) under the supervision of Alan Lecture. Walker. A wonderful opportunity! Other writers attending the festival will include Michelle My first indexing work came in 2008 when Clodagh De Kretser (Vic), Peter Timms (Tas), Isobelle Carmody Jones asked me to assist with part of the indexing of a (Australian, but residing in Prague), Judith Rodriguez republication of Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals (Vic), Tony Birch (Vic), commentator Damon Young and Papers of George Augustus Robinson 1829−1834, a (Vic), foreign correspondent John Martinkus, and many mammoth task she had undertaken. As a result of this I others including writers who live and work in Tasmania. was also offered the opportunity to index Reading Robinson: Events will be staged around the city of Hobart and Companion Essays to George Augustus Robinson’s Friendly feature masterclasses, forums and presentations. For full Mission. This was my first solo indexing job. program information for ‘The Shock of the Now’, including In 2009, I indexed, in cooperation with Colleen individual session details, and master class and other event Wilson, Electric Eric: The Life and Times of Eric Reece, an details, see
4 | ANZSI Newsletter IDPF Indexes Working Group Glenda Browne, report January 2013 he IDPF EPUB Indexes Working Group (IWG) Overview Thas continued to meet most weeks by telephone The spec includes informative and normative sections. – usually for two hours to get through more content – with Informative sections provide context, and include the discussions continuing by email if required. purpose and scope of the spec (including the value of Specification document indexes in ebooks) and a natural language summary of the way that indexing will work in EPUB. There is also a We are now working on writing and refining the EPUB terminology list. Indexes specification, with Michele Combs as editor. Content Documents and Components The spec is being developed in GoogleDocs, where all members can change the content and add comments. These The spec then provides the following information about comments can be edited or responded to. When consensus each of the parts of an index: is reached the comments are resolved. • EPUB Structural Semantics Vocabulary As soon as we resolve a few issues we raise a few more. • Definition Mainly they are technical decisions about what coding • HTML Usage Context would be best for certain features, and whether the For example, for 'Index Group' (chunks of the index extra 'clutter' and effort of coding is warranted by extra such as all of the main entries starting with 'A') the draft functionality. The spec should soon be ready for review. EPUB vocabulary is 'index:group' (this is the value of Working Groups can choose whether to offer public the epub:type attribute) and the definition is 'Collection review or just review by other IDPF members. The IWG of sequential main entries'. The HTML Usage Context has decided to offer public review as we are interested in describes the HTML elements that can be used to wrap getting feedback from a range of people, especially indexing the section (e.g. and ANZSI Newsletter | 5 Indexing Indaba – February 2013 The great work of indexing Indexing images of our colonial past ecently I discovered Take Note, An impressive new publication is Peter A. Dowling’s R an online interactive exhibition privately produced two-volume, 1490 page Index to aimed at exploring note-taking in imagery in Australian colonial newspapers. It is an index to the collections of Harvard University. the approximate 12,000 images in nearly all of Australia’s Among the fascinating collection of colonial illustrated newspapers, including those in the exhibits is one that covers the history four major papers: Illustrated Australian News (1861-96), of periodical indexing, including the Illustrated Melbourne Post (1862-68), Illustrated Sydney deep interest in this area of physician News (1864-94) and Australasian Sketcher (1873-89). and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes. Volume I indexes the imagery by subject, region In his dedicatory address at the Boston Medical Library and date, while Volume II indexes all images with any in 1878, he praised the then recent development in attribution by creator (illustrator, photographer, artist and periodical indexing. ‘This idea has long been working in the engraver). minds of scholars, and all who have had occasion to follow out any special subject. I have a right to speak of it, for I 100 years of crosswords long ago attempted to supply the want of indexes in some This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication small measure for my own need. I had a very complete set of the world’s first crossword puzzle. Created by Arthur of the American Journal of the Medical Sciences; an entire set Wynne for the FUN section of the New York World of the North American Review, and many volumes of the newspaper, he had intended his ‘Word-Cross’ to serve as a reprints of the three leading British quarterlies. Of what use space filler. His original numbering system later gave way were they to me without general indexes? I looked them all to the ‘Across and Down’ system used today, and he also through carefully and made classified lists of all the articles I introduced the idea of using black squares to separate the thought I should most care to read. But they soon outgrew words in their rows and columns. A few weeks after the my lists…. Nothing, therefore, could be more pleasing to appearance of the first ‘Word-Cross’ a typographical error me than to see the attention which has been given of late was made and the puzzle was published as a ‘Cross-Word’. years to the great work of indexing.’ The name has been with us ever since. 6 | ANZSI Newsletter (Indexing indaba, continued from previous page) What’ or ‘Your Turn’ are fairly meaningless. Shades of 2006. Some of these puzzles end up in the ongoing series the shortcomings sometimes found in cookbook indexes? of crossword books published by the Times and those who Arthur Wynne’s first Word-Cross puzzle: Fill in the small squares with words which agree with the following definitions. You can find the solution at: 2-3 What bargain hunters enjoy. 4-5 A written acknowledgement. 6-7 Such and nothing more. 10-11 A bird. 14-15 Opposed to less. 18-19 What this puzzle is. 22-23 An animal of prey. 26-27 The close of the day. 28-29 To elude. 30-31 The plural of is. 8-9 Cultivate. 12-13 A bar of wood or iron. 16-17 What artists learn to do. 20-21 Fastened. 24-25 Found on the seashore. 10-18 The fiber of the gomuti palm. 6-22 What we all should be. 4-26 A day dream. 2-11 A talon 19-28 A pigeon. F-7 A part of your head. 23-30 A river in Russia. 1-32 To govern. 33-34 An aromatic plant. N-8 A fist. 24-31 To agree with. 3-12 Part of a ship. 20-29 One. 5-27 Exchanging. 9-25 Sunk in mud. 13-21 A boy. ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Patterns for the Plucky: a prelude (or, what you might like to know before attending this session in Wellington) s an introduction to a recent day-long workshop Including/Excluding records from the search A on using patterns in CINDEX™, I had intended to • The FIND screen has two areas that allow you to restrict your spend just five to ten minutes quickly reviewing the FIND search as you wish: Scope allows you to define how much of and REPLACE screens before embarking on the more the index you wish to search; and Only Among which lets challenging task of learning and applying the language you determine the ‘types’ of records among which you wish of patterns. Instead I unleashed an overwhelming desire to search among workshop participants to explore fully the existing • Within Scope the default setting is to search the whole index FIND and REPLACE options and operations. An hour (or whatever is currently displayed, such as a group), but you and a half later we were still exploring ways in they could can also search: be most usefully employed – without a single pattern on – within a highlighted array of records by checking the the horizon! Selected Records button So, if you are planning on attending the Patterns for the – among a range of records (j-s, for example) or by record Plucky session in Wellington (or even if you are not), here number, (200-500, for example). In the first instance you are aspects of searching and replacing text with which you need to display the index in an alphabetic sort; in the latter should familiarize yourself, especially since we will not have you would need to place the index in Unsorted order (i.e. time in Wellington to cover the same ground. the order in which they were entered). To do this, go to the I invite you to call up the FIND screen in Cindex and View Menu and uncheck the Sorted option. When finished, follow along ... recheck the Sorted option Case sensitivity – by date of the last action (adding or editing) in records. • Any search for a string of characters is case-insensitive unless – by User ID. This is particularly useful in a team-indexing you request otherwise. (The opposite is true for REPLACE). project. To ensure that each record is ‘stamped’ with the Thus searching for the character string ‘cat’ might find User ID, it should be set, prior to beginning work, on Catacomb, cat, Cats, communication, classification, Indicator, the Preferences/General screen (in Windows editions of the etc. program Preferences are found on the Edit Menu; under the • Checking the ‘Case’ box (bottom of FIND screen) and still Cindex Menu on the Mac). searching for ‘cat’ will only retrieve cats, communication, • The Only Among section of the FIND and REPLACE screens classification, Indicator provides ways to restrict searches (and replacements) to • Checking ‘Whole Word’ instead of ‘Case’ will retrieve only certain kinds of records. For example, to search among cat (or simply locate and group) all New records ensure that the following two buttons are checked: Records That Are • Should you wish to find both plural and singular forms (but and New. Cindex defines a new record as one that has avoid using a pattern), you can enter ‘cat’ in the text box been added to the index since the file was last opened. A and select the Boolean operator OR from the drop-down Modified record is one that has been either altered or edited, menu to the right of the text box. A second text box will or newly added since the file was last opened. Records that appear. Enter ‘Cats’ in this second box. Check ‘Whole have been Deleted can also be found, but only when records Word’ beneath both text requests and the search will now are displayed in Draft view (VIEW Menu/Draft Format). retrieve cat and Cats. Labelled records can also be located, either by individual Excluding characters from the search label colour or all at once. • You can also use the Boolean operator NOT to exclude a Marked and Generated records are the result of other specific character or characters from the search. For example, operations in CINDEX and are not discussed here. you may have entered author names and subject content in the same index file, and now wish to quickly spell-check Searching by Type Style or Font only the subject material. • The Attributes button allows you to search for words or characters with specific type styles or fonts. This is most – If the author names were entered in “last name and initial often used in conjunction with pattern searches, but letter” format, then exclude the full stop (.) from the search. sometimes you may simply wish to locate and review all To do this simply type a full stop in the text box and check book titles or Latin terms you have entered in italic type into the NOT box immediately to the left. The search will your index. Or you may have entered some text in a font retrieve all records that do not contain a full stop. Now run different from the index as a whole. When you click on the the spell-check. The search will also identify name entries Attributes button, any additional fonts used will be listed on where you failed to provide a full stop – another editing the drop-down menu. check satisfied! (continued on next page) 8 | ANZSI Newsletter (Patterns for the Plucky, continued from previous page) Confining the search in record fields • You can instruct CINDEX to only ‘look’ in certain fields of records by selecting the appropriate option from the drop-down menu immediately below the text box. When Page is selected, the adjacent setting Evaluate Numbers is automatically checked. This means that if you search for ‘267’ CINDEX will identify it not only as a plain character string but also when it is contained within a page range, e.g. 265-268. If you literally want to search for the string ‘267’ uncheck Evaluate Numbers Bear in mind the following: • The above options to include and exclude characters, words, and text-style attributes are also available on the Replace screen. The Replace screen also allows you to ignore, change, or remove text-styling or fonts • Use the Reset button to clear the settings on the Find and Replace screens. • Should you make a replacement in error, use the File Menu/ Revert to Saved feature to restore the index to its last saved iteration. Frances S. Lennie, Indexing Research <fl[email protected]>, +1 585-413-1819 News from Queensland Branch ueensland Branch’s 2012 year wound to a close on Q27 November, when a small group of Queensland members and their spouses met for the Christmas dinner party at the Salisbury Hotel Restaurant in Brisbane. After dinner, our Secretary Beryl Macdonald provided a crossword puzzle for the group, based on the October 2012 ANZSI Newsletter, to the delight of all who attended. Thanks to Beryl for her ingenuity and for entertaining the group. Thanks also to all Queensland members and our resident author Graham Potts, who attended to see the old year out. Tuesday 26 February will be our first General Meeting and dinner in 2013, to discuss in-house indexing projects with guest indexer Mei Yen Chua. Please come to the Salisbury Hotel and see the New Year in with us. The following month, on 26 March, we ask, ‘Have you ever met a Palaeontologist? What would you ask of her?’ Guest speaker Dr Susan Turner will provide the answers. Moira Brown President ANZSI Newsletter | 9 The Festive Season Index ... The Vic in December t the VIC meeting in December, 2012, a small band In the one hour allowed for the exercise, 130 terms A of indexers and friends got together to create a list of were entered. Our Festive Season Index is given on the index terms related to the festive season. Participants were next page. Invariably in an exercise such as this some topics asked to think laterally and include not only traditional which should have been included were forgotten, but as an Christmas topics like the Nativity or Christmas fare, exercise in group indexing it was very worthwhile. but consider other topics which revolve or are associated The whole activity was very enjoyable, as it allowed with the Christmas season, such as traffic jams, travel, everybody to contribute, including some non-indexing overindulgence, Myer Christmas windows, etc. colleagues who came along. For them, seeing an index As terms and cross-references were suggested, they developed in real time was a bonus. were written on the whiteboard by Mary Russell and then Max McMaster entered into Macrex indexing software by Max McMaster, and displayed via a data projector. It was amazing to see the diversity of topics which were included. (See the Festive Index spelt out on the next page) Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius Camberwell, Vic., Penguin Group (Australia) 2011 e have a wonderful quote by Marcus Aurelius in the entries are given in bold capitals for ease of reference. W‘positive future’ section of The Indexing Companion. These include BODY/FLESH, DIRECTING MIND and I was therefore a bit startled to hear that he had committed STOIC PHILOSOPHY. suicide, but was assured that this was in line with Stoic What I find most interesting about the index/access, philosophy. (I have since discovered that he died after a however, is the linkage of the index, through emboldened short illness, probably a fever or the plague). Because I had locators, to the notes, which often contain ‘synoptic quoted him I thought I should perhaps read a bit more, and treatment or a mini-index of the point or issue discussed’. bought myself his Meditations for Christmas. Thus the core structure of the index is kept manageable, The Penguin Classics edition has three indexes: Names, but great detail is provided elsewhere. Apart from keeping Quotations and General. Names include people (e.g. ‘Dio, the index uncluttered, this enables the provision of more either Dio of Syracuse or Dio of Prusa (Chrysostomos)’), contextual information at these references. For example, gods (e.g. ‘Zeus, god’), peoples (e.g. ‘Sarmatian (Germanic the note for 2.14 lists four categories into which Marcus’ tribe) prisoners’), places (e.g. Asia) and geographical features considerations of death mainly fall. The third one is the (e.g. Athos, mountain). The author comments that ‘Not all longest and reads: the passages cited name the referent. For example, Marcus ‘Reflections, with varying degrees of focus, on the refers to his mother several times, but never by her name, inevitability of death (‘where are they now?’) for the greatest Domitia Lucilla’. of men, the wisest of men, ordinary men, those who buried The Index of Quotations ‘lists both direct quotations others: 33.3, 4.32, 4.33, 4.48, 4.50, 6.24, 6.47, 7.19, 8.25, and those passages of other authors which either clearly or 8.31 (the whole court of Augustus), 8.37 (‘all stench and probably lie behind Marcus’ thought and/or expression at corruption in a bag of bones’), 10.31, 12.27’. various points.’ They include many familiar authors such as Marcus’ meditations are largely unstructured, often Aristophanes, Epicurus, Homer and Sophocles. repetitious, and sometimes contradictory, so the notes The General Index notes that a comprehensive index – and the ‘indexing’ within them – are important for access would be almost as long as the book itself, and that the to the work. General Index aims to ‘strike a reasonable balance between Having read (or, in places, skimmed) this book, my completeness and utility’. ‘A good number of otherwise favourite quote remains the one in The Indexing Companion trivial entries’ have been included to help readers seeking (p.199): to recapture a striking phrase or image. He gives the ‘Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you examples ‘bath-water, cucumber, puppies and rubbish- have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm dump’. This is a good example of indexing what might you against the present.‘ otherwise be considered a passing mention (after all, Here’s to the exciting future of indexing! the reader is not being led to a substantial discussion on Glenda Browne cucumbers, for example). The headings of fifty major 10 | ANZSI Newsletter The Festive Season Index (see previous page) Advent Emmanuel New Year Advent calendars Noël alcoholic beverages family North Pole angels family ‘brag’ sheet/letter family tensions office parties Baby Jesus Father Christmas overindulgence barbeques food baubles frankincense pantomimes Bethlehem free public transport paper hats beverages, see also alcoholic beverages friends plum pudding bills pork bonbons ghosts presents booze buses gifts see presents Boxing Day gingerbread houses Queen’s message bush Christmas gold queues grog see beverages camels reindeer cards see Christmas cards ham religion carollers hampers carols Hanukkah St Nicholas see Father Christmas Carols by Candlelight hangovers salads Chanukah see Hanukkah holiday time tables Santa Claus see Father Christmas charities holidays school holidays children holly seafood chocolates house decorations sheep choirs shepherds Christmas ivy shopping Christmas appeals shortbread Christmas cakes Jesus see Baby Jesus silly season Christmas cards Jingle Bells sleigh ‘A Christmas Carol’ (Dickens) jokes snow Christmas crackers see bonbons Joseph stars Christmas Day street decorations Christmas decorations last minute shopping sunburn Christmas eve late night shopping Christmas greetings left overs Three Wise Men Christmas lights loneliness tinsel Christmas meals traffic chaos Christmas parties manger travel Christmas stocking Mary trees see Christmas trees Christmas trees Messiah turkey Christmas wrapping Midnight Mass TV Christmas specials Church services mince pies Twelve Days of Christmas credit cards mistletoe crib mulled wine Xmas see Christmas music debt Myer windows yule log decorations see Christmas decorations myrrh Yuletide see Christmas desserts Dickens, Charles, ‘A Christmas Carol’ nativity donkey new toys ANZSI Newsletter | 11 ANZSI and Branch events Name of Date and time Organiser activity Venue Contact details Mon 18 Feb Basic Indexing Details at Vic Branch Holmesglen TAFE 9.00–4.30 Pt 1 ANZSI Newsletter N OTHER PAGES O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI 2013 Conference update 2 SA group report 2012 – ANZSI comes alive in SA 3 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. NSW Branch indexing course 3 ISSN 1832-3855 State/Territory news – Tasmania 4 Opinions and statements expressed in the newsletter are IDPF Indexes Working Group 5 those of the respective authors. Indexing indaba (with a crossword!) 6 Patterns for the Plucky: a prelude (Frances Lennie) 8 Queensland Branch news 9 Newsletter schedule Th e VIC December – the Festive Season index 10, 11 Th e next Newsletter will appear in March 2013. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 10 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 1 March. Th e editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 2 | March 2013 ANZSI News ANZSI Conference Do you read ebooks via your local library? t is March 2013 already! Have you been exploring downloading ebooks for free via IMarch 2013 is ANZSI Conference your public library? OverDrive is one of the main suppliers month. For many members it is a chance of ebooks to public libraries. The ebooks are usually to take a break from work and travel to available in PDF and/or EPUB versions. I understand not Wellington. It is a wonderful opportunity Kindle versions at the moment. I have experimented with to meet other indexers, put faces to a few non-fiction titles and I am finding they are stripping names, to learn new tips and hints and the ebook of the index that was in the printed version. I to be stimulated and inspired. The New Zealand Branch mean totally stripped. No mention of the index at all in has been working very hard to produce an interesting and the ebook version. Have you had the same experience? diverse programme that even includes a chance to take a I would like to find out if, with my little sample, I have just break from the formal conference and do something else managed to find the few with indexes stripped or if this is for an afternoon or to take a Lord of the Rings tour. a common occurrence. For members not going to the Conference, many of the Could you please send me specific examples of titles papers will be made available, either via this Newsletter or you have found for non-fiction with or without an index the website. via OverDrive? Mary Russell The last Conference update! ave you registered for the Conference yet? If not, be quick! You can still get in … HThe full program is available at 2 | ANZSI Newsletter NSW Intermediate Indexing workshop was the incredibly lucky sole student participant in The most valuable part of the day was the chance to have Ia Saturday morning workshop, held as part of the these two wonderful indexers look at my own work. They Intermediate Indexing course with ANZSI. I spent the raised points that I had never considered, and this is the morning with not one, but two of our best indexers difference between a beginner/intermediate like me and an (Glenda Browne and Mary Coe), all to myself! experienced indexer. Economy in an index was something I The workshop was quite loosely planned, allowing for hadn’t thought of – I had been guilty of making long strings my many questions and some deviations, but over the of locators as well as long lists of subheadings with the same course of the morning we managed to do a lot. What we locator as the main heading. I can now think about different covered included: ways to present these that make an index ‘look’ better. My • a look at some publications available to help new and samples were a community cookbook with an index of two experienced indexers, not only with indexing itself but pages and a book of proceedings from an ophthalmology with some of the grammar decisions that we meet as conference – a detailed index of eight pages. The advice indexers. I will certainly be buying that book by Pam I gleaned from the morning session was treasure! Peters! One take-home message from the workshop was that • a thorough critique of two of my own indexes that no two indexers will produce the same index. There are I had brought along for show-and-tell. These were very many ways to work and to deal with those indexing different jobs and the advice given by both Glenda and conundrums, and this is illustrated in one of the reference Mary was invaluable. A bit more about that later. books that Glenda brought along (Inside Indexing by Sherry • a look at my progress with the index that we are working L Smith and Kari Kells), in which two indexers give their on for the course. interpretation of the same book. No one way is ‘correct’, • some advice on setting up and running an indexing and a lot depends on the target audience. business. The workshop included all the face-to-face advice and • ample time to answer an endless stream of questions wisdom listed above, but also unlimited tea, a lovely lunch that had been puzzling me for ages – we covered, among at Wagamama, handouts containing business advice and other topics, subheadings, ‘see also’ refs, page spans, the back copies of the journal The Indexer. The inspiration decision whether to index an item or not, indexing the gained will benefit me for a long time! ‘extras’ like a preface – my questions must have seemed Sally Pope endless, but were answered patiently and expertly by both indexers, who offered at times different but equally valuable insights. Having two facilitators was in no way confusing, but quite the opposite. A few times I sat and listened as they discussed the different approaches to tackling an indexing job. Whether to read carefully through a text before starting, marking everything on the copy for inclusion or consideration later, or whether to dive straight in, open a new file in the software and start making entries while moving through the text? Whether to note down every minute of time spent working on the index or whether to make a guestimate, subtracting for time spent on Facebook and other distractions? Among my many questions, there were technical puzzles that had been bugging me about my indexing software (I use Sky). Glenda uses SKY, while Mary uses CINDEX, so there was plenty of opportunity to find answers to these puzzles. I will be upgrading my version of SKY as soon as I can get around to it! Pictured at the workshop are Sally, Glenda and Mary ANZSI Newsletter | 3 New South Wales Branch SW Branch has had 40–50 members over the past few • Joint ACT/NSW Branch regional conference ‘From Nyears. Most are located in the Sydney metropolitan pbooks to ebooks’ (July 2012): We gathered over a area, but regional areas are represented as well. Currently, weekend in Bowral with ACT Branch members and local in addition to the Sydney-based members, there are seven publishers to investigate ebooks and how to index them. members in the Blue Mountains, three in the Illawarra/ (See newsletter article last September) Southern Tablelands region, three on the Central Coast, • Basic Book Indexing (July 2012): Nine students met for and a couple of members in Mudgee and Bellingen. Glenda Browne’s course over a weekend in the Sydney The distance between us makes face-to-face meetings on CBD. a regular basis impractical, so we try to arrange events and • Introduction to Embedded Indexing (September courses in a central location, usually in the Sydney CBD, 2012: Jon Jermey introduced students to LibreOffice several times per year and the Branch Committee meets Writer and took students through the basic process monthly via teleconference. We have also organised joint of adding, modifying and deleting embedded index regional events with the ACT Branch, meeting in Bowral entries. Mary Coe demonstrated the use of CINDEX in in the Southern Tablelands, roughly halfway between embedded indexing projects and introduced a range of Canberra and Sydney. other tools used by indexers for embedding (Microsoft Over the past year, NSW Branch has organised the Word, WordEmbed, DexEmbed, InDesign). Glenda following events and courses: Browne finished the session with a discussion of the use • Intermediate/Practical Indexing course (February 2013): of embedded indexes in ebooks. Glenda Browne’s course combined a month-long online The Branch would like to encourage members to attend component with a face-to-face meeting in Sydney. Six events run by related professional groups, to ensure that: students participated, including two from South Africa • we learn about other people’s interests and priorities, (who unfortunately did not attend the Sydney event!) and • Social lunch/end-of-year gathering (November 2012): • other professionals learn about indexers, indexing and Frances Lennie presented ‘Indexing as Art’ then joined the things that matter to us. us for lunch in a Sydney pub. (See newsletter article last December) (continued on next page) Members of NSW Branch enjoying their end-of-year (in this case 2011) social lunch at Sue and Martin Flaxman’s home in Bowral. Round the table from the left: Tricia Waters, Glenda Browne, Madeleine Davis, Mary Coe, Alan Walker, Tim Tyler, Oran Rusidov, Sue Flaxman, Pamela Johnstone, Elisabeth Thomas, Frances Paterson, Jon Jermey. 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (NSW Branch, continued from previous page) NSW Branch offers sponsorship of up to $100 for NSW Branch first sent a ‘Proposal to Enhance Indexers attendance at an approved event. An additional allocation Available’ for discussion at the full Council meeting in of $50 may be made for long-distance transport costs. March 2011. Since then, feedback from other Branches The Branch Committee currently has nine members and recommendations from the P&P Committee have been and meets monthly via teleconference. We are an eclectic considered by the NSW Working Party on Redevelopment bunch, ranging from full-time freelance indexers to students of Indexers Available. A report and recommendations will to library professionals. be forwarded to the Council for its meeting on 28 March The committee officers and members for 2012–13 are: 2013. Final consideration will be made at the full Council President: Frances Paterson meeting in May. Vice President: Glenda Browne We encourage any ANZSI NSW members to join us Secretary: Mary Coe on the committee or to contact us with suggestions for events and courses. In future, we are hoping to extend our Treasurer: Sue Flaxman online course offerings, such as the Intermediate/Practical Committee Members: Madeleine Davis, Lorraine Indexing course, and to offer one-on-one mentoring for Doyle, Helen Enright, Elisabeth Thomas, new indexers. If you would like to join the committee or Michael Wyatt offer suggestions, please contact the NSW Branch Secretary, In addition to local and regional matters, the Branch Mary Coe, at News from Queensland Branch General Meeting of Queensland Branch was held on 26 February. The meeting was well attended and plans were A hatched for a new and exciting indexing training adventure using Glenda Browne and Jon Jermey’s text The Indexing Companion in conjunction with the accompanying Workbook by Glenda Browne. It is a mentoring type of indexing training to be run online by Queensland Branch member Mei Yen Chua for the Branch. It is a pilot run and a work in progress, which will be an exciting adventure for the 11 participants who have so far signed up. We aim to accommodate all trainees who have a day job, so we have an extended training itinerary. Time frames may shift and morph, so please feel free to join us over the next three months. Any ANZSI Branch member, or any industry colleague, is welcome to participate in this training adventure online. All enquiries to Moira Brown At the meeting were (front, l to r): Jeni Lewington, Mei Yen Chua, Moira Brown; (back) Beryl Macdonald, Dr. Peter Mountney, Cate Seymour-Jones, Jane Douglas, Franz Pinz, Teresa Hayward. ANZSI Newsletter | 5 Indexing degustation e go on a dizzy tour this month, the cryptic clue; ‘sign of growth’. Michael Shmith writes, Wfrom Pudding Island (UK) ‘For the cryptic solver of average mind (i.e. me) this clue to Timbuktu and Nevada; chasing is fairly straightforward. You just have to deconstruct it to music, crosswords, endangered arrive at the right answer. Thus, ‘’sign’’ is not an indication documents and legal brothels. Take or a printed notice but, rather, astrological - a sign of the your pick. There is absolutely nothing zodiac; ‘’growth’’ is not positive expansion but something that cannot be indexed and I have darker and anatomical. Answer: cancer.’ made it my mission to hunt up some As a paragraph above the grid explained: ‘Araucaria has more unlikely subjects for future 18 down of the 19, which is being treated with 13 15.’ discussion. In other words, he has cancer of the oesophagus and is Internet Beatles Recording Index receiving palliative care.’ Araucaria creates six crosswords per month for The Guardian, several for The Financial Back in the 60s I was in thrall to the Beatles, or to be Times and two a month for the magazine he founded in precise, George Harrison. My sister went for Ringo which 1984, 1 Across, where his premature death-notice crossword always was a mystery. We were lucky enough to see them first appeared last month. Until then even his brother did live at Festival Hall and ‘see’ is the operative word because not know he was Araucaria. He will be sorely missed. piercing shrieks drowned all sound. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/ Imagine my excitement when I discovered the Internet enigmatic-to-the-last-crossword-king-araucaria-will-be- Beatles Recording Index, a site which is bound to stir the sorely-missed-20130116-2ctoy.html cockles of many an indexer’s heart. Each song released by the Beatles between 1962 and 1969 has a page made up of Index to Nevada’s Legal Brothels by Region sections for producers, engineers, sessions musicians, musical A useful little site for aficionados. Speed Racer has divided context and lyrical context. One may find all the songs in the state into four regions; click on these for more detail or which the harmonica features, or where George Harrison click on the map of Nevada alongside. Both options take you plays the violin. There is a cross reference of musical and to the same page; a local map and a list of bordellos within lyrical context, for example, in which songs do the Beatles local areas. For example, the trail would go as follows: Main mention death in their lyrics. Who was the engineer on Page - Southern NV - Pahrump-area Brothels (Chicken Hey Jude? Song lyrics are included which is a boon for Ranch & Sheri’s Ranch). Once here, there are very detailed those who suffer from Lady Mondegreens. There are even directions from Las Vegas and Southern California to the guitar chords. If you click on the instrument mentioned chosen brothel. A potted history of each establishment adds on a recording page you will find a chronological listing a lot of interest to the site. of appearances of that instrument in these recordings. Additional information includes weather links for There is also a helpful page on information about the links. Nevada and surrounding areas, information on major I pursued a line which began with songs recorded in 1963, Nevada Road Construction Projects, and tables listing and selected I Saw Her Standing There. Here were listed the Nevada’s Legal Brothels & Locations (by house name) and producer, engineer, date of release, who played the various Nevada’s Legal Brothel Websites (by house name). One instruments and sang, and lyrical references, i.e. subjects. imagines a visit would be no small matter when wayward In this case, dancing, holding hands, and romantic love. roads and weather are thrown into the mix. Click on one of these and you get all the other songs that http://www.sex-in-nevada.com/directions/index.html share the reference. Then there are links to the author, covers, lyrics, trivia, notes, oops, other instances where, Historic Timbuktu texts saved from burning for example, Ringo Starr provided Ludwig Drums, and As French tanks were closing in on Timbuktu on the night live performances. Here was a list of all the performances, of 23 January, the al Qaeda-backed militants who had including 16 June 1964, when we had our ears bored out. governed Timbuktu since April left a departing blow. They Another link went to all the songs performed on the night. broke into one of the world’s most valuable libraries, ripped Then there are statistics! What a gem! centuries-old manuscripts from shelves, and began burning 6 | ANZSI Newsletter (Indexing degustation, continued from previous page) sailed four days south to the first town under government control, Mopti. A truck carried the priceless artefacts to the capital, Bamako, where officials with the University of Cape Town said they were safe. Website Indexer & Metadata Analyst needed ... The rescue mission was yet another example of local • Great central Sydney location determination to preserve their heritage from invading • Be responsible for indexing NPS digital content armies. Locals have long stashed ancient documents under • 12-month maternity leave contract the brick floors of their houses, or under furniture to keep We are a highly regarded not-for-profit organisation aimed at them safe. Others were plastered into the house’s walls making Australians more medicinewise. by a great-grandfather who had accused French soldiers Forward-looking, with a culture of innovation, we develop of stealing and destroying his parchments when they evidence-based, unbiased information about medicines and conquered this desert in 1905. medical tests. We connect people with this knowledge, to More recently, technology offered a way to put enable more informed conversations and healthier decisions about medicines and medical testing. We can offer you a Timbuktu’s ancient manuscripts out of reach of pillagers. In number of benefits including salary sacrifice, a professional 2008, the University of Cape Town helped finance a multi- development allowance, additional leave arrangements and story, glass-panelled library and preservation complex, flexible working conditions. whose staff sought to digitize Timbuktu’s written heritage. The team It was fortunate that the the papers burnt by the gunmen Our Content Development and Distribution unit manages the had been digitised. creation, editing, production and distribution of external print However, locals were slow to bring in their papers and and online publications and resources. The Digital Producer only 2000 texts were stored at the centre. About 28,000 will fulfil a key role ensuring the ongoing development of parchments stayed in Timbuktu’s older, more modest NPS’s presence and effectiveness in the digital environment, library nearby. working in a collaborative team which delivers to the needs of Both institutions came under threat in April, when the stakeholders across the organisation. city fell to separatist rebels fighting to carve this northern The role half of Mali into an independent nation for the Tuareg For the duration of this 12-month maternity leave contract people. The gunmen looted the town, and several tried to you’ll be responsible for indexing NPS digital content, training break down the doors of the new library. and mentoring others in the optimal use of metadata tagging and maintaining the NPS website thesaurus. AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and an allied This role assists in showcasing NPS content to effectively militia called Ansar Dine stopped the looting. Islamists help consumers make the best decisions about medicines and sent a more-menacing message on 30 December, when meeting the organisation’s key performance indicators (KPIs) they came to the old library, which housed the bulk of the on audience reach. literature. They had plans to convert the building into a You will have Quranic school, but, to the relief of all involved, these plans • Tertiary or industry certifications in a relevant discipline were thwarted. (information management or information architecture), or ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Consult a higher authority When space permits, the Editor would like to look back occasionally • Design your QA process to be flexible enough to work to earlier issues of the newsletter to see what concerned us then. around the strengths and weaknesses of individual This item is taken from the Jan-Feb 2005 issue. indexers – no point in treating them all the same if onsult a higher authority’ was the title of a discussion they produce work of differing standards. ‘Cheld by AusSI ACT on 17 August 2004, on problems • Recruit carefully – we give interviewees an indexing posed by indexing. We had notified our members of our plans test to assess their comprehension and literacy skills. and several people had sent queries, which Geraldine Triffitt, • Give them constant feedback until they reach the the ACT President, passed on to experts in Australia, NZ, required level of competence and then give them some USA and UK. Thirteen people attended, including local experts Michael Harrington and Barry Howarth. space. John Simkin Max McMaster opened the discussion with his ‘Thoughts said, ‘I don’t aim to speed up jobs while not on speeding up the indexing process’: allowing them to stretch indefinitely. If this was my concern I would have invested in the niftiest indexing software I could • The major determinant of indexing speed is the quality find. In fact I take the point of view that I am part of the and style of writing of the text. If the document is well team creating the book ... It means that I do whatever grows structured, with appropriate headings, and is well edited out of the indexing job which will put the work in the best then it will be considerably easier to index. Unfortunately possible shape for publishing.’ the indexer has no control over the quality of the original text. Garry Cousins keeps copies of old indexes, so that if • Ensure you have a reasonable knowledge of the subject he gets a new edition, he can load the old version into before you begin. If you don’t, maybe you shouldn’t be the computer, delete the page numbers and add new compiling the index. ones. (Michael Harrington does this as well, especially annual report indexes). Garry uses Cindex. He recommends • Skim the text to get a feel for the content. frequent breaks, every hour or so, which he finds increases • Know the audience for whom the text has been written. his productivity. Michael disagrees but this is obviously an • If there are page constraints on the length of the index, individual preference ... calculate how many entries you can include in the index, Glenda Browne wishes she had practical answers to this and then determine the approximate number of entries for herself, and suggests the following: ‘Editing a bit as you per indexable page. If you are only allowed five pages for go probably saves time as you are indexing to a consistent an index, there is no point wasting your time compiling a structure from early on. I try to keep a bit of extra detail in 10-page index, as you will have to spend further time my entries in case later indexing shows a need for a different cutting it back. approach ... • During the indexing, make one pass through the text only, 'Certain types of indexes lend themselves well to the use rather than going through the pages several times. of macros. If you have a lot of acronyms, for example, and • If highlighting text is slowing you down, don’t highlight. they all need to be entered as acronyms and doubled as full Key the entries directly into the indexing software, and text, or as acronyms with See references from full text, this if you need to go back and check what you have indexed can be done quickly by entering only one form and letting a from a given page/series of pages, use the software to put the macro do the rest. Similarly with treatment of common and index into page number order. scientific names of plants. Some people use the Grouping Tracy Powell, Thesauri Administrator, Bibliographic function in indexing software to good effect ... Services, National Library of New Zealand gave the following 'For simple well-structured texts (e.g. with subheadings tips for indexers and managers: throughout chapters) don’t read first. Mark up page ranges Indexers: for chapters and sections then start indexing. • Use your system as much as possible for those things at 'Work to the brief from the beginning. Always find out which computers are much better than humans; spell space limits, specific requirements for appendixes, notes, checks, validations (e.g. start every text field with a capital names, etc. from the beginning. Overindexing wastes time at letter), macros, run reports to check for common errors, the entry stage and at the editing stage. So if there are four etc. pages for the index, calculate roughly the average number of • Aim for perfection but focus on the important stuff; how entries per page and then try to stick to a bit above this as is the usefulness of your indexing going to be measured? you enter (as some will usually be discarded at the editing We focus on the ‘searchable’ data; cosmetic stuff comes stage). Target indexes to the budget available. A cheap index second. can often be OK if it is a good index to a more limited scope, Managers: rather than a quick index trying to cover everything.’ • Ensure that your Quality Assurance process and accuracy Barry Howarth suggests that a computer indexing and timelines standards are the basis around which your software program would help an indexer work more quickly. indexers work. They need to know what you expect of Some of the other experts have taken for granted that an them. indexer would have one. (continued on next page) 8 | ANZSI Newsletter (Consult a higher authority, continued from previous page) Madeleine Davis indexes many different kinds of publications, relies on dictionaries, suggests asking for full text, including abbreviations, glossary, etc. Frances Lennie sent tips on using Cindex to best advantage. Michael Harrington started off the discussion by commenting that all the tips were mechanical things, and what was needed was practice and experience. However we are trying to help new indexers, and all these tips would do that. Barry Howarth said we had all had the problem of working to deadlines, and how to do that was a matter of individual preference. On the question of checking names, raised by Madeleine, Michael and Barry differed, Michael saying he would not check them for annual reports unless it could be done quickly but would for other publications. Barry said it depended on the economy of the situation, that sometimes double entry can be quickest. Another question was, ‘What authorities do indexers use?’ Most of the experts present cited Indexing from A to Z by Hans Wellisch and Book indexing by Nancy Mulvany. Also mentioned was the chapter on indexing in the Style Manual for authors, editors and printers; 6th edition edited by Loma Snooks. Tracy Powell uses an in-house manual and Glenda Browne uses clients’ style manuals. Hazel Bell, long associated with The Indexer has written a bibliography for indexers, published in Logos, which we hope to reproduce in our newsletter. Lynn Farkas spoke next on how and where cataloguing and indexing diverge. She sees the two disciplines as having a difference of purpose, and being different ways of accessing information. Every kind of indexing is matching up information access with the needs of the user. Cataloguing has standard rules, e.g. MCRl, LC Name Authorities, and is used to enable the sharing of cataloguing information. Indexing does not, and each data base has its own manual. These manuals should be more standardised and shared. There are indexing standards, though they do not apply to data base indexing. Perhaps indexers should be consulting the cataloguing rules more. Prue Deacon asked about the problems of website indexing. If a website is fairly static, then a good back-of-book index will suffice. However if terminology changes, then global changes will have to be made, which is what Prue does with metadata. Do websites change much? Yes, they do, and the index entries must change with them to be useful to readers. Website managers need to know how to create thesauri, and to have a concept of good searching. Links between web managers and indexers would be useful. Perhaps this work is the job of the information architect. Prue suspects that the work flow problem is not solved and doesn’t think the issues outlined above are solved yet. All of those present found this discussion very helpful, and we hope that our fellow members who could not attend will do so as well. Edyth Binkowski ANZSI Newsletter | 9 Quiet achievers: Sherrey Quinn Who has been the greatest influence on What do you see as your greatest your career? achievement? y working life has been spent in libraries or working In life, bringing up my daughters – two bright, intelligent Mwith libraries, and indexing has been part of that and independent young women. work for many years. I learned the principles of information In work in indexing and libraries – making a organisation from rigorous teachers like Carmel Maguire contribution to research projects; connecting people with and Jack Nelson whilst studying for my post-graduate the information they need, whether that is by finding library qualification. These principles underpin much of the answers (‘the thrill of the chase’), or creating the the most interesting work I’ve done in libraries, including information resources they need to make the connections database design and indexing, back-of-book indexing and themselves; and helping libraries refine their services and work with controlled vocabularies. their customer focus. Specific projects of which I am At the Australian Road Research Board I was fortunate to particularly proud include: helping to make Australian learn from Mary Bays (I’ve tried to emulate her achievements information more easily findable through specialised in information service delivery) and from Max Lay, former subject databases; developing a large corporate glossary Executive Director ARRB, whose leadership and strong (the Australian Defence Glossary), involving specifying a belief in the value of information services is admirable. I’ve host system, managing its development and overseeing its learned a great deal from my partner, Ian McCallum, with implementation and population with diverse vocabularies whom I’ve worked on many projects in libraries and in our from across a very large organisation; developing a whole-of- consulting business. government thesaurus (TAGS – Thesaurus of Government How did you come to an indexing career? Subjects); and, with Ian, writing the services specification I came to indexing via librarianship. My first job, at for a public library branch to replace a 25-year old the National Library of Australia, was in cataloguing demountable temporary building, and a few years later (descriptive and subject cataloguing) and I recall that attending the opening of the brand new library. my first boss, Frances Rose, was a stickler for accuracy I’m proud that our company is successful in our chosen and thoroughness. I also worked after-hours in the main line of work. I’m proud of winning the RD Williamson reading room dealing with readers’ enquiries. So whilst Award for contribution to information science in Australia, I received a solid grounding in the practice of cataloguing and of being made a Fellow of the Australian Library and and information description, early on I also learned another Information Association (ALIA). fundamental lesson – why it matters, that accurate and My professional associations ALIA and AusSI/ANZSI consistent indexing is vital in helping people find relevant have been major sources of learning, encouragement and information. comradeship and it’s been important to me to find time to Next I worked for many years in special libraries contribute to them by serving on committees and in other and information services in research organisations, where ways. amongst other duties I indexed for various Australian and What has been your biggest challenge? international databases and in-house ones as well – subject matter such as roads, transport, vehicles, engineering, My biggest work challenge is estimating how long it will general science, physics, metallurgy, earth sciences and take me to do something. Fortunately my partner has an natural resources exploration and conservation. My interest innate and precise sense of time, which I rely on a lot. I in controlled vocabularies stems from this period – as well also keep detailed records of indexing projects to help in as using them in online searching in a wide range of online tasks like quoting and planning. I have no trouble meeting databases, I also used thesauri in indexing and developed deadlines – I do the job to the best of my ability in the time them for databases I worked on. available, and have the flexibility to work late or early to get I became interested in creating back-of-book indexes things done. in the late 1980s, and I joined AusSI in the late 1980s How do you try to achieve work–life or early 1990s, I think at the suggestion of colleagues at balance? what was then CSIRO Information Services. The flexibility This is another big challenge. I’ve worked in my own I had when working on various databases and indexing businesses for a total of more than 25 years, and I have projects at CSIRO was invaluable to me when my children learned that work can consume all time if you let it (and if were small. I’ve been a Registered Indexer (now Accredited you love what you do). It’s certainly easier to manage peaks Indexer) since 1992. Since the late 1990s I’ve worked as a and troughs of work demands in my current two-person library and information consultant through my company business than when I worked alone. Work-life balance? This Libraries Alive! Indexing projects of various types have always been a significant part of my practice. (continued on next page) 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Quiet achievers: Sherrey Quinn, continued from previous page) is especially important when your work partner is also your and Mulvany). Practise indexing (perhaps start with a life partner – we make time to read, cook, garden, spend pro bono or collaborative index). Find a mentor. Read time with family, walk the dog, go motorcycle touring indexes and look at indexes in a constructively critical way (me as pillion), spend days at the south coast of NSW so that you learn from them. Practise time management (two hours’ drive from home in Canberra). The flexibility – it’s vital that you can meet deadlines. Learn some basic of working from home is great – you can work as long as (at least) editing skills. Be flexible. Foster contacts with you need to get the job finished, then take time off as the other indexers with whom you can share work and balance opportunity arises. The downside is that work stuff can take workloads when projects and deadlines change. over. Good lessons to learn – shut the door on the home If you could dine with a famous historical office when you’ve finished for the day and regularly cull accumulated records. figure, who would it be? I’d like to dine with Queen Elizabeth II. Her reign has What do you like most about your work? spanned almost my entire life, and I’d like to hear her What do you like least? insights into the enormous social and political change I most like the range of different library and indexing that has taken place since the 1940s. If Edyth Binkowski projects that I do. I love indexing – it’s endlessly interesting agrees I’d also like to join her dinner party with King to read books on all sorts of subjects, and I enjoy the Richard III. After being colleagues on the ACT Region intellectual challenge of making the information accessible Branch Committee for some years I discovered only in an organised way. I bore my family with fascinating, odd through Edyth’s Quiet Achievers column that we share (and occasionally useful) facts. I like to learn how to use an interest in Richard III. Indexing always leads to the new software. discovery of unexpected things. We do many interesting jobs for libraries – services If you were a letter of the alphabet, which reviews, strategic plans, and various other projects and letter would you be and why? training for libraries all over the country. We have fun I think I’d stay with ‘Q’, because I have an enquiring mind running workshops for readers’ advisers in public libraries so – question, query, inquiring/enquiring, quiet (I’m not – the staff who help people identify books that they are an extrovert), quite and quibble (I’m pedantic and I ‘do likely to enjoy reading – we work and talk with library detail’), quality (always striving for quality), quantity (I get colleagues about books, reading, authors, genres, and related through a lot of work), quick (at indexing); I like quizzes information resources. Biblio Turismo, ‘The Mild Ones’ and quinces. But I’m conciliatory rather than quarrelsome, annual tour for librarians (and friends) on motorcycles to and independent rather than quiescent. promote regional public libraries, is also enormous fun. I like working at home and I like the flexibility that has enabled me to be available when my family needs me, compensating by working late or at weekends. Like everyone else in the indexing world I’m usually juggling deadlines. All deadlines can slip, but I like least the jobs in which the time allocated for indexing is eaten up so much by deadline slippage earlier in the project that there is insufficient time to do a thorough index. I also dislike it when a late project (that is, late for external reasons) has a major impact on my other projects and deadlines. This can lead to late nights and very poor work-life balance! What advice would you offer to indexers just starting out? Join ANZSI (of course), network and talk [For motor cycling enthusiasts: the bike is a Honda VFR, about indexing with your colleagues. Buy and read the 1994 model (750cc, V4, sports-tourer). I asked specially! Ed.] standard textbooks (especially Browne & Jermey, Booth, ANZSI Newsletter | 11 ANZSI and Branch events Name of Date and time Organiser activity Venue Contact details Wed 6 March Th e VIC: multiple Holy Trinity Church, Details at Vic Branch 6.00 pm authors Kew ANZSI Newsletter N OTHER PAGES O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI 2013 Conference – fi nal update 1 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI Newsletter 2 Th e VIC – Indexing with gusto 2 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. NSW Intermediate indexing workshop 3 ISSN 1832-3855 NSW Branch 4 Opinions and statements expressed in the newsletter are News from Queensland Branch 5 those of the respective authors. Indexing degustation 6 ACT Region Branch – Conference catch-up 7 Consult a higher authority 8 Newsletter schedule Quiet achievers – Sherrey Quinn 10 Th e next Newsletter will appear in April 2013. Th e contribution deadline is Th ursday, 28 March. Th e editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 3 | April 2013 ANZSI News The 2013 ANZSI Conference in New Zealand – Many of the papers, presentations and summaries ‘Intrepid indexing: indexing without boundaries’ of these excursions are already up on the website at group of over 70 intrepid people 2 | ANZSI Newsletter (Report on the Conference, continued from page 1) Margaret Pointer’s discussion of Niue Island history and software designers and device manufacturers to ensure that were fascinated by Judith Cannon and Jenny Wood’s indexes are not only fixed into the equation but also coming explanation of the careful protocols of the Aboriginal and out from the backs of books to become critical marketing Torres Strait Islander Index. tools. New Zealand is a long way from the centre of things Frances Lennie’s intermediate session on CINDEX was and we seldom hear directly from those in the front line, so particularly helpful to me. It was good to focus on practical it was exciting to feel included in cutting-edge technology. skills for an hour or so – and the pen in my goody bag is Also on a parochial level, it was interesting to see beautiful to write with, thanks. Once again the message Wellington through the eyes of international visitors and was clear – upskill and get to grips with the process. to realise that things we value, such as multiculturalism, Publisher Fergus Barrowman commented during a panel bilingualism and stunning scenery, really do matter even discussion that while we are concentrating on academic if we are still naive about promoting ourselves. It was issues we should also be leading the technology change, great to be part of a small, friendly group of highly skilled and Glenda Browne and Jan Wright underlined that with professionals, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one used to their zippy and challenging session on ‘The Matrix’. Mary working alone who came home exhausted by the valuable Russell brought the Conference to an end very cleverly by interchange of information and ideas. The Conference was reminding us that visual indexes have been around for a stimulating and challenging and I feel very privileged to long time and touch-screen technology is simply a natural have been part of it. progression of a familiar process. Nga mihi ki a koutou – my best regards to you all. For me the highlight of the week was hearing Jan, David Carol Dawber Ream and Pilar Wyman describe their pro-active work with Sandy Liddle’s report on the Conference ith a Maori welcome and introduction, the first The EPUB3 platform will be a global platform and Wday of the 2013 ANZSI Conference began on a EPUB2 will be compatible with it. According to David, beautiful day in Wellington, New Zealand. The rest of the EPUB3 is expected to be better for non-fiction. Mention week was to see the beautiful weather continue. was made of current indexing software not being able to Jan Wright’s Intrepid indexing: from the sea to the stars support EPUB3. David also believes that indexers should presentation was a fabulous way to begin the Conference. be asking publishers if they are intending to publish as Jan spoke about indexers being on a voyage of change and an ebook and if there is any way they can help. This last that to survive the change we need to ensure we are one step question scared me as I do not know much about ebook ahead. We therefore need to keep on top of new technology publishing; however, David said that you should ask and tools and place ourselves in a position to provide input anyway, and if you have no idea then ask others within the and act as advisers and educators to technology makers indexing circle who may know. and publishers. Twitter is a valuable information tool for Following on from David’s EPUB presentation, Glenda indexers to stay informed and keep up to date with current Browne spoke about EPUB3 indexes and the future of trends as well as opening up contact with publishers and indexing. As Glenda pointed out, ebook indexes to date others. Jan contends that it is unusual these days for have only provided the bare bones with bad links or no indexers to just be undertaking simple back-of-the book links at all. As I am familiar with coding, I am quite excited projects. We therefore need to be ‘brave’ and adaptable and about the future of ebook indexing, although I can see ready to take on the challenge of indexing in the new age. I still have a lot to learn about it. The potential is there One piece of advice from Jan that rings true is to ask other for greater usability for ebooks (non-fiction in particular) indexers for advice and input. They may have already had having searchable indexes that are able to take users straight to cross the bridge you are approaching. I would be remiss to the information they are after. The cross-referencing and if I didn’t use these great quotes from Jan: filtering capabilities are also exciting. ‘Go boldly where no indexer has gone before’ and ‘Be The Metatopic Menace or Indexing in the age of search intrepid – the ship is sailing now and we are on board’. presentation by Kay Schlembach resulted in some discussion Being a recent convert to ebooks (especially when and gave attendees something to think about. With my travelling), I opted to learn more about the future of EPUB librarian’s hat on, I found myself agreeing with Kay that and ebook indexing. David Ream discussed the EPUB3 indexers need to think like the user when creating an index standard for publishing ebooks and the impact for indexers. and that sometimes indexers need to break the conventional The draft specifications for EPUB3 have been written and it indexing rules in order to meet the needs of the user. Who is expected these will be open for comment later in 2013. (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 3 (Report on the Conference, continued from page 1) is the user? Academics and non-academics tend to think of. I am keen to experiment with some of the advanced differently. Kay’s suggestions were to do a mind map before functionality of Sky that until now I had not utilised such doing the index and to look at other indexes of similar as swapping acronyms and creating reciprocals. Jon also genres as well as Wikipedia. Most importantly, always ask pointed out some of the SkyIndex macros created by John yourself what you would expect to see in an index if you Beale which are worth looking at purchasing as add-ons. were the user. At lunch on Day 2, those of us booked on the Lord of In his presentation, Converting legacy books to ebooks with the Rings tour, headed off on the bus for this – dare I say it linked indexes, David Ream discussed a project he worked – ‘intrepid’ adventure. We had a very knowledgeable tour on and described some of the issues to consider when guide/bus driver who took us to Helms Deep, Rivendell relinking a print index to an ebook. A few of the issues and Weta Cave. It was fabulous to see just where the David came across included page numbering, viewable filming took place and to hear some of the trivia behind the text being smaller than in the print book, and page breaks shooting of the Lord of the Rings movies. landing further away from the index target. The Matrix: Indexing techniques and EPUBwas presented Sadly, Madeleine Davis was ill and not able to present by Jan Wright and Glenda Browne. Once again electronic her paper on Biography indexing: different approaches and publishing (this is definitely something to bear in mind is challenges. This is one session I had been very much looking happening) was discussed. Some of the indexing techniques forward to attending particularly following on from Kay described by Glenda are well worth noting and I would Schlembach’s presentation the previous day when she encourage members interested in ebook indexing to view discussed biographies and her belief that metatopic is the paper on the ANZSI website. important for biographies. I am hoping Madeleine will The Conference certainly challenged many perceptions make her paper available for us to read. I had about indexing and opened my eyes to some of the Mary Russell very ably filled in for Max McMaster for issues facing indexers in the 21st century. It was a shame the Roundtable – Numbers in indexing. This session was I could not be in two places at once as it was hard to a hands-on one. It was great to see how others deal with choose which presentation to attend. I had a wonderful numbers (e.g. popes, kings, wars, telephone numbers) and time, met some great people and learnt so much. Thank the reasoning behind their decisions. you to ANZSI for giving me the opportunity to attend the The SKYIndex workshop run by Jon Jermey provided 2013 Conference. some very handy tips and tricks that I was not aware Sandy Liddle The 1920s–30s costume dinner at the Roxy Theatre saw some very imaginative outfits, but Tracy Harwood just danced away with the prize for the best costume. Here she is receiving her prize from President Mary Russell. (Photos in this issue are by Denise Sutherland and Ray Price) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter ... and some more from the dinner ... Nikki Davis and Glenda Browne having a great time! Jan Wright and Pilar Wyman en route in all their finery. A pensive Tordis ... ‘How is it all going?’ But there was no need to worry – it was all going marvellously! Pilar Wyman, Sarah Lester and Tordis Flath. ANZSI Newsletter | 5 Indexing Indaba The Most Beautiful Books – Australia and (S T Lore, HRH Publishing); My Abuela’s Table (Daniella New Zealand Germain, Hardie Grant). he winners of the inaugural 6 | ANZSI Newsletter (Indexing degustation, continued from previous page) avenues where possible as well as establishing new Avenues Beyoncé’s ‘crazy archive’ of Honour by the centenary of Anzac in 2015. American singer Beyoncé Knowles caused an uproar A total of 567 avenues have been recorded - 2 in the earlier this year by lip-synching her way through ‘The ACT, 67 in NSW, 52 in Qld, 38 in SA, 69 in Tas, 312 in Star-Spangled Banner’ at President Obama’s inauguration. Vic and 27 in WA. Here’s another surprise… With large amounts of arboricultural and historical Beyoncé employs a personal archivist to catalogue and data being collected, Treenet is working on developing an maintain the 50,000 (and growing) hours of video footage interactive database that will allow anyone to access the that she has of herself. Her ‘crazy archive’, as she calls it, research as well as to add to it. This one is definitely worth covers ten years and includes intimate private events, public keeping an eye on as the centenary approaches. appearances and interviews she has conducted. ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Quoting to a budget The MarchNewsletter reprinted a record of a discussion held by AusSI ACT in 2005, ‘Consult a higher authority’, which included a comment by Glenda Browne, ‘Target indexes to the budget available.’ It prompted this response from Don Jordan: There are other issues with respect to estimating and was asked by an editor to quote for indexing of three quoting that I’d appreciate some feedback on, also. In looking I books of a fairly solid nature, all of them pretty high-level more closely at, for instance, the number of words per page textbooks, with one of them being a first edition. I had not I found there is a huge variation from book to book, largely indexed previous editions of the other two. I asked for, and due to page size, how much white space is left and, more got, a sample chapter from each book, marked them up, importantly, what font size is used. The first edition book that and guesstimated the likely size of what I thought would be I’m indexing is almost unreadable because of its tiny font. suitable indexes. I went through my records of similar books There are roughly 770 words/page – about twice the number I’ve done in the past and checked times taken for them, and in my informational books. The other two texts had around worked out the number of indexable pages/hour I’d take for 550 words/page, so there’s a huge range here that I hadn’t fully the jobs, calculated the resulting hours of work, multiplied appreciated before. I hadn’t thought to estimate the words/ that by $65/hour going rate, and sent off my quotes. page of books I’ve worked on in the past, so my database is My quote for the first edition book was accepted, but for lacking in that regard. Can I get some guidance from others as the other two the editor said that my quotes exceeded the to what records they keep of their indexing work, and in what indexing budget for the books (by 17% in each case, quite detail, so that they have ready access to reliable and useful data fortuitously). I had some email discussion with the editor on which to base quotations for work? regarding the times I calculated to do a professional index and on what I’d based my calculations. Glenda replied, I’ve done a number of indexes for this publisher on a I have no one approach, but deal with each situation as it series of informational books that are very straightforward arises. Quoting and negotiation depend on the nature of the to index, and I told the editor what my average charge per book and the client. There are some books where I know I indexable page for these tended to be. For some time now I’ve will be able to work quickly - usually because the book is well- been working to a budget for these, which the editor of the structured, but sometimes because I have experience with the series has, at least partly, been basing on figures I had given at topic or approach. There are others where I know the work one stage. When I told the editor of the textbooks what this will take time; here I am unwilling to agree to a lower price for page rate was, I was told that this sounded fine for estimation a quicker job because I know I won’t be able to do it. purposes. However, the number of words per page in the I have clients who I know will provide me with well-edited informational books is much less than for the textbooks and books, on time. I am more likely to agree to their proposals I checked my calculations for the quotes by proportionally than I am to a client who is unreliable. Self-published authors increasing the rate/page according the number of words/page might be treated more strictly or more gently than the average and got a similar result to my estimates based on a trial client, depending on circumstances. This is because they often indexing of the chapters. have jobs that demand extra time (eg, in the discussion of I communicated this to the editor, but my pleas for requirements), but, on the other hand, they are usually driven consideration of this were in vain. I stuck to my figures, and by the desire to communicate and I am happy to share in lost the jobs! Did I do right? that. In 2005 Glenda Browne recommended readers to 'Target I have been surprised over the years to find that the depth indexes to the budget available. A cheap index can often be of indexing I consider to be ideal is considered by some OK if it is a good index to a more limited scope, rather than clients to be unnecessary. Discussions about expected depth of a quick index trying to cover everything.' Should I have indexing sometimes show that for what they want, the client’s accepted the jobs and only spent the hours on it that a division price is reasonable. It’s just that we were planning to give them of $65 into the budget figure would give? If this is thought to so much more. be OK, should I tell an editor that that’s what I propose to do In my view the quality of the index with respect to the and that the index will not be as good or comprehensive as I brief is my responsibility, but the quality of the brief (e.g. the would like for the book? I feel a bit out of my depth in trying depth being paid for) is up to the editor. I might suggest that to negotiate this sort of thing with an editor, particularly as I I think the book needs more, but I leave it up to them. don’t know on what the budget figure is based. Should I have Even after 25 years indexing I still struggle to quote asked that? I would appreciate some guidance here, please, and at times. There are always new topics and new formats to I imagine there might be a number of other indexers who feel consider. This, of course, is one of the things that make such the same way. a wonderful career. But it also means you never get to sit on Should I now ask the editor to keep me on his list, as I still your laurels and think you know everything. When I first want to have the opportunity to index his books? How do I do quote for a new client I might give a range of quotes with this without grovelling, or letting down the rest of the indexing a range of possible depths. Most easily defined are indexing community? There’s not so much work about that I can afford just from section headings and indexing in full. I explain to lose jobs, so I’d love some guidance here, please. (continued on next page) 8 | ANZSI Newsletter (Quoting to a budget, continued from previous page) that ‘from section headings’ still involves analysis, rewording, than someone else’s. multiple entries etc, but that it means specific concepts that Negotiation over quoting in indexing involves swings can only be derived from a detailed reading of the text won’t and roundabouts. Sometimes you need to work at a lower be indexed. rate, or include less detail, to secure a contract, but that is If I quote for an index and the client says it is too expensive, counterbalanced by other jobs where you can earn a higher rate I might say ‘for the money you are suggesting I can do a briefer for less effort, and hence boost your profit. What I am saying is index from section headings’. Or if they mention a price and be flexible in quoting. However, this does not mean taking jobs give a sample from a previous edition, I might say ‘I can index at say $30/hour. As has been said many times before, 'if you for that price but not for that detail.’ When I can see a past pay peanuts, you get monkeys'! Leave these jobs for someone index for an annual report, previous edition etc, I also use my else. The publisher will be the loser in the long run, with rule of thumb of $1 to $2 per locator as a guide. poorer sales, and in many cases, a very disgruntled author. If the client insists on a low price for a detailed index, I’ll say I’m sorry I can’t do that but I am happy to suggest a And a final word from Don beginner indexer who might be interested. While I don’t want Thanks, Glenda and Max, to promote the idea of beginner indexers undercharging, the I appreciate those comments very much, and they will be of first few jobs are crucial for building a business, and they can be great help to me in the future. hard to get. Some of the jobs I have recommended beginners I’m gaining so much from this, and I’ve had further for have been self-published local histories which are being correspondence with the editor of the books that sparked all written for love rather than money. These give a beginner the this, which I’ll share at a future date. The basis for the budgets opportunity to get an index published, while also ensuring for the two books I didn’t get to index (which were 2nd and that a community book has a useful index. (These jobs can, 5th editions) was what the indexer of the previous editions of course, be more challenging than the average trade book charged, upgraded in line with inflation. It seems to me that’s index and newbies may find they have been thrown in the not a very good basis, as that puts later indexers at the mercy deep end.) If I feel a request for a cheap index is unreasonable, of what their peers have charged, and we don’t know what however, I might just decline with no offer of help. standard those peers have edited to. I was sent indexes to the I think editors sometimes apply inappropriate considerations previous editions, together with a representative chapter of when budgeting for a book. To be fair, I also think indexers each, but I didn’t take much notice of them as I prefer to index are probably extremely inconsistent and editors must often be each book from scratch. I’ve had some bad experiences trying bewildered by the variation in quotes they get. to update earlier indexes, even my own, so I tend not to use I have lost two jobs recently for over-quoting. I would them. However, if editors are basing their budgets on these, rather say ‘No’ than do a bad job quickly or do a good job but then obviously I’ll need to look at them at quoting time!! be underpaid. But I’ll always negotiate if there is a chance of a satisfactory compromise. What do other members think? ... Join the discussion! I try to be consistent, but if the job is wonderful (e.g. index ‘snorkelling holidays in the South Pacific’) I might negotiate less toughly. News from Queensland If I have underquoted I accept that I only get paid what I quoted, but I might mention to the editor that I should have quoted more, so that my low figure doesn’t go down in history as the appropriate price. Twice this has resulted in a $100 increase (still didn’t mean the job paid the ANZSI recommended rate, but a welcome gesture nonetheless). Max replied The principled approach you have taken with the editor is quite reasonable. However, Glenda’s 2005 advice also makes good sense. Once you have been told that you are 17% over the production budget for the index (for example you may have quoted $1500, but the publisher has only allowed $1300), you have to decide whether you can do a competent indexing job for $1300. Although Queensland Branch’s recent general meeting welcomed this lower figure will mean a less than ideal level of detail palaeontologist Dr Susan Turner. within the index, providing you can live with slightly At the meeting were (back row l to r): Teresa Hayward, Jane Douglas, lower standards, then go with a lower quote. You also Franz Pinz, Cate Seymour-Jones; (front): Moira Brown, Vicki Law, need to decide whether $1300 is better in your pocket Dr Susan Turner, Graham Potts, Beryl Macdonald. ANZSI Newsletter | 9 Quiet achievers in indexing – Nikki Davis Who has been the greatest influence on it is something that all indexers should aim for, so I’m very your career? pleased to have this under my belt. Serving on the Council definitely owe a lot to my former boss Christopher Walton, of ANZSI has also been a privilege and is very rewarding. IManaging Editor of the Book Editorial Department of What has been your biggest challenge? Reader’s Digest (South Africa) during the 1980s. Chris’s The earliest days of my career were definitely the hardest. idea to have a member of staff undertake an indexing As one of only a handful of indexers in South Africa in course in order to have a trained indexer in-house propelled the 1980s and with no formal networks (ASAIB was yet me down the path to an indexing career. to be formed) it was hard not to feel a My husband Sid was responsible little bit isolated. I got through sticky for revolutionising my method of situations by reading lots of other working by tossing out my shoebox published indexes and by consulting and replacing it with (to the best of my The Chicago Manual of Style. knowledge) the first custom-written indexing software program in South How do you try to achieve Africa. work-life balance? I’m also very appreciative of the I haven’t always been able to avoid support I received from Max McMaster it, but I definitely don’t like having when I resumed the indexing career I’d more than one book on my desk at given up in favour of part-time library any one time. I’m very conscious of work, while my sons Jared and Asher pacing myself, particularly because of were growing up. my other busy life in peer support work with breast cancer patients and How did you come to an as a consumer advisor for two clinical indexing career? trials groups. I first discovered indexing while To maintain balance in my life I working at Reader’s Digest. In those Nikki and Timmy, her indexing companion, need human contact, exercise, and a bit pre-internet days, the commissioning of time to dabble in yet more reading of an index always involved face-to- who likes to put in an appearance at Vic Branch Committee meetings. and hobbies. For human contact I face contact between the indexer and make time for family and friends. For in-house staff and I got to know Ethleen Lastovica, a exercise I do heaps of walking and I make the very most librarian and SI Registered Indexer, who wrote most of our of living just a stone’s chuck from Port Phillip Bay. My indexes. reading tastes are quite varied but one of my favourite Indexing always appealed to me. This is probably not areas of interest is Australia, especially books that help to surprising – I was working as an editorial researcher which, fill in the gaps in my knowledge of Australian history and like indexing, requires a love of information and an ability literature. I realise that I will probably never entirely catch to pay attention to detail. up but I’m having fun along the way! I also have the sewing At that time indexers were few and far between in South and knitting bug that seems to afflict so many indexers. Africa and Ethleen was in high demand. This issue was the catalyst for our Managing Editor’s idea that it would What do you like most about your work? be useful to have a trained indexer in-house. It didn’t grab What do you like least? my colleagues but I leapt at the opportunity. As training I enjoy being my own boss and having the ability to set was not available in South Africa, I sought advice from SI my own working hours and leave entitlements, as well as a and enrolled in Ann Hall’s BIPT course. (An article about jeans and t-shirt dress code. I like that indexing can expose my experience of indexing in South Africa in the 1980s you to all sorts of areas that you might not otherwise have was published in the August 2010 edition of the ANZSI delved into. I also like the project nature of the job – you Newsletter.) can see the results of your work very quickly. I still get a bit of a kick seeing a book that I have indexed in a bookshop. What do you see as your greatest Some of my best experiences have involved working achievement? directly with authors. Many of them like face-to-face Building up an indexing business is an achievement in contact (the demise of which I lament) and really do see itself and I’ve managed to do this twice on two different you as part of their team. continents at two very different phases of my life. I’m a strong believer in the accreditation process and think that (continued on next page) 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Quiet achievers: Nikki Davis, continued from previous page) The things I dislike most are the long hours spent at the computer, and the often fluid nature of publishers’ dates (in their favour) that can throw a spanner in the works. What advice would you offer to indexers just starting out? Being a newbie indexer is a little bit like being a P-plate driver. You have the skills to manoeuvre your car but you have yet to confront all the hazards of being on the road. It takes time to develop good indexing skills and to do this you’ll need to have the experience of indexing a few books with a variety of challenges. Invest in a good library of indexing books. My most consulted books have been Glenda Browne and Jon Jermey’s The Indexing Companion and The Chicago Manual of Style chapter on indexing. I can’t stress enough the value of being a member of an indexing society and the networking opportunities that it will offer you. Apart from being a great form of social contact, it’s the best way to build on your knowledge about indexing and to keep informed of the changes happening in publishing. Get involved with volunteer indexing projects as this is a very good way to kickstart your career. When offers of paid work do come your way, and this may be slow in happening in the beginning, be sure that you can manage the topic and the deadline. Something that my indexing teacher said has always stuck with me – you can’t nibble at indexing in odd hours. You also need to present yourself as an indexer right from the start. So avoid saying things like: ‘I’m trying to get into indexing.’ Be brave and call yourself an indexer. If you could dine with a famous historical figure, who could it be? Thomas Hardy because it was through the The Mayor of Casterbridge that I experienced that first sense of wonder at how a book could transport me to an entirely different time and place. I would talk to him about his self-education, his work as an architect, and his writing of course, especially his poetry which I discovered later. Despite the often hideous taste of the Victorians, it would be fun to learn more about Hardy’s numerous visits to the Great Exhibition of 1851. I probably also wouldn’t be able to resist asking him how he came to name one of his large troop of cats Kiddleywinkempoops- Trot. If you were a letter of the alphabet, who would you be and why? The letter ‘A’ because it represents the beginning, with the promise of more to come. I’m an optimist. It’s also the first letter in the names of the two continents where I’ve spent my life, Africa and Australia. ANZSI Newsletter | 11 Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Mon 22 April Conference Woden Library Details on page 7 and at ACT Region 5.30–7.00 pm catch-up meeting room ANZSI Newsletter N OTHER PAGES O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 VIC 3145, Australia Conference report from Carol Dawber 2 Conference report from Sandy Liddle 3 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Conference photos 4–5 ISSN 1832-3855 Indexing indaba 6 Opinions and statements expressed in the newsletter are ACT region Branch – Conference catch-up 7 those of the respective authors. Quoting to a budget 8 News from Queensland 9 Quiet achievers – Nikki Davis 10 Newsletter schedule Th e next Newsletter will appear in May 2013. Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 26 April. Th e editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 4 | May 2013 ANZSI News NZ Conference papers now on web The website covers topics such as linked and embedded ost of the NZ Conference papers indexes for use on devices with fluid pagination, embedded Mor reports on presentations have indexing to cut turnaround times and to facilitate been added to the website The VIC in April – Indexing software hile you may have compared the three indexing I am not sure many will be changing their software Wsoftware packages (Macrex, CINDEX and SKY) packages, but it was very interesting to see how differently when you started out indexing and selected one to purchase, the packages handled basic and advanced indexing processes. have you gone back and looked at the others again? Also expert users of each package were able to answer This was the basis for The VIC session in April. We had questions from other users in that package. It turned out to the three indexing packages loaded with the same sample be a very informative session for all present. index and asked users of each software package to explain Mary Russell how they would enter entries and edit the index. We also asked them to show features of their software they could not live without. Jan Wright and Glenda Browne at ‘The Matrix’ Queensland Branch is five years old e were born on 28 April 2008, so last month we celebrated our fi fth Wbirthday. In this time we have been ‘staying alive’ and keeping afl oat because our solid achievements in the service of our members convince them to pay their annual fees – and to keep doing so, year after year. Without them there would be no branch. It all began with Jean Dartnall, our current North Queensland contact. She Australian and New Zealand managed to hold several meetings of indexers in local Brisbane hotels or at the Society of Indexers Inc. University of Queensland back in the 1990s. Th en, in 1997, the Society of Editors (Qld) President, George Bernard Sterling, invited local indexers to join ANZSI Newsletter his editors at their meetings, to give them an avenue to network with colleagues ISSN 1832-3855 in the industry, because at that time they had no branch of their own. A well known and respected indexer, Ian Odgers, was the Queensland Editor: Peter Judge contact for ANZSI for many years in the 1990s up until the 21st century, 2 | ANZSI Newsletter (Queensland Branch is five years old, continued from previous page) researcher, historian), Hazel Bell (UK indexer, ex-President Mei Yen Chua and Des Stephens (ex-Queensland of SI – via DVD), Frances Lennie (owner of CINDEX State Librarian). Our thanks to all of you for your computer software, indexer, ex-ASI President), Elisabeth contributions. Wheeler (archivist, research consultant), William S. Kitson Indexing training (surveyor, ex-Curator of the Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying) and his successor Curator Kaye Nardella, A number of courses have been held by Queensland Branch and Gary Thorpe (Manager of 4MBS FM Radio Station for the benefit of its members and interested industry and Museum). colleagues in 2008, ’09, ’10, ’11 and ’13. It was also a great honour when Mary Russell (our This year, our Branch has a new project for members’ own ANZSI President, mathematician, librarian, author continuing education. It is an online indexing training/ and indexer) came especially from Victoria to be our guest mentoring project running from March to June 2013. We speaker at Queensland Branch’s AGM held on 26 July have 12 colleagues who are undergoing this pilot project, 2011. using an Australian-written and -designed textbook by Glenda Brown and Jon Jermey. Mei Yen Chua, a very Other guests have included Adam LeBrocq (editor, writer, experienced indexer, is coordinating the online training. indexer), Sue McQuay (editor, indexer, publisher), Belinda Anyone is welcome to join us in future projects of this Weaver (University of Queensland research data strategist), kind. Lesley Bryant (researcher for University of Queensland, librarian, indexer, author, historian), Amanda Greenslade As you know, indexing training can only be held when (graphic designer, website maintenance, copywriter, you the indexer makes a show of interest in different editor and PR communicator), Lisa Jones (Master in training spheres, so keep a look out for our future plans. Museum Studies, archivist, Curator of the Queensland Our interest in EPUB and its adjuncts, pointed out Police Museum), and Dr. Susan Turner (science historian, by those Queensland members who attended the ANZSI palaeontologist, Fellow of The Geological Society, Fellow of Conference in New Zealand (Jane Douglas and Sandy The Linnaean Society of London, editor, indexer). Liddle), is another path which we in Queensland hope to For our fifth birthday our guest speaker was Jane pursue. Douglas, a freelance writer, a blogger, a student in the home Thanks to Max McMaster, Jean Dartnall, Glenda stretch of a Bachelor of Arts in Writing and Publishing and Brown, Mary Russell and Mei Yen Chua (to mention but an indexer-in-training, who was lucky enough to attend the a few in ANZSI), for their care and concern for others to ANZSI Conference in Wellington, New Zealand in March gain and maintain their continuous professional education. 2013. We are well aware that a professional indexer needs to stay ahead of the many challenges facing our industry today. Regional Branch meetings These have been held in Townsville in North Queensland on The Future two occasions. Firstly, Jean Dartnall and her husband Allan Queensland Branch currently has 29 members scattered provided a luncheon at their home for seven interested about the State. Seventeen of these are in and around members and industry colleagues in September 2008, just Brisbane. We are urging them to consider helping to run five months after our new Queensland Branch had been their State indexing branch. If no one helps or makes an formed. I, as Queensland Branch President, was lucky effort, it will fall over! enough to travel to Townsville for the occasion where I met General Meetings: We need members’ continuing Branch members. Many thanks again to Jean Dartnall for support – by attending ‘General Meetings’ for just one to two her continuing assistance to our Branch. hours a month they can network with industry colleagues, In August 2012, indexing guru Max McMaster editors or publishers who may become prospective conducted a ‘Dinner with an indexer’ at a local Townsville employers, while being entertained and educated by a restaurant. Max, along with local indexers Jean Dartnall guest speaker. and Suzie Davies and other industry colleagues enjoyed a Queensland Branch Committee successful evening discussing indexing and networking. We hope that Branch members will continue to offer News from Queensland their time and knowledge in the Branch Committee. Here Over the years, items included in the ANZSI Newsletter they have the chance to put forward their opinions and be have been written by visitors (i.e. industry colleagues at the decision making end of the Branch activities. The attending our meetings) or by new indexers, who had Branch has worked hard to help and support its members undergone indexing training with Jean Dartnall, Max ever since it was formed five years ago. It needs their help McMaster or Glenda Brown. Among these authors were to secure and develop the future. Jacinda Wilson, Maureen (Mo) Dickson, Mary Trabucco, Moira Brown (President, Queensland Branch) ANZSI Newsletter | 3 Queensland Branch’s birthday meeting n our fifth birthday, we welcomed our new indexer- century. ASI Digital Trends Task Force updates were also Oin-training, Queensland member Jane Douglas, as our on the agenda – Jane involved us all in these fascinating and guest speaker for the evening. Jane had just returned from intriguing conference sessions. the 2013 ANZSI Conference in New Zealand, bringing Jan Wright’s wonderful keynote address, Mei Yen Chua’s back the latest news in the indexing world as told by fellow 'Publishers, Editors and Indexers' panel session, together indexers from America, Canada, the UK and Australia. with Mary Russell’s closing address on ‘Indexing without What great tidings she brought back to us. It was a mind boundaries’ were the highlights of our evening. blowing evening, but oh, so enlightening. We wished that We thank Jane for a very comprehensive, entertaining we had all had the opportunity to attend the Conference. and educational evening on this important birthday date. EPUB, EPUB Standards and electronic indexing and Moira Brown (President, ANZSI Queensland Branch) techniques are the way forward for indexers in this 21st At the fifth birthday celebration were (left to right): Cate Seymour-Jones, Jane Douglas (guest speaker), Jeni Lewington (standing), Moira Brown, Franz Pinz, Graham Potts (kneeling) and Marisa Trigger. Lesley Bryant took the photo; David Crosswell also attended but left early. Queensland Branch entertains a palaeontologist extraordinaire ressure on space prevented publication last month of dedicated to their scientific Pthis account of Queensland Branch’s March meeting, work, often poorly paid, where they welcomed Dr Susan Turner, a distinguished with no fixed tenure, who palaeontologist (the photo shows her relaxing with us after pursue their interest under her talk). tough physical conditions. Dr Turner gave a lively account of her scientific career Dr Turner is from a and work, which began in post-war England and eventually generation where women brought her to Australia. Palaeontology as a discipline does scientists, and especially earth not have a very high public profile, so it was fascinating to scientists, were an extreme hear a first hand account of what palaeontologists do, as minority. Most of the time well as learning about the environment in which they work. they were the only woman Dr Turner was a student of geology and palaeontology, who in their university year and became interested in vertebrate palaeontology and pursued then, if they pursued a career an interest in fossil fish throughout her career. in their field any further, at So the audience quickly learned about living fossils. the workplace. One such example is an ancient species called a Coelacanth, In this regard, Brisbane has a proud tradition of being which has survived over hundreds of millions of years in somewhat of a trailblazer. When our guest speaker Dr a few isolated locations, such as the Comoro islands, and Susan Turner arrived here in the early 1980s, following also in Queensland. Palaeontologists go into the Australian her new university lecturer husband, she found some bush in their hunt for ancient bones and fossils. They love exceptional women palaeontologists at the Queensland it and have all sorts of stories to tell. But they are not rough Museum and the University of Queensland. Mary Wade Indiana Jones types, fighting dramatic battles to recover these and Dorothy Hill are widely recognized role models for treasures. They are ordinary – yet extraordinary – people, successful women scientists. (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (A palaeontologist extraordinaire, continued from previous page) Dr Turner also spoke about the precarious financial Strong and supportive personal relationships are a situation of scientific niche subjects. Traditional employers feature in the life of scientists pursuing a common interest. for palaeontologists are universities and natural history It starts with strong teacher-student relationships and museums. In the last 20 years or so many of these continues amongst these dedicated professionals, ignoring institutions have closed these ‘unprofitable’ departments. political or racial boundaries, demonstrating the truly Scientists who may have spent a lifetime of work in the international scope of science. Building upon earlier work field lose their livelihood and have to find outside project as an editor of scientific journals, Dr Susan Turner has also funding, consulting work or career opportunities abroad. developed a freelance career as editor and indexer in her This situation led Dr Turner to China, where she was scientific fields. able to pursue her teaching and research interests, and to It was an absorbing evening, hearing a first hand Canada. Through UNESCO, she is now also involved in account of the problems and successes in the life of a the establishment of geological parks at places all over the dedicated scientist. world that have interesting geological features. Franz Pinz (Branch Treasurer) Quoting to a budget Don Jordan adds a postscript to last month’s discussion. Is there anybody else out there with strong views on this topic? n looking more closely at this issue, I became aware of had 20 indexable pages and only 4 pages of end-matter in Iseveral things. One was that the number of words per this chapter. This makes a big difference to the calculated page varies enormously from book to book, for a variety of proportions – 22/29 x 100 = 76% compared with 20/24 x reasons. The first edition book that I’m indexing is almost 100 = 83%. The number of pages that I was given for the unreadable because of its tiny font. There are roughly 770 book was 544, whereas it finished up at 598. The indexable words/page – about twice the number in my informational pages then calculated are 413 and 496, respectively. As books. The other two texts had 450 and 550 words/page. I based my estimate on the average number of entries It is obviously unwise to use a rate per page as a basis for per page for the manuscript version of chapter 9, it can estimating unless you are sure that the new book has the be seen that my estimate was going to be seriously wrong. same number of words per page. Also, many books include After I had finished the index, I discovered that chapter 9 pages containing material that is not indexable, so in contained proportionately more entries than the other keeping records of books indexed, this statistic should be chapters, so that led to a considerable estimating error also. included. I hadn’t thought to estimate the words/page of Don Jordan books I’ve worked on in the past, so my database is lacking in that regard. I would love some guidance from others as to what records they keep of their indexing work, and in what detail, so that they have ready access to reliable and useful data on which to base quotations for work? The editor of the books that sparked all this subsequently told me that the basis for the budgets for the two books I didn’t get to index (which were 2nd and 5th editions) was what the indexer of the previous editions charged, upgraded in line with inflation. But that puts later indexers at the mercy of what their peers have charged, and we don’t know what standard those peers have indexed to. I was sent indexes to the previous editions, together with a representative chapter of each, but I didn’t take much notice of them as I prefer to index each book from scratch. I’ve had some bad experiences trying to update earlier indexes, even of my own, so I tend not to use them. However, if editors are basing their budgets on these, then it’s obviously going to be a good thing to look at them at quoting time! Another potential trap I discovered was that I was given a manuscript copy of a chapter of the first edition book, and not a page proof. The manuscript chapter contained 22 indexable pages of text and 7 pages of end-matter, which the editor said could be used to estimate the proportion of indexable pages for the book. However, the final page proofs ANZSI Newsletter | 5 ASI Conference in San Antonio 18–19 April bout 100 people attended the ASI Conference, spread article/My-Last-Index/131162/> spoke about indexers and A over Thursday and Friday with workshops on the indexes mentioned in books, particularly books by Barbara Saturday. While most were from the US, there were several Pym. from Canada, three Australians, a couple from UK and one Joshua Tallent then spoke on ebooks from the point of from The Netherlands. view of ebook producers, which was interesting. He was ICRIS meeting tagged by Dave Ream on EPUB3 Indexes 1.0 draft. On the Wednesday afternoon the ICRIS group met. This I then went to a session by Kate Mertes on indexing is a great opportunity to hear what the other societies are historical documents from before about 1850. This type doing. One topic that was discussed was the various societies’ of indexing has many problems not typically faced by equivalents to Indexers Available, as the Society of Indexers indexers indexing present-day books. Obviously seeking prepares to launch their updated version. I was surprised guidance from the author is not possible, but are you to learn that ANZSI is the only society that doesn’t charge actually working with original texts or is it a translation of their members to advertise in their IA. Costs to advertise a translation, for example translated from Latin to French your services on the list range from about $40 to $150 per and then to 18th century English. Terminology of the day year. ASI has found that while their membership numbers could have different meanings today and the spelling is had dropped their revenue from their IA equivalent has not sure to be different. Kate provided useful tips on what to dropped. look out for, how to cope with spelling variations by using square brackets in the index and the Hines Award importance of qualifying entries. The ASI Hines Award is ASI’s highest Knowing the period in which the award and is given in acknowledgement book was written is important, as is of services to the Society. This year the knowledge of what present readers award was presented to Jan Wright, are likely to be interested in. For seen receiving it at right. This was such example it may be of interest to a popular choice that Jan received a index every quote, as this gives an standing ovation. The citation can be indication of what literature the found at: author had access to. I found it a 6 | ANZSI Newsletter (ASI Conference, continued from previous page) ASI has created a publications person buying the supplies and index mash-up to a few of their the school, who may have also to publications, something publishers prepare lunches? Quickly thinking are becoming very keen to do. This of things and putting them on gives you a wonderful idea of what post-it-notes enabled us to group they are talking about and how it these in to two or three main could look ZAKUSKI i, I just wanted to welcome you to my new column entitled Zakuski, which is taken from a Russian Hword meaning ‘appetisers’. I feel honoured to be following in the footsteps of Jane Purton, who has decided to step down from writing this column. I will alternate with Nikki Davis every other month, and provide you with quirky snippets about indexing and other matters which take my fancy. I thought of many different titles for this column but decided that since most of our indexing events take place around a meal, this would be appropriate. Volunteering in indexing From the Box Hill U3A home page… I happen to be a member of my local U3A and just recently We have just observed another ANZAC Day. In 2015 it an advertisement appeared requiring an indexer at the Box will be the centenary. To commemorate this occasion an Hill Historical Society. Needless to say I jumped in and Avenues of Honour research project is being set up. said ‘yes’. This is a national initiative to honour with a tree the The project requires me to create an index to their memory of every individual who has fought in wars. ratebooks from 1947 to 1953 using Microsoft Access This involves documenting, preserving and reinstating the database, and to key in data from original handwritten rate original and establishing new Avenues of Honour . assessment books, which are held at the society’s premises The first stage is sourcing out the existing and lost at the Box Hill Town Hall. I am also going to create Avenues and the people commemorated by them. The indexes /indices to any of their books that do not have one. project will use all aspects of digital media such as blogs, Volunteering with a historical society is the best way to mobile apps, wikis in order to collect and share information. practice one’s indexing skills. Darren Peacock and David Lawry are the coordinators of (Their website is at < http://u3aboxhill.com.au>.) this project. (Website ANZSI Newsletter | 7 (Zakuski, continued from previous page) Barbara Pym Literary Ethics A few weeks ago I was lunching with some friends and So you’ve morphed in your career, we were talking about indexing. One of them mentioned From a dubious librarian the books written by British author Barbara Pym, who From a suspect primary teacher actually has characters in her books who are indexers. To a palpably terrifying evil indexer of books. While my friend could not mention the title of her books, I thought that sinister actuaries, spooky museum the following day I went on the web and looked her up. attendants, On the Barbara Pym website there is a very detailed index Corrupt curators, anarchic archivists and chilling which has been created by our English colleague Hazel Bell children’s authors are bad. (pictured below). Hazel was one of the delegates at When you with your macabre scheming the San Antonio Conference and File every human reference let me say what a pleasure it was Under D for dead. to meet her. You turn over an old leaf, Coincidentally, Barbara Pym Use the blackest ink, was discussed in great detail in Print in .6 gray on gray the ASI’s keynote address, The And before you’re finished secret lives of indexers, delivered by You’re drinking quantities of what they call cold tea. Judith Pascoe. You play Scrabble to the death or at least Check out Hazel’s index on Queensland Branch General Meeting Tuesday 28 May at 6.00 for 7.00 pm At The Ward Office, 2/63 Annerley Road (corner of Crown Street) Woolloongabba, Brisbane (office of Cr. Helen Abrahams of BCC). Entrance to the meeting is through the Meeting Room back door entrance, which will be marked with the Queensland Branch logo. Free parking will be found at the back and side of the building, so please enter via Crown Street. Entrance fee and supper is $2.00. Program 6.00 pm: Networking & nibbles with Queensland Branch members & industry colleagues, including registration. 7.00 pm: Elizabeth Riley – Highlights of the 2013 ASI Conference in San Antonio, Texas. 8 | ANZSI Newsletter Quiet achievers – Jenny Restarick Who has been the greatest influence on What advice would you offer to indexers your career? just starting out? can't really pinpoint anyone in particular - perhaps my Join and attend as many clubs, workshops as you are I mother who found my first job for me (CSIRO Dairy interested in, to enlarge your network of friends and Research Laboratory at Highett – on the train route) after contacts; offer to assist these groups to organise their years of my childhood obsession with stamping books and records, publish their newsletters etc. Marry someone setting up a small lending library for the neighbourhood whose subject speciality is different to yours so you can kids – with my books and paper recording systems always ask for advice re terminology etc. How did you come to an indexing career? I saw the approaching demise of special libraries, so I enrolled in the late 1980s with Michael Ramsden at RMIT. Fortunately, with a knowledge of scientific terms and how to spell them, work came along in regular bursts. What do you see as your greatest achievement? Encouraging the use of the invaluable tool SSAL (Scientific Serials in Australian Libraries) by library staff, in the days when one ‘looked up’ paper-based finding aids. SSAL, in its huge looseleaf format, contained amazingly invaluable information regarding serials titles and their publishers, authoritative institutions etc. – a veritable treasure trove of knowledge in alphabetical order, complete with see and see also references – also useful for standing on, in the absence of steps, and as door stops ! What has been your biggest challenge? Changing roles in 1997 from front-of-house Librarian in a CSIRO Library to Information Officer in a world-wide Jenny with husband Cliff. one-call answering service for the organisation meant losing personal contact with the scientists and support staff who If you could dine with a famous historical had supported me, to gaining a wider knowledge of the figure, who would it be? ‘whole’ of CSIRO and, with my years of service, I became Dame Elisabeth Murdoch – for the patience she showed a keeper of its corporate memory. over the years, for the never-ending acts of generosity How do you try to achieve work–life and her personality, which somehow seemed to rise above balance? politics and petty ‘gossip’ and made her such an endearing I have been fortunate to get job-sharing, short stay locums lady. for 9-day fortnights, recreational and confinement leave If you were a letter of the alphabet, which positions for 25 years whilst my family was growing up. letter would you be and why? This was the era of social change in the workplace and I was All of them – A to Z – I love words, languages and order lucky to be a part of it. which is most appealing to an indexer. What do you like most about your work? What do you like least? Least: Confinement to barracks during the working day – little interaction with scientific staff and fellow indexers. Most: Meeting peer groups (indexers, editors etc.) at conferences, visits, meetings etc ANZSI Newsletter | 9 Authors’ lists of keywords ergus Barrowman, a publisher-speaker at the ANZSI • provides information that the author has found useful in Fconference in Wellington, said that he asks authors their own work with the text. to provide a keyword list for indexers. I commented that General ideas many indexers find these lists useless and time-wasting, but was told by another indexer (Frances Paterson) that she One keyword list that I was provided with informed my sometimes asks for lists of keywords when indexing complex indexing because I discovered that the author was interested post-graduate texts. Why the different experiences? in providing access to brand names of all equipment, rather than to the categories to which the equipment belonged. Determining what terms to include is usually the This preference could have been more directly provided simplest step in indexing. Choosing when to include to me as the instruction ‘Please index brand names of all them (i.e. selecting important discussions) and creating equipment’. Similarly, it is useful to know whether the meaningful subheadings and useful cross references are author wants pharmaceuticals indexed by brand name more difficult, and are not aided by a simple list. and drug name, and whether plants should be indexed Indexers usually work through texts in page number by common name and/or scientific name, but the indexer order, so an alphabetical list means the indexer has to take doesn’t need to see them all listed. their focus away from the book to the list and then back I have also had useful instructions from an author that again. A list organised chapter by chapter, or better still, included suggestions on how to decide which of the many page by page, is more useful. place names in the book should be indexed. The most frustrating thing about these lists – which happens with surprising frequency – is their inclusion of Index structure terms for concepts that are not in the book. When authors If the author has preferences for the way they would are finally queried they check and say ‘Sorry, I forgot that like terms displayed in the index they should say so. I had removed that section’. The lists are also inevitably Suggestions could include treatment of names (e.g. single incomplete, so exclusion from the list doesn’t necessarily and later married names of students in a biography of a mean that the concept shouldn’t be included in the index. school principal) and grouping of entries (e.g. indexing of When the lists have been structured they sometimes artworks under the name of the artist or as entries in their break indexing rules, e.g. by using adjectives as main own right or both). headings (‘social’ as main heading with ‘class’ and ‘studies’ Language use as subheadings). If the author has preferences for the use of language in Indexers who are provided with these lists may look the index, they should say so. Suggestions could include at them before indexing and then load them into their sensitivity issues (eg, use of people-first language such as indexing software. Here they can function as prompts, and ‘people with disabilities’ not ‘disabled people’ and use of the indexer can check at the end that they have all been terms such as ‘half-blood’) and the use of foreign languages included in the index (if appropriate). When used in this (eg, Indian translations of recipe names in a cook book). way they are more an aid to quality control than an aid to index construction. New concepts and potential problem areas Some of the guidance that could be provided by authors When terminology has recently changed, it is useful would be especially useful for multi-author works, but this to indicate to the indexer the version that is preferred is when lists are least likely to be available. (e.g. when ‘appropriate dispute resolution’ started to Lists of terms are more important for books that assume replace ‘alternative dispute resolution’ the journal I indexed knowledge rather than leading the user through the topic included both options, so I changed my index entry to step by step (as a textbook should), especially when they are ‘alternative/appropriate dispute resolution (ADR)’). academic works on obscure topics. It would be difficult for an author to identify all problem areas, but if they are aware of concepts that often get Useful information to provide to indexers confused, they should mention them. For an information Rather than receiving a list of keywords, I would like to management book, for instance, they might explain to the have a brief that: indexer that IEE and IEEE are different, and note that the • articulates the general ideas that a keyword list might acronym OCLC has changed its meaning over time. display; For legal works it is important that the indexer knows • describes the author's preferences for index structure; that some words and phrases are used with specific legal • describes the author's preferences for language use in the meanings and should not be changed (e.g. a ‘Charge and index; Summons’ is one single document, even though the words • includes guidance on new concepts and potential problem areas; (continued on next page) 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Authors’ lists of keywords, continued from previous page) ‘charge’ and ‘summons’ can also be used individually). In most cases, however, a legal dictionary is likely to be more useful than a selective list from the author. Supplementary information General supplementary information that the author has gathered– even if it is not to be eventually published – can be the most useful material. This includes family trees, timelines, military hierarchies, lists of abbreviations, and glossaries (including alternative terms). The concepts and relationships that the author has struggled with are likely to be those that the indexer also needs guidance on. So many decisions in indexing and the commissioning of indexes depend on the nature of the book and the indexer. Communication between editor and indexer, rather than simply relying on one standard set of guidelines, will help to ensure the best possible indexes for all books. Glenda Browne A different insight into the ANZSI New Zealand Conference. e have just received this photograph, taken by WJan Wright, which is too good to miss, showing Uili Fecteau (NZ archivist) and Ray Price absorbed in professional discussion during a lunch break. You have to admire their choice of seats! ANZSI Newsletter | 11 Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Sat 11 May RSVP for catering via Vic Branch Indexing Asian names State Library of Victoria 2.30 pm ANZSI Newsletter N OTHER PAGES O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, Th e VIC in April 1 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI Newsletter 2 Queensland Branch is fi ve years old 2 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Queensland Branch’s birthday meeting 4 ISSN 1832-3855 Queensland Branch entertains a palaeontologist 4 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are Quoting to a budget 5 those of the respective authors. ASI Conference in San Antonio 6 Zakuski 7 Queensland Branch May General Meeting 8 Newsletter schedule Quiet achievers – Jenny Restarick 9 Th e next Newsletter will appear in June 2013. Authors’ lists of keywords 10 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 31 May. Th e editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 5 | June 2013 ANZSI News Full Council meeting always a tricky job as we look for ways to increase Council he May Council meeting is a chance for Branch revenue and reduce expenses. If income and expenditure TPresidents as ex-officio members to join Council remained unchanged we would be in deficit in 2013/14. members, to discuss matters face-to-face. I’ll spare you all Council to adopt GST the details of the meeting as the Minutes will be placed, While decided at an earlier Council meeting, I remind you along with all the other Council documents, in the that Council will adopt GST from this month. members’ area of the website. This will occur after they are approved at the next Council meeting, so late June. Membership rates for 2013/2014 The photo shows full Council members: (l to r): Moira There is always reluctance to increase membership rates. Brown, Alan Eddy, Glenda Browne, Michael Ramsden, Membership rates for 2013/2014 will not increase, but will Shirley Campbell, Mary Russell, Julie Daymond-King, include GST. Nikki Davis and Iris Bergmann. Max McMaster took the Membership fee will be $88 for Australian members photo and Karen Gillen was absent. and NZ$80 for New Zealand members. Glenda Browne joins Council Organisational members will pay A$110 for Australian Glenda Browne has joined Council and we welcome her members and NZ$100 for New Zealand organisations. input into Council. Pay to advertise on Indexers Available Financial management Council decided that from 1 July a fee will apply for advertising in Indexers Available. From 1 July 2013 any The financial management of ANZSI was one of the main Jan Wright and Glenda Browne items for discussion. Managing the Council budget is at(continued ‘The Matrix’ on next page) (ANZSI News, continued from previous page) member wishing to have an entry in Indexers Available will pay $35 (A$38.50 inc. GST or NZ$35). Th is will be an annual cost and, like all fees, will be reviewed each year. Th is fee will apply to all members, regardless of when their membership is due for renewal. When will Indexers Available improve? Th e NSW Branch is working on improvements to IA including trying to set it up so you will have a unique URL that you can use to promote your business and being able to list more Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. than three books you have indexed. Whilst we are asking you to pay before the changes are implemented, ANZSI Newsletter this was thought by Council to be a more palatable option than increasing ISSN 1832-3855 membership dues that would apply to all members. Don’t forget this is advertising and you can probably claim it on your tax. Editor: Peter Judge 2 | ANZSI Newsletter (ANZSI News, continued from previous page) Accredited indexers were being asked to list two indexes Ebooks and your August Newsletter they had done in the last five years. These indexes would Peter Judge will be away for the preparation of the August not be checked to ensure the quality of the indexes or even issue of the Newsletter, so Denise Sutherland has kindly that they existed. The proposal gave additional options if agreed to prepare the issue. We hope to have a focus on accredited indexers could not list two indexes they had ebooks. We welcome your comments and observations of completed in the last five years, and was to that extent a indexes in ebooks. Have you seen a good index? If so, please proposal to ensure Professional Development rather than a write a few paragraphs and let us know. Do you know of renewal of accreditation. Council members are supportive any publishers who are producing indexes in ebooks? Have of the idea of a Professional Development scheme, but not you had personal experiences of producing an index to an in the form being suggested. ebook? We would love to hear from you. Content for the Council decided that renewal of accreditation will August issue is due at the end of July – contact Denise at no longer continue. Only about 20% of members have ANZSI Newsletter | 3 ACT Region Branch he ACT Region Branch currently has 35 members and The ACT Region Branch was well represented at Tis the second largest branch of ANZSI after Victoria. the recent Wellington conference. Five of our members The Branch Committee meets regularly. Workshops attended: Shirley Campbell, Sherrey Quinn, Denise and activities for members are scheduled from time to Sutherland, Geraldine Triffitt, and Tracy Harwood. Sherrey time; popular workshops include annual report indexing, Quinn gave a very practical paper on the final day about thesaurus construction, update sessions on indexing ANZSI accreditation, and what to look out for when submitting an index for assessment. Our next major event is the 2015 joint national conference for indexers and editors. The ACT Region Branch will be hosting this conference along with the Canberra Society of Editors. The Write, Edit, Index conference will run from 6 to 9 May 2015, at the Rydges Lakeside Hotel in Canberra. There is close cooperation between the two societies as most of the organising committee belong to both. Planning is already underway, and we look forward to welcoming you to Canberra in 2015! Our history – the beginning The idea of a Canberra Branch of the Australian Society of Indexers (AusSI) was discussed at a weekend back-of-book At the Bowral conference (l to r): Denise Sutherland, Shirley Campbell (President), indexing course organised by the Online Frances Paterson (NSW President), Sherrey Quinn, Tracy Harwood (seated) Users group of the Library Association of Australia in the winter of 1992. software, and discussion sessions with the Canberra Society This idea did not come out of the blue, because there of Editors. We have occasional excursions to places like the were a number of members of AusSI in Canberra. Over Parliament House Library. In 2012 we enjoyed hosting the years there had been some membership recruitment visits from Frances Lennie (from CINDEX), and American drives by AusSI interstate committee members particularly indexer Diana Witt. Some members met with ANZSI targeting librarians. In 1986 there were 22 members in the member John Simkin, who is writing a history of ANZSI. ACT, but the number had declined to 15 in 1992. The current committee consists of Shirley Campbell An inaugural meeting was held in October 1992 at (President), Sherrey Quinn (Treasurer), Edyth Binkowski, the University of Canberra, at which 30 people attended. Geraldine Triffitt, Barry Howarth, and Denise Sutherland. The motion to form a Canberra Branch of the Australian The secretarial role is shared amongst members. Society of Indexers was carried unanimously by the The ACT Region Branch collaborates with NSW financial members of the Society. Branch in biennial seminars held at Bowral, a central An interim committee was appointed to examine the location in NSW. These seminars are significant professional National Constitution and to draw up a constitution for development and networking events, well-attended by the Branch. The first meeting was held in November 1992. members of both branches. Topics covered have included A questionnaire was given to all participants to fill in their epubs, cookbook indexing, indexing aids we can’t live preferences for activities, particularly courses. without, and criteria for index evaluation. In July 2012 the Because of the proximity of Queanbeyan, and the seminar theme was ‘From pbooks to ebooks: Focusing on possibilities of indexers from other parts of southern New digital publishing’; 23 indexers attended. South Wales being able to attend functions in Canberra, it Our members are involved in a wide range of indexing was decided to name the branch the ACT Region Branch, projects, from academic projects, volunteer indexes, to trade rather than Canberra Branch of the Society. books. We are always particularly busy in the third quarter The Canberra Online Users Group and the embryo of the year with ‘annual report season’. Canberra is home ACT Region Branch of AusSI jointly sponsored a one to many national and government institutions, who need day seminar held at the National Library of Australia, in indexes for their annual reports and other publications. (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (ACT Region Branch, continued from previous page) November 1992, which 45 people attended. Issues and In 2001 it was the ACT Region’s turn to host the problems of indexing, indexing of certain databases and Biennial Conference, and it was decided to host a joint a comparative demonstration of Macrex and CINDEX conference with the Canberra Society of Editors. This indexing tools were on the program. was the first joint national conference ever held between The Branch Constitution and the collated questionnaire Australian editors and indexers. The second such conference were ready for the first Annual General Meeting in February will be held in 2015, also hosted in Canberra. 1993. By then we had 25 members, and 20 people attended National Committee of AusSI/ANZSI the AGM, which took the form of a dinner and meeting. On 26 February 2002 the ACT Region Branch Committee That has been the pattern since for our AGMs. was elected as the National Committee for 2002–03, The activities for the Branch that year were a 'Meet the taking over this responsibility from the NSW Branch. We Indexers' panel in May, a 'Meet the Data-base Indexer' continued in this role until 18 October 2006. Under the panel in June, a dinner for members in September, at inspired leadership of Lynn Farkas as President during which the speaker was Peter Judge, formerly head of this time, two significant changes to the Society occurred. CSIRO Information Services (and now the Editor of the Firstly, on 17 November 2004, following the formation of ANZSI Newsletter), and a talk about indexing videos at the the NZ Branch the name of the Society was changed from National Film and Sound Archive and the Sports Video the Australian Society of Indexers to the Australian and Library at the Australian Institute of Sport in October. New Zealand Society of Indexers. Secondly, on 18 October At our AGM in February 1994, the President commented 2006, the Constitution was altered to change the name on difficulties of publicising activities to reach potential ‘Committee’ to ‘Council’ in order to remove problems of new members. During that busy year work had started nomenclature when referring to the main body responsible on indexing standards and the criteria for registration for for the affairs of the Society. document indexers. Local member Robert Hyslop was a On 8 March 2003 the National Committee held an finalist for the Society’s medal. Outlook Workshop in Canberra to which all members In 1994, the Branch held four activities as well as of the National Committee including ex-officio members the Annual General Meeting and dinner. There was an were invited. Its purpose was to determine a blueprint Abstracting Workshop in April, a panel discussion on for the Committee’s activities for 2003. The issues database indexing in June, a talk by Max McMaster on discussed included goals for 2003, the role of the National becoming a freelance indexer Committee, membership, in September, and ‘Indexing website, Constitution, and and editing from a publisher’s education and training. perspective’, by the publisher These formed the basis Pat Woolley from Wild and for issues and tasks to be Woolley, as well as a dinner for dealt with by the National members in November. Committee. In 1995, ACT Region Following an interim member Barry Howarth won period without a Newsletter the Society’s Medal. Eleven Editor, a position previously ACT Region members went held in a voluntary capacity to the Indexers – Partners by a member of the Society, in Publishing conference at Committee members Edyth Binkowski and Barry Howarth an experienced editor, Peter Marysville, presenting four at our 2012 AGM dinner Judge, was appointed to this papers and chairing two position in October 2004. sessions. Peter has been Editor ever since. An idea had been canvassed for the following year to Website redevelopment was an important project and hold a weekend meeting about ‘Indexing in the electronic was funded in a shared arrangement by the national age’ for the NSW and ACT Region Branch to meet, at a committee and branches. The NSW Branch developed venue between the two areas in the Southern Highlands. the proposed information architecture and input from This developed into a major conference attracting eighty members was sought by means of a survey. On finalisation participants from the Eastern States and New Zealand of the information architecture and tender specifications, at Robertson. It included the presentation of the Society quotes were sought for the design and implementation of Medal at the dinner. The papers were published in LASIE, the redeveloped website. On 15 May 2006 the successful with some papers in the AusSI Newsletter. This gave the ACT Region Branch valuable publicity. (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 5 (ACT Region Branch, continued from previous page) tenderer, Link Digital, was awarded the contract and has doubt, we shall continue to be actively involved in ANZSI been responsible for the development and management of activities and the development of the Society into the the website since that time. future. A special meeting was held in Canberra in May 2006, Denise Sutherland named the GAMES (Guidelines, Archives, Mentoring for the Society) meeting to differentiate it from other meetings. Sherrey Quinn was chairperson and the participants A multiskilled ACT indexer included the National Committee as well as representatives anberra indexer Denise Sutherland is also a well- of all branches. The principal aim of the meeting was to established puzzle writer. She is the author of examine the current guidelines and policies of the Society. C such books as Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies Some policies were endorsed without further discussion, and The Canberra Puzzle Book. some were revised (including a significant revision of the Registration Policy), while others were referred for Denise recently became the ‘captive cruciverbalist’ further work. Other topics discussed at this meeting on ABC regional NSW radio, on Chris Coleman’s were mentoring, the Society’s archives and the role of the ‘Statewide Afternoons’ program. In this spot, she Education Committee. Lynn Farkas and Shirley Campbell challenges the audience with her cryptic clues, and completed the production of the endorsed and revised chats with Chris about solving cryptic crosswords, and policies and procedures before handing over to the new with listeners about their answers. You can hear her on committee in October 2006. ABC Radio across regional NSW every Wednesday, just after 2:30 pm. And finally … You can also listen online, live or later, on the Throughout its history, our members have contributed to ‘Statewide Afternoons’ website: 2013 ANZSI Medal Applications he Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers will be returned if requested) should be sent to the address TMedal is offered annually for the most outstanding on the nomination form. index to a book or periodical compiled Publishers, indexers and all interested in Australia or New Zealand. people may nominate indexes, and The index must be in print and indexers may nominate their own work. published after 2009. It must have been We invite you to have a browse around compiled in Australia or New Zealand, your local bookshop too. If you find an even though the text to which it refers Australian or New Zealand title with may have originated elsewhere. The an index, which looks as though it index should be substantial in size; the could be a Medal contender, complete subject matter should be complex; and the nomination form on the ANZSI the language, form and structure of the website and send it to Garry Cousins, index should demonstrate the indexer’s Chairman of the Awards Committee. expertise, as well as serving the needs of Entries close on 31 July 2013. A the text and reader. nomination form is available on the The publisher of the winning index ANZSI website: will be presented with a certificate recognising 6 | ANZSI Newsletter Indexing Indaba Thank you Adobe! ‘we’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing SI’s Jan Wright and Leverage the Goodreads experience to millions of readers around ATechnology’s Dave Ream the world’, and that ‘we have no plans to change the are to be congratulated for their part in Goodreads experience and Goodreads will continue to be an exciting new development for Adobe the wonderful community we all cherish’. InDesign. Th e next version, InDesign CC Others are not so sure. American writers’ organisation (Creative Cloud), will be able to use embedded index markers the Authors’ Guild says the acquisition is a ‘truly devastating to create live linked ebook indexes, using the EPUB export. act of vertical integration’ meaning that ‘Amazon’s control Jan and Dave met with InDesign engineers to help facilitate of online bookselling approaches the insurmountable’. this new feature, which you can see demonstrated by Terry Its president, bestselling legal thriller author Scott Turow, White, Adobe’s Worldwide Development Evangelist. says that it is a ‘textbook example of how modern internet Creative Suite Design Evangelist at: ANZSI Newsletter | 7 (Indexing Indaba, continued from previous page) ‘One of the longest running features of the society’s ‘For all the fans of indexes, here’s a short story in index publication, The Indexer, is its reviews of indexes which form written by J.G. Ballard which was originally published are snippets culled from book reviews that pertain to the in The Paris Review [link supplied]. book’s index. ‘I’ll go back to engineering with my indices and leave ‘Finally, the four-page single-level index is a joke. In a the indexers their indexes.’ book entitled Satan, what possible use is the entry ‘Satan’ Victorian Branch presents Peter Dowling on his Index to imagery in Australian colonial illustrated newspapers Saturday 6 July, 2.00 – 4.00 pm, State Library of Victoria Conference Centre When Peter Dowling began his PhD on imagery in Australian colonial illustrated newspapers, he went on a journey through the wonderful pictorial accounts of this era. He discovered an extraordinary visual resource, sadly neglected because it was too difficult to access the images. Peter’s passion for rectifying this became the impetus for a fifteen year project – an index to the images in almost all of Australia’s colonial illustrated newspapers. Free event but RSVP is essen�al Afternoon tea provided Contact: Nikki Davis 0414-758712 For more details and to RSVP online: 8 | ANZSI Newsletter Quiet Achievers in Indexing: Mary Coe Who has been the greatest influence on (Seth Maislin and Kay Schlembach, and with Richard Shrout your career? and myself remaining). We managed to survive all of this y mentor, Maria Coughlin. Without her, I may never upheaval and settle into building the business. M have discovered indexing or believed that I could In 2011, I decided to leave the partnership as I had make a living as an indexer. established my own freelance business in Australia and it no Another great influence has been Helen Ochej, my longer made sense for me to juggle this with management mentor at the National Institutes of Health when I was of a US company (and the associated tax headaches!). working as a PubMed (MEDLINE) contract indexer. Helen Establishing and running Potomac Indexing was a challenge, not only helped me with database indexing skills and mainly because I had to spend so much time working ON medical knowledge but became a great friend. the business instead of working IN the business. It did reinforce for me that I love indexing first and foremost. I How did you come to an indexing career? am happy that the business had continued over the years, Almost by accident! My husband and I returned to the US despite many changes and only one remaining original after three years running pubs in the UK as managers for partner (Richard Shrout). My original goal was to establish Bass Brewery and one year of travelling around the world. an indexing business that was not reliant on my name and I was looking for work and my brother mentioned that one reputation only, and that has certainly taken place. of his clients might be able to help me. He thought that she Since leaving the business, I have started working on a might be some sort of science editor. Although my bachelor’s Masters Degree in Information Studies, and I am hoping to degree is in English literature and history, I had started out do research on index usability. No doubt that will be another with a great interest in biology, and my brother thought that challenge, but at least I am back to my first love…indexing! she might have some ideas for me. Well … it turned out that she was an indexer, specialising in health sciences. She agreed How do you try to achieve work–life to take me on as an apprentice. balance? I started out typing entries into CINDEX from her I don’t always achieve this…just ask my children! When marked-up pages and eventually moved into writing indexes they were younger, it was difficult to find a balance and under her guidance. I was very lucky to start this way, with I would often be working at odd times or into the evening. paid work and an excellent mentor. Maria also had other Now that they are teenagers, I am able to work much more employees at the time, including Pilar Wyman, who is to a schedule. My usual routine is to start work early in the currently president of the American Society for Indexing morning, take a break at lunchtime (which might include a (ASI). Another of Maria’s employees, Dina Dineva, has walk to the shops or something away from the computer), won the Wilson Award, which is the ASI equivalent of the then back to work through the afternoon. I also try to take ANZSI Medal. short breaks throughout the day, doing small chores. It’s amazing how attractive hanging out the laundry can seem What do you see as your greatest when you are deep in the middle of a chemistry textbook! achievement? Since I work full-time from a home office, I find that I consider my greatest achievement to be maintaining I need to schedule activities away from home in order to full-time work as a freelance indexer for over 20 years. I relax and socialise. I love sports, and I am often out in the think that I have achieved that by both specialising (in evening playing something (futsal, netball, tennis, hockey, I health sciences topics) and by diversifying between book will try just about anything!) or walking with friends. I find and database indexing as well as with different topic areas. that keeping active and scheduling time away from my desk Although I have considered adding editing or writing to my really helps to keep me focused and more productive when I list of skills, I have never had to do so. am at work. I also try to lock the office door on Sundays and What has been your biggest challenge? give myself a full day off (though I don’t always succeed…). My biggest challenge has been managing an indexing What do you like most about your work? business, Potomac Indexing LLC. After years of freelance What do you like least? work, I decided to start a partnership in 2006 with three I like the variety of topics and the ability to manage my own other indexers in the Washington, DC area (John Heffernan, time. Time management can be a huge challenge, but I am Suzanne Peake, Richard Shrout). We decided not to pursue always thankful that the amount and timing of work I do a model similar to Maria Coughlin’s (e.g. hiring employees is under my control. I still get excited when a new project or new indexers) but to use established freelance indexers as comes in, especially if it is a topic that I am not familiar subcontractors. In 2006, shortly after starting the business, with. I also enjoy the challenge of learning new skills, such as I moved from the US to Sydney, and then in 2007, the embedded indexing. partnership dissolved and reformed with two new partners (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 9 (Quiet achievers – Mary Coe, continued from previous page) What I like least about my work is quoting for jobs and If you could dine with a famous historical doing the bookkeeping. At one point, I was the bookkeeper figure, who would it be? for Potomac Indexing, and I learned a lot during that time. Ernest Shackleton. I love reading about Antarctic exploration, Eventually, I outsourced some of the work, however, and especially the early explorers’ journals. South is one of my I was very happy to get back to indexing and leave that favourites. I would like to know what was going through job to someone else! Doing the bookkeeping for my own Shackleton’s mind as he watched his ship, the Endurance, freelance business is not nearly as onerous, but I still don’t being crushed in the ice and how he managed to successfully enjoy it. And, quoting for jobs always makes me nervous. bring his crew back alive. He was not only a brave explorer It was particularly difficult but an excellent leader. when I first started in Australia, I have been following as the system differs somewhat Tim Jarvis’ recreation from the US. Before I came of Shackleton’s voyage, here, I had rarely been asked to and I am pleased to quote on a job or to calculate see that events such as hours worked. In the US, the Shackleton Epic indexers are usually paid by the Leadership Round Table page or by the entry, and the in Sydney have been publisher usually determines inspired by this tribute. the rate. It is up to the indexer I would love to go to to accept it or not when Antarctica one day and they take on the job. While go into Shackleton’s hut I like the Australian system at Cape Royds (from (and especially the ANZSI his second Antarctic recommended rate!), I still get expedition). It’s amazing nervous about quoting. how much of it has been What advice would you offer to indexers preserved in the Antarctic conditions. Who knows if that just starting out? will happen, but it’s top of my bucket list! Be patient, network, find a mentor, and be willing to learn. (Can I also mention that anyone out there writing Getting those first good clients, who will hopefully come anything on Antarctica who needs an index, please call me! L back to you with repeat work, will take some time. Don’t Sadly, I have yet to index a book on that topic ... ) give up your day job just yet, but do believe that you can The photo is of me with the James Caird, the small make a living as an indexer. Get involved in ANZSI and boat that Ernest Shackleton and five other men sailed from other related societies. Talk to everyone and anyone about Elephant Island to South Georgia, when it was on display indexing, in whatever context you can. I found one of my at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney in first clients in Australia when I discovered that a soccer 2002. teammate was an editor at a major publishing house, and If you were a letter of the alphabet, which I recently discovered that one of my tennis partners is an letter would you be and why? editor, too! It’s these kinds of connections that have helped Z – it comes at the end of the English alphabet, like indexes me to build my Australian business. at the end of books. No one is quite sure what to call it I was very lucky to have Maria Coughlin as a mentor. (‘zee’ or ‘zed’?), a bit like indexers, who don’t seem to fit into While I don’t want to follow Maria’s business plan and hire any ATO occupation code, let alone any other professional employees, I do sometimes subcontract out work to new box. There aren’t many ways you can use it in Scrabble, but indexers or offer some mentoring. I’ve been asked countless when you do, it’s worth lots of points! And, when anyone times about indexing as a profession, often by people with sings the alphabet song, they always sing it out loudly when little idea of what is involved, and I am cautious about giving they get to the end. I think that Z is the quiet achiever of away my time. If I see someone at an ANZSI event or course the alphabet, as indexers are definitely the quiet achievers and sense that they truly are interested in indexing, I am in publishing. And, as one of the youngest members of a more inclined to work with them. Finally, be willing to learn big family (number six out of seven children), I’m used to throughout your career, not just as a new indexer. I have going last, and I’ve discovered that sometimes keeping your constantly had to adapt – learning new software, figuring head down and waiting for your opportunity can be an out different ways of quoting, tackling topics that I don’t advantage! know much about – but, as I said earlier, that is one of the reasons that I like indexing as a profession! 10 | ANZSI Newsletter Indexing software he VIC software comparison session in April, Tsummarised in our May Newsletter, sparked a lot of interest. We thought we would examine each package in greater detail, asking users of each software package to answer specific questions in a similar way to the ‘Quiet Achievers in Indexing’ articles. If you have any specific question you would like answered or if there is a feature you would like highlighted or explained, please contact Mary Russell: Queensland Branch General meeting Tuesday 25 June, 6.00 pm for 7.00 pm start Show & Tell indexing evening bring your indexes to share We meet in the Helen Abrahams Ward Office, 2/63 Annerley Road (corner of Crown Street), Woolloongabba, Brisbane Contact: Moira Brown 0416 097 629 or ACT Region Branch Working with words Saturday 6 July, 2.30 - 5.00 pm Come along to ACT member Denise Sutherland’s home in Gordon, ACT, to discover how she writes crosswords, cryptics, and other puzzles. RSVP by Wednesday 3 July to Denise, on 6294 1732 or ANZSI Newsletter | 11 Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Contact: Moira Brown 0416 097 629 or 2/63 Annerley Road Tues 25 June ANZSI Newsletter N OTHER PAGES O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 ACT Region Branch – our June featured branch 4 VIC 3145, Australia 2013 ANZSI Medal applications 6 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Indexing Indaba 7 ISSN 1832-3855 Vic Branch meeting 6 July: indexing images 8 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are Quiet achievers – Mary Coe 9 those of the respective authors. Indexing software comparisons 11 Queensland Branch in June – Show & Tell 11 ACT Region Branch: Working with words 11 Newsletter schedule Th e next Newsletter will appear in July 2013. Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 28 June. Th e editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 6 | July 2013 ANZSI News Membership renewals due for National Family History Month Financial Year members August is National Family History Month. Family historians f your subscription fell due on 30 June, are big users of indexes and are big fans of indexers. Have Iyour renewal email was sent on 18 June. a look at what is on, as there are events listed for all states, New Zealand members can pay into the plus New Zealand. Why not go along to an event and NZ Branch bank account and details are promote indexing? Or approach your local history group on the form included in your email or via and offer to talk about indexing. Let Max McMaster know (The Indexer, continued) Plus a Centrepiece featuring: • Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) names: resources for the indexer (Lam Lai Heung) • Asian names in an English-language context: negotiating the structural and linguistic minefi eld (Fiona Swee-Lin Price) Australian and New Zealand If you don’t subscribe, details can be found here: At the May meeting, l to r: Elizabeth Riley (Guest Speaker), Jeni Lewington, Mary Ann Martin, Beryl Macdonald, Cate Seymour-Jones, Teresa Hayward, Moira Brown (photo Franz Pinz) A new branch library! See page 8 ... 2 | ANZSI Newsletter ANZSI Annual General Meeting reliminary notice is given that the Annual General website well before the AGM and there will be a facility for P Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society members to comment on the proposals. of Indexers Inc. will be held at 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday Office bearers and council members (other than the 2 October 2013 at the Elsternwick Club, 19 Sandham ex officio members) will be elected at the meeting. Street, Elsternwick Victoria (Melway 67, F2). Nominations are therefore called for the positions of Any members wishing to propose a resolution at the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and five meeting must give prior notice of motion. A copy of the ordinary council members. A nomination form may resolution to be moved, signed by a proposer and seconder, be downloaded from the ANZSI website Introducing ANZSI South Australia ane Oliver is the SA contact for ANZSI. She has a Janet Wilkinson is Metadata Coordinator at the State Jbackground as a librarian working in health libraries in Library of South Australia and has written a separate Melbourne and moved to Adelaide in 2005 to be closer to article (see page 5) on the ANZAC indexing project at family. While in Adelaide, Jane has reindexed a book on the the State Library. Janet joined the Society in 2007, when history of the Parliament of South Australia and has indexed she accepted a new position in the State Library to index two editions of the SA Department of Health’s publication a myriad of hard copy vertical files of previously answered ‘You’ve got what?’, which is intended for the public. There reference enquiries and convert pre-computer created have been a couple of ANZSI SA Christmas get togethers; index cards into electronic catalogue records. In searching you may have seen the photos in the Newsletter. Jane, for a professional source of support and expertise on together with Janet Wilkinson and Silvia Muscardin, was indexing, Google easily found ANZSI. The newsletters and also involved in organising the indexing courses ANZSI networking with like-minded people have been invaluable held in Adelaide in August 2012 and, after the success in creating, hopefully, high quality avenues of discovery of the courses, hopes to encourage enough new members of buried South Australian contemporary and historical to form a SA branch of ANZSI. There is a plan to hold a details that were previously recorded only in paper or card networking dinner in Adelaide in August this year. format. Jane was a Victorian Branch committee member but, Silvia Muscardin is the librarian at the Adelaide Zoo. as there is no ANZSI branch in Adelaide, she has joined Silvia has been calling South Australia home since 1980, the Society of Editors SA and attends their committee and when she migrated from Italy. She arrived at the world of members meetings. The Society of Editors SA recently librarianship a bit late in life after trying other careers in held an interesting workshop, presented by Elizabeth the fields of scientific research, teaching and motherhood. Spiegel from Tasmania, on editing for the web that had In 1996 she landed the job at the Adelaide Zoo by sheer some indexing content. ANZSI and IPEd (Institute of serendipity; she considers herself incredibly lucky to work Professional Editors, the national body for editors) will be for a group of fine and dedicated people (the Zoo staff holding a joint national conference in Canberra in 2015. and volunteers) in pleasant settings and surrounded by Judy Richter is a cataloguer for a library cataloguing firm animals. Silvia has written a separate article on indexing at and is looking forward to attending a meeting of the ACT the Zoo. Indexers in early July and plans to go over to Melbourne in I would like to thank the above for their assistance and August or October to attend one of the Victorian Branch’s we all look forward to the formation of a SA Branch of monthly meetings. ANZSI. Jane Oliver (Our featured branch, ANZSI SA continues on pages 4 and 5) ANZSI Newsletter | 3 Indexing the historical documents of the Adelaide Zoo am the Librarian of the Royal Zoological Society of is carried through the entire database, and in this Library I South Australia Inc., a conservation organisation that Bookmark is used for cataloguing. So it was a matter of runs Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Zoo, as well as a variety of ‘fitting’ index entries into software designed and used for field conservation programs. cataloguing. To overcome the problem, I created a simple In 1996 Adelaide Zoo embarked on a major manual, which explains the difference between cataloguing redevelopment that saw the demolition of some old exhibits and indexing and gives guidelines on the use of Bookmark and buildings and the conservation of heritage listed sites. in this context. That resulted in the collection, re-housing and recording of As part of my work I am called upon to answer questions a mass of historical photographs held in parts of the Zoo about Zoo animals, staff, Zoo buildings and events. For the about to be redeveloped. first few years many questions were common and I created The promotional value of this material became fact-sheets that have served me well. In the last decade, immediately apparent: old photos in particular have an though, the demand for information about Adelaide Zoo undoubted charm that appeals to all of us, especially when and Monaro Zoo increased many-fold: historians, people they come with a ‘story’ that explains them and enhances writing their family history, historical societies have been their inherent power to evoke memories and feelings. requesting more detailed information. The fact sheets Thus started the huge project of collecting and re-housing were no longer sufficient for the task. The need to have these objects, and of capturing the information contained the information directly from the primary source at my in a mass of historical documents: from photographs to fingertips was plain. This called for a comprehensive index animal records and from departmental diaries to newspaper and this is the next stage of the project. clippings. The job proceeds in For the first lot of leaps and bounds. The photos the Adelaide Zoo migration of the manual employed the assistance records created by the of staff of the History three volunteers is nearing Trust of South Australia, the end and we are on to who carried out the re- scanning the departmental housing and description diaries. With volunteers of that collection. undertaking scanning, Although this effort I can focus on making ensured these precious available the information historical documents that is in the indexing. would be preserved, the I started with a book accessioning approach published by the lessened the effectiveness Society in 1978 on the of the records. In keeping 100th anniversary of its formation. The annual with the method used The Minchin family, that gave the Zoo its first three Directors, outside the by photographers, some Director’s House, Adelaide Zoo, circa 1890. Courtesy RZSSA. reports will be next, as photographs were allocated they are the best source batch accession numbers of ‘stories’ for the photos. so that it was impossible to identify a single frame; the At the request of keepers, I will tackle the departmental ‘subjects’ assigned in the records were often too broad. So, diaries soon and that will imply the creation of a controlled when a few years later three Zoo volunteers offered to review vocabulary. the work done and to accession a second lot of photographs, The choice of indexing software fell on SKY Index as, I jumped at the opportunity. Together the volunteers, two after a few trials, it proved to have the right versatility to retired librarians and a retired schoolteacher, did a sterling cope with different types of locators. Each type of resource job of reorganising the collection and indexing it. Only (book, diaries and, in the future, newspaper articles) will one problem remained: this was a manual record, thus time be indexed separately; the separate indexes will then be consuming to use. manually merged into a comprehensive index. After a hiatus of some years, another volunteer, trained In conclusion, what they say about an index not only as a library technician, offered to migrate the records into leading a person to specific information in a haystack the Library computerised database. This introduced us of data, but also enhancing the material indexed is to another hurdle in the shape of Bookmark, the library true. Without an index a treasure trove of records is an software used in this Library. Any change in the field names (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (ANZSI SA, continued from previous page) amorphous mass without head or tail. It is the index that re-naming, re-labelling, listing, and typing all the historical makes it come alive and speak to us. material they have been presented with. And for doing it I wish to thank all the volunteers who contributed always with a smile. and continue to contribute to this project by dedicating Silvia Muscardin thousands of hours of their time to scanning, cataloguing, re-housing, collecting, naming, labelling, documenting, SA Red Cross Information Bureau records A web resource and indexing project at the State Library of SA to commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC n the first World War the Red Cross Society established Metadata Harvesting) standards will be applied enabling I information bureaux in Australian capital cities to linking of information and contributing to rich networks provide a communication and tracing service between of information, linking knowledge in ways SLSA never has. the families of serving soldiers and the overseas bases. The Imperial War Museum (UK) and the National Archives Advertisements were placed in newspapers and enquiries of Australia are also building new web resources based upon flooded in. In SA, 8000 queries were answered, resulting these new standards which will enable connections between in a ‘packet’ of information for each soldier enquired upon, our records. included in envelopes which made up the main work of the This web resource will enable researchers and family SA Red Cross Information Bureau. A typical card from a historians worldwide to interrogate and contribute to the packet is shown below. database and further understand South Australia’s role in In 1922, the Bureau closed its doors and donated its the conflict. The records digitised for this resource will feed records to the State Library of SA. into other SLSA projects and can be used by other agencies To mark the centenary of ANZAC, the State Library is and cultural institutions. digitising and indexing the 8000 plus packets to create a The State Library of South Australia is currently utilising web resource that will be launched in time for the centenary. its internal resources to digitise the Bureau’s records as well Indexing will initially be carried out by a team of volunteers as managing all aspects of this project where the Library who will use a controlled vocabulary developed with advice has the necessary skills. And the Library will continue to from the Australian War Memorial. The Library will also manage this site once it has been completed. endeavour to introduce crowd sourcing techniques like To learn more about this project, see the short film at Trove to complete the indexing. ANZSI Newsletter | 5 Draft vision for a multi-location ANZSI Council he next election of Council on 2 October this year is the whole of ANZSI. Below are a few things that could Tan excellent opportunity for the discussion of issues to facilitate this: do with communication between Council and branches, • Meeting documents could be grouped online so they are and for a proposed multi-location structure for the ANZSI available to all Council and branch committee members Council. The NSW Branch has developed some ideas about at the same time how this might work. Our main purpose is to stimulate • Documents could be amended/developed online discussion of all the options, and to hear from all branches - by a Working Group or Committee and current Council members what works for them and - during or following a Council web conferencing what doesn’t. meeting Once comments and ideas have been exchanged it is then • Meetings: proposed to publish a summary online and in the September - use of teleconferencing or web conferencing issue of the ANZSI Newsletter, to encourage participation - monthly? bi-monthly? minimum requirement ie in and nominations for Council at the AGM in October. quarterly? The summary paper will not be a final blueprint, but an • Communication between Council members – a dedicated outline of the first stages toward developing a Society that email facility recognises the geographic distances, the voluntary nature of • The appendix in the long version of this paper on the web Council/committee membership, and the juggling of work is a case study of broad consultation. demands and at times onerous committee responsibilities, The long version of the paper has been loaded onto and tries to put in place a structure for decision-making that alleviates some of these problems. the ANZSI website on the ANZSI Documents page in the members’ area at: Communication between Council and branches is time-consuming for both Council and branches, yet it is 2013 ANZSI Medal Applications he Australian and New Zealand Society requested) should be sent to the address on Tof Indexers Medal is offered annually the nomination form. for the most outstanding index to a book Publishers, indexers and all interested or periodical compiled in Australia or New people may nominate indexes, and indexers Zealand. may nominate their own work. We invite you The index must be in print and published to have a browse around your local bookshop after 2009. It must have been compiled in too. If you find an Australian or New Zealand Australia or New Zealand, even though the title with an index, which looks as though it text to which it refers may have originated could be a Medal contender, complete the elsewhere. The index should be substantial in nomination form on the ANZSI website and size; the subject matter should be complex; send it to Garry Cousins, Chairman of the and the language, form and structure of the index should Awards Committee. demonstrate the indexer’s expertise, as well as serving the Entries close on 31 July 2013. A nomination form is needs of the text and reader. available on the ANZSI website: The publisher of the winning index will be presented ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Indexing Society of Canada Conference alifax, Nova Scotia, was the location for this year’s images using the new taxonomy, and provided examples of HIndexing Society of Canada/Société Canadienne similarities and differences in the terminology chosen by d’Indexation conference. It was the first time the Conference the two indexers. had been held in Atlantic Canada, and was run jointly with The next session was described as a panel, butin the Editors’ Association of Canada from 7 to 9 June. reality constituted three separate papers. The first paper, The Conference was held at The Lord Nelson Hotel in by Marnie Lamb, offered a glimpse into the mind of an Downtown Halifax, halfway between The Citadel, a fort indexer working on the memoir of a well-known and that overlooks the city, and the harbour front. The pre- controversial Canadian politician. The work, titled Michael conference activities included an ICRIS meeting as well as Bryant’s 28 Seconds, refers to the 28 seconds it took for a cocktail function for the launch of Macrex v9. a cyclist to die following a road accident in which the The keynote address was given by Nancy Mulvany, a politician was involved. Indexing of the memoir, a form of name familiar to nearly all indexers as the author of Indexing biography, raised issues such as whether the author’s name Books (University of Chicago Press, 2005). Nancy’s paper should be indexed, and how an indexer can decide which was titled ‘The repurposed book index and indexer’ and of the many proper names are worth including and which looked at a way to repurpose a book index so that the book are just passing mentions. itself is enhanced. She emphasised that for this process to The second paper, by Mary Newberry and Margaret de work, a well-designed, thorough index was paramount. Boer, offered a taster about the indexing of 100 oral histories Pilar Wyman’s presentation was on ‘Metadata, recorded as part of the Harbord Village Oral History Index marketing and more: using indexes as discovery tools’. She Digital to print? ACT Region Branch have been reading a book with a footnote format that I I have not met before. The book isThe Book of Barely Working with words Imagined Beings by Caspar Henderson, Granta, 2012, Saturday 6 July, 2.30 - 5.00 pm very beautifully, and no doubt expensively, produced. The word or phrase to be footnoted is printed in red Come along to ACT member Denise Sutherland’s and the ‘footnote’ is actually an adjacent side bar also home in Gordon, ACT, to discover how she writes in red; a hyperlink without even the bother of clicking! crosswords, cryptics, and other puzzles. This made me ponder if something similar could be RSVP by Wednesday 3 July to Denise, on achieved in a less expensive format, and also, if some of 6294 1732 or ANZSI Newsletter | 9 ALIA ebooks and elending think tank n 28 May, Mary Coe and Glenda Browne attended devices. We heard the phrase ‘Kindle regret’, referring to O this think tank at the State Library of NSW. There people who had purchased a Kindle and found that its were 76 delegates, mainly from academic and public proprietary reading system didn’t allow them to read the libraries. The ALIA issues paper and the ANZSI response range of books they would like to. to it can be accessed at 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Think tank, continued from previous page) in handheld devices are therefore less common in academic libraries than they may be for individual non-fiction book owners. At the roundtable discussions, a special librarian mentioned problems with lack of images in her ereader, saying that tablets were better in this way, and another special librarian agreed with my comments about the internal quality of ebooks being important. Two websites to keep an eye on for general ebook information are listed below. Neither had any mention of indexes that I could find. • NSW.net from the State Library of NSW NSW Branch AGM Tuesday 3 September 2013 6.00 pm for the meeting and 7.30 pm for dinner At the Golden Cinnamon restaurant, first floor, above Cafe Kasturi, 767–69 George Street, Broadway (about a block downhill from Central Station). $30 per head banquet menu, including drinks. RSVP by 30 August to Frances Paterson at: ANZSI Newsletter | 11 Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Sat 6 July Indexing images in State Library of Victoria Free, but RSVP essential, Details at Vic Branch 2.00–4.00 pm colonial newspapers Conference Centre ON OTHER PAGES ANZSI Newsletter Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 News from Queensland 2 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI AGM – preliminary notice 3 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI SA – our July feature 3–5 ISSN 1832-3855 A multilocation ANZSI Council 6 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are 2013 ANZSI Medal applications 6 those of the respective authors. Zakuski 7 Indexing Society of Canada Conference 8 Th e VIC and the new Branch library 8 Newsletter schedule Indexing to a budget – letter to the Editor 9 Th e next Newsletter will appear in August 2013. ACT Region Branch: Working with words 9 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 26 July. Digital to print? 9 ALIA ebook and elending think tank 10 NOTE: your usual editor will be away NSW Branch AGM 11 Please send contributions by email to guest editor Denise Sutherland Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | Number 7 | August 2013 ANZSI News — August 2013 Update your details When we sent out the renewal notices several emails bounced back as unknown. If you have updated your email address, postal address or have a new webpage, please take a moment to update your details. It is your entry in the ANZSI database, and it is up to you to maintain it. The conference started late on Friday afternoon with a Advertising in Indexers Available talk by Nicholas Hiley on the British Cartoon Archives We have had a few queries about how to remove yourself www.cartoons.ac.uk. The main focus of the archives from Indexers Available: is on political cartoons, as this is how they justified 1. Go to the Update your Details webpage in the members’ funding from University of Kent to set it up. Nicholas area: www.anzsi.org/site/update _ details.asp highlighted the difficulties of indexing political cartoons, 2. Make sure there is not a tick in the Indexers Available particularly when a cartoonist uses illusions to depict box politicians. They also have the DPP archives of naughty 3. Scroll to the bottom and save changes seaside postcards. This includes the card index of postcard Information and payment details are available at: prosecutions associated with the Obscene Publications Act www.anzsi.org/site/IA _ advert.asp. www.cartoons.ac.uk/dpps-obscene-postcard-index. The Archives website includes lots of images, and is sure to raise a smile. Nominations for Council If you would like to serve on ANZSI Council for 2013-2014 The next speaker, Eilidh MacGlone, spoke about nominations must be received by the Returning Officer by cataloguing the Scottish Screen Archive ssa.nls.uk. She the 28 August. This is well before the AGM on 2 October, highlighted the additional challenges of indexing films so there is time for members to vote (should there be more over 2D cartoons. than one candidate for one position). Forms are available at www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details.asp?id=319. Saturday morning started with an update from the Publishing Technology Group, including details of Society of Indexers Conference their website at w w w.ptg-indexers.org.uk. Well worth examining. I am just back from the Society of Indexers conference 12–14 July at Wyboston Lakes, England. The title of Parallel sessions followed, and I attended the session on the conference was ‘Revitalize your business; Refresh indexing personal names lead by Christopher Phipps. your skills’. There were over ninety there, with quite a Names are always tricky, even English-language names. few SI indexing students attending. Wyboston Lakes is a This session highlighted how to distinguish namesakes, purpose-built conference and accommodation facility a handling pseudonyms, nicknames and serial name- few kilometres out of St Neots, west of Cambridge. It was Jan Wright and Glenda Browne definitely warm with temperatures around 30ºC. at(continued ‘The Matrix’ on next page) changers, and dealing with all the various English titles and honorifics. For example, we learned when it is ‘Spencer, Lady Eliza’ (Lady by birth as daughter of an Earl) and when ‘Spencer, Edith, Lady’(Lady by marriage). Publishers and indexers were the focus of the sessions after lunch. Masoud Yazdani spoke on how he, as a publisher, adds value to publications. This was followed by a Publishing Panel of authors and publishers who were asked questions about how they outsourced their indexing, whether the author had a say in the indexing of their books, and their expectations of indexers with Australian and New Zealand technical matters. Society of Indexers Inc. The next session I attended was on the history of Cambridge University ANZSI Newsletter Press and its archives presented by Ros Grooms. CUP was granted the right to print in 1534, so has a long history and fascinating archives. CUP has ISSN 1832-3855 established a museum, which includes many oral history archives. They were Guest Editor: Denise Sutherland lacking pictures of CUP indexers, so this gap was fixed during the conference. ANZSI’s general email address is: SI has also recently revised their publication Last but Next year’s SI conference ‘Tesserae to tablets, uncovering the future’ will be 5–7 September 2014, at Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. Why not consider adding it to your trip to the UK next year? Mary Russell 2 | ANZSI Newsletter Annual General Meeting reliminary notice is given that the Annual General Office bearers and council members (other than the PMeeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society ex officio members) will be elected at the meeting. of Indexers Inc. will be held at 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday Nominations are therefore called for the positions of 2nd October 2013 at the Elsternwick Club, 19 Sandham President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and five Street, Elsternwick Victoria (Melway 67, F2). ordinary council members. A nomination form may be downloaded from the ANZSI website: www.anzsi.org/ Any members wishing to propose a resolution at the site/calendar _ details.asp?id=319. meeting must give prior notice of motion. A copy of the resolution to be moved, signed by a proposer and Nominations must be mailed to the Returning Officer seconder, must be received by the Secretary at the address at PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, below no later than Wednesday 14th August 2013. Vic 3145 to arrive no later than Wednesday 28th August 2013. (NB: This is two weeks later than the date in the The Council will be proposing amendments to the preliminary notice that appeared in the July issue of the Constitution, consequential on the passage of the newsletter. That date was in error.) Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic). These amendments, with commentary, will be posted on the Michael J Ramsden website well before the AGM and there will be a facility Secretary for members to comment on the proposals. NSW draft vision for multi-location ANZSI Council here has been a lively discussion (as they say) in The comments received recognised that this proposal will Tthe members’ area of the ANZSI website about the allow for a much broader discussion of Council issues ‘NSW draft vision’ proposal outlined in the previous and participation across our membership, without one Newsletter. Comments have been encouraging and Branch having to shoulder all the work. It also means have also highlighted some misunderstanding about the that the Executive members can reside in any state or in proposed process. There will be no additional expense New Zealand, and can hold short meetings at any time for individual Council members. Subscription to any in-between Council meetings. Any Working Parties or web-based conferencing service will be borne by Council, Subcommittees of Council can also take advantage of the and any additional equipment (e.g. headphones) will also service, communicating with each other from their own be covered. If there are technical capability problems, all homes. I anticipate that the Council will still want to meet services offer both VIOP (participation via your home face-to-face once a year. computer’s communication system) or via your home telephone linked with screen access. Where this involves I commend the proposal to everyone, and in particular, I long distance or international phoning, all services offer a urge any member who is thinking of putting themselves dedicated phone number as part of the subscription. forward for an Executive position or a member of Council, to please do so! Documents can still be downloaded, printed out and perused as per normal, or can be viewed online with comments inserted by individual members. All documents will simply be placed in a ‘cloud’ deposit site by the Madeleine Davis Secretary, for Council members to access from wherever they are located. This incurs no additional expense. A suggestion for a private Council blog or private Facebook page has been mooted to also assist with discussion between meetings. 3 | ANZSI Newsletter IDPF EPUB IWG, and ANZSI Council ideas he IDPF Indexes Working Group continues to meet an international group like this can pursue democratic Tmost weeks, working step-by-step through feedback decision-making is through the use of technology. We received about the draft specification. All feedback has phone in for meetings, create documents in Google been gathered in a spreadsheet. When changes are made to Drive, and use email for general communication. It is the specification based on external feedback, issue numbers all relatively low-tech with a low barrier to entry, and from the spreadsheet are added to the specification to although clunky at times, it does the job. show which suggestions resulted in which changes. The communication choices made by IDPF won’t When the specification has been approved, the next steps necessarily be the ones that the new ANZSI Council will will be promotion (to editors, publishers, librarians and choose to use, but they do show that it is possible for a others) and skills development. My ideas about the first geographically dispersed group to work electronically. If steps to learning about ebook indexes are in a separate IDPF can organise meetings with members from Japan, article (below). We also hope there will be changes to Sweden and the US, we should be able to manage various indexing software packages and new publisher policies. parts of Australia and New Zealand. The timing might not be ideal for everyone, but I hope a compromise will As one way of sharing news about the specification, I will be found. be speaking at VALA 2014 (www.vala.org.au/conf2014) on ‘The EPUB standard and ebook indexes: better user access ANZSI Council can potentially have nine elected to information in ebooks’ in a session with the theme members and five ex officio members. This makes for a ‘Collaborate’. large meeting, and some trial and error may be needed to find the best ways of sharing information and meeting effectively. IDPF ideas for ANZSI ANZSI NSW has created a ‘Vision’ document, with the IDPF is a member organisation, and works on a totally aim of gathering feedback. A summary incorporating open basis — all members can join working groups, and feedback from members is included in this newsletter. the same email list is used for all groups so people can Please read it, and share any experiences (good and bad) follow all discussions if they wish. that you have had so we can learn together. I have been inspired by the positive spirit in the working Glenda Browne groups, and the willingness to argue for the best options, but also to compromise when needed. The only way eBook indexing self-education XML — general knowledge book indexes can be created in many ways. Embedded Codecademy (w w w.codecademy.com). This website Eindexes are currently created using XML by provides free courses in a number of relevant areas (eg, technologically savvy publishers with an XML-first policy. XML, CSS). Many exercises have two panels so you can Recent improvements to InDesign have ensured that index see the coding on one side and the resulting display on links will now be maintained in EPUB output — this makes the other. InDesign a viable software option for ebook indexes too. W3schools (www.w3schools.com) is perhaps better when Until publishers start commissioning more ebook indexes, you know a little already. I took the XML course and it will be hard to predict the requests that will be made mini-quiz, and was told I just passed and would have to of indexers, and the skills required. Nonetheless, this is a try harder next time. This can be a good site for finding good time to expand your learning of all aspects of ebook answers to questions. indexing. I have listed websites that will help with self- education in the areas that I think will be important: XML Library Juice (www.libraryjuiceacademy.com) offers — general knowledge; XML indexing and editing; Ebook online courses covering a range of topics (including indexing, EPUB3 and other ebook formats; and InDesign indexing). I did an XML course which ran for 4 weeks. Creative Cloud (CC). Cost was US$175. There were four chat sessions, and a (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter forum where you could ask questions. There was almost no InDesign Creative Cloud (CC) discussion between students, but the instructor answered InDesign is a large and complex program. To use it for queries. You could optionally do four quizzes and receive indexing you only use selected features, however you a certificate. A lot of the learning is self-directed, reading will still need to have a general understanding of the information that is freely available on the web. It was way the software works. The indexing approach used in useful to have a pathway through the material, and I earlier versions of the program will apparently still apply found that the quizzes prompted me to put what I was in InDesign CC. The links below each give some of the learning into action. information you need; downloading a demo copy and experimenting will be the final training step. XML indexing and editing Ewald, Laura A. 2012. Adobe InDesign CS6 www.heartlandindexers.org/indesign.html Combs, Michele. March 2012. ‘XML indexing’. The Indexer v.30 n.1, tinyurl.com/indexermarch2012, now Kvern, Olav Martin and Blatner, David. 2009. Working also available free online at www.ingentaconnect.com. with Long Documents in Adobe InDesign CS3: Indexes (or Indices) Gardiner, David. Digital publishing with XML: concepts for editors. Available free in PDF and EPUB formats at www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1324263 www.xmplar.biz/training.html#digpub. White, Terry. 2013. Adobe InDesign CC – My Top 5 Favorite Features Walsh, Norman. December 2012. DocBook 5.1: the http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-evangelists-terry- definitive guide. O’Reilly, http://docbook.org/tdg51/en/ white/adobe-indesign-cc-my-top-5-favorite-features html. Publishers’ guides will be crucial when you start Indexing is the main feature mentioned in the EPUB embedded indexing. output enhancements section starting at about 9.25. InDesign CC, www.adobe.com/au/products/indesign.edu. Ebook indexing, EPUB3 and other ebook html formats How to create an index in InDesign CS3 Garrish, Matt. 2011. What is EPUB 3? An introduction to www.adobe.com/designcenter-archive/video _ the EPUB specification for multimedia publishing, O’Reilly workshop/?id=vid0220 Media. http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022442.do InDesign CS6 Indexing – Tutorial on how to create an Index for your Book! Browne, Glenda. June 2012. Ebook indexes, EPUB and the International Digital Publishing Forum, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFnEeKr3xfw Online Currents, pp 127-130, http://webindexing.biz/ Episode 36: Long Documents, Part 4 – Indexing wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/OLC-June-2012 _ (VIDEO), the indesigner Browne-Article-Ebook-EPUB.pdf www.theindesigner.com/blog/episode-36-long- EPUB Indexes 1.0 (draft): Working Group Draft 2012- documents-part-4-indexing-video 2013: provides videos (mostly for a subscription http://docs.google.com/document/d/1 _ -4yyEIJeze8xUC www.lynda.com fee) on a range of technical subjects. Those on InDesign bT7SU1r5Queyd6SZK63bJ540SVJ0/edit?pli=1#. This will be moved to idpf.org at some stage. 6 indexing are apparently geared towards concordance making and simple indexes, Browne, Glenda and Coe, Mary. Ebook Navigation: so while they cover the browse, search and index, Australian Library Journal basics they do not show the v.61 n.4, November 2012, pp.288-297, creation of more intellectual http://webindexing.biz/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ indexes. Nonetheless, when E-Book-Navigation.pdf I have time I am planning to subscribe to Lynda.com Papers and presentations on EPUB and ebook and explore a range of indexing from the ANZSI 2013 indexing conference topics. in Wellington, New Zealand by Jan Wright, Dave Ream and Glenda Browne are available at Glenda Brown www.anzsi.org/site/2013Confpap.asp 5 | ANZSI Newsletter The publishing and indexing scene in WA hen asked to write an article for the newsletter on and links to the relevant sections of the ANZSI website. I Wthe state of publishing and indexing in Western also referred to the very useful “Why have an index?” page Australia, Shelley and I (the only two WA members of on the UK Society of Indexer’s website: w w w.indexers.org. ANZSI at the time) decided to divide the task between uk/index.php?id=132 us. Shelley contacted some local publishers and I contacted local information professionals via the WAIN While no conclusions can be drawn from such a small (WA Information Network) discussion list. response, it does indicate that there’s a lot more work to be done in WA to promote the benefits of indexers This section of our article reports on my approach to WA and indexing (at least in the community of information information professionals. professionals). I asked the following questions: Linda McNamara (full-time law librarian and very part-time freelance For those of you who work for organisations that indexer, ANZSI WA Contact) publish material (in hard copy and/or online), can you please provide some information about the n order to get a feel for the publishing and indexing indexing of those publications? Specifically: Iscene in WA, I sent out a quick email survey to seven local (WA) publishers. I explained that I am a freelance 1. Are your organisation’s publications indexed? If not, indexer and had been asked to write a brief article for the why not? newsletter of our professional association regarding our 2. If indexes are produced, who produces them? (e.g. local publishing / indexing scene. I asked the publishers professional indexer, in-house indexer) the following questions: 3. If an indexer is used, are they located in WA or elsewhere? 1. Who is responsible for the index (assuming it has an 4. Are you or your organisation aware of Indexers index) — the author or the publisher? Available on the ANZSI website? www.anzsi.org/site/ 2. If the publisher is responsible for the index, is a indexers _ available.asp professional indexer used? 3. If a professional indexer is used, are they located in WA I asked for a brief response to be returned within a week. or elsewhere? Unfortunately, I received only two responses: 4. Are there non-fiction books that end up without an index because you (or the author) are not able to find an Supreme Court Library indexer? ‘We have indexed our unreported judgments from the 5. Are you aware of the list of Indexers Available on the Supreme Court from about the 1960s to the present ANZSI website? http://www.anzsi.org/site/about.asp day - now of course online, but previously on catalogue cards. The District Court judgments are also indexed in I asked for a brief response by return email within a week. a similar fashion. Annual Indexes of the above judgments Six of the seven publishers responded, and their responses are produced online and printed. We have also started are summarised in the table following. Additional doing retrospective, consolidated indexing of judgments comments from Publisher A were as follows: from other courts, such as the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal Decisions and the Mining Wardens Decisions. ‘However, we have been working on a master index to most of our books, being that they are on WA history. Our ‘The indexing is an in-house project, with an in-house indexer. policy is for three indexes in a book. People, places, and Yes we are aware of Indexers Available on the ANZSI general, and sometimes, depending on the content, lists website.’ of ships as well separate from the main general index. It is ridiculous to combine all items in one.’ WA Government Department I have replied to this publisher, letting them know that ‘No the Department … in the past 10 years never used the a professional indexer would provide an index to their services of an indexer, can you provide a few points on the specifications, and if they required separate indexes this benefits of appointing an indexer?’ would be done. In response to the query concerning the benefits of appointing an indexer, I provided detailed information (continued on next page) 6 | ANZSI Newsletter I followed up with a thank you email to all those who had replied. Some of them replied, saying they would keep me in mind when they required an indexer. If it achieves nothing else, these publishers are now aware that there are professional indexers in WA, and those not previously aware of Indexers Available now are aware. Of the indexes I have produced in the last three years, about 70% have been for locally-produced books and journals. All of the locally-produced books have been self-published, so it will be interesting to see if I now pick up any work from these publishers. Shelley Campbell Freelance Indexer (and one third of WA ANZSI’s membership) Publisher A Publisher B Publisher C Publisher D Publisher E Publisher F Type of books Historical WA e-publications Material on Academic and General and Indigenous published material their local area general self-publishing material Author or Both Both. If the author Publisher The author to Varies from title Publisher publisher provides an index cover costs, but we to title responsible for I use it, if he/she always discuss the index? doesn’t provide one issue and contract but subsequently the indexer on requests one, I behalf of the provide it. author Do you use a No No. I usually Professional Always, no matter If there is sufficient Absolutely professional use the indexing indexer who is responsible budget indexer? function in Word 2010/13 or InDesign to create the index. If indexer n/a n/a Elsewhere — the Usually elsewhere. We wouldn’t Both, depends used, are they one I have used We don’t have any choose based on on deadlines located in WA or lives in Victoria current indexers location and the indexer’s elsewhere? based in WA availability and cost Are there non- Yes. Some older No Not so far No No No. Editorial fiction books that authors refuse to make a decision end up without index and I do not on whether an an index because have the time, or index is required not able to find the $, or sales, to based on the type an indexer? justify expenditure of publication and work this cost into our budget Aware of Indexers Irrelevant to me Wasn’t but I am No, but am now. Yes Yes, thanks. Yes Available on now. Thank you. ANZSI website? Easy grammar tip — If you can insert “by zombies” after the verb, you have the passive voice. “The book was indexed by zombies” for example! 7 | ANZSI Newsletter n the September 1982 edition of the AusSi Newsletter Etcetera Ithe following charming excerpt from a 1896 ladies’ journal appeared. elcome to the newest column Won the block, Etcetera, which ‘Indexing, in an age when time is valuable, is the rising has taken over from Nikki Davis’ profession that promises to give much employment to Indaba column. Thank you to Nikki women. It is a sedentary occupation, requiring method for doing such a sterling job for so and a knack of choosing comprehensive headings under long! We will be alternating with which to range the various subjects and allusions found Terri Mackenzie’s Zazuki column. in the work. A lady has been entrusted the indexing of Hansard’s parliamentary debates; and this lady takes First of all, we should introduce pupils and gives out work. A well-known editor employs ourselves. We are Denise Sutherland and Jane Douglas. women to index his journal. We hope to enter later more Denise (at left, above) is an indexer in Canberra (and guest largely upon this field of activity, to which many women editor of this issue), and a member of the ACT Region may look for employment. Meanwhile, we would suggest Branch committee. Jane (on the right) is a new indexer the indexing that women of Society might do better than and Queensland Branch committee member, who is also any other — the cataloguing of the pictures, the china, completing her Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing and the books and MSS, in country houses — the sorting Publishing). Now, on with the show! and arranging of old family letters and archives lying in hopeless confusion in muniment chests. It would be easy to select and adopt a simple plan of cataloguing. he Association of Southern African Indexers and TBibliographers (ASAIB) has recently launched its new ‘A lady I know earns £400 a year by indexing the website. The site provides easy access to their publications, autograph letters of a millionaire collector. Her plan is papers from past conferences, and photos of society to summarise the contents of the letter; to give a short events. Members are able to update their own entries in account of the writer; of the circumstances attending the the ‘Find an Indexer’ directory: writing of the letter; and explanations of the allusions www.asaib.org.za therein. This involves much study at the British Museum, as the collection she is indexing is unique.’ (Wimble) n interesting blog post about indexes in eBooks can Abe found on Peter Meyer’s A New Kind of Book blog: nd a final silly note: the comic Zits from 13 July 2013 h t t p://newkindofbook.com/2011/09/missing- Amentions indexing; Pierce shows true dedication to entry-whither-the-ebook-index/ the management of his tattoo collection! h t t p://zitscomics.com/comics/july-13- ndexing a couple of years of the AusSI newsletter from 2013/ Ithe early 80s was a fascinating experience. In 1981 it seems members were just coming to terms with the Jane Douglas possibility of personal computers becoming sufficiently Denise Sutherland affordable to be used by freelance indexers. In a talk at the November 1981 AusSi meeting, Stephen Lansdown suggested two possible computer systems for members’ consideration. Queensland Branch Meeting ‘Low cost personal system: Exidy Micro-computer, 56k, dual floppy disks, 64 x 30 line screen, three month Tuesday 27th August 2013 at warranty. Not expandable to multi-user. ITOH 8510 6.00pm for a 7.00pm start [dot-matrix] printer. Price: $4,939 plus tax. The Ward Office, 2/63 Annerley Road (corner of ‘Medium cost business system: IMS 8000 microcomputer, Crown Street), Wooloongabba, Brisbane 64k, dual floppy disks, 80 x 24 line screen, two year warranty. Multi-user expandable. ITOH 8510 [dot- Guest Speaker: Greg Parker — the author and matrix] Processing speed twice that of the Exidy. Price: publisher of the Puzzle Wizard crossword magazines $7,920 plus tax.’ RSVP by Mon 26th August 2013 for catering to: In today’s terms, the medium-cost system would now sell Moira Brown: [email protected] for $27,733 (RBA), and that for a system with far less phone 0416 097 629 capacity than a contemporary mobile phone. 8 | ANZSI Newsletter Editing skills for ebooks Dr Agata Mrva-Montoya presented ‘Editing skills in the era of digital (r)evolution’ at the Society of Editors NSW meeting in Sydney on Tuesday 4 June 2013. Agata has worked at Sydney University Press since 2008, in a role combining editing, project management and social media. She is interested in the impact of new technologies on scholarly publishing, editing and books in general. She delivered her presentation on editing skills at the IPEd conference in Perth in April 2013, and she was a panellist at the joint ANZSI NSW–ACT regional conference on ebooks in July 2012. Agata started with a brief history of ebooks and an overview of ebook formats and digital workflows. She divided ebook formats into three categories by file type and features, ranging from basic files focused on presenting a linear story with limited interactivity (EPUB MOBI, HTML) to enhanced files with multimedia and hyperlinks (EPUB3, iBooks) to ebook apps that can be used on iOS and Android devices to present content in a non-linear way. She described three types of digital workflows based on various tools and markup languages: print-first, XML, XHMTL. She then explained that she had chosen an XHTML-based workflow for Sydney University Press because it was most versatile for producing both print books and ebooks. She noted that all three workflows could begin with use of word processing software, such as Microsoft Word. Agata than discussed the role of the editor in digital publishing. She noted that technology cannot do everything and that human beings, such as editors, will continue to be a part of quality book production. Editors should consider content, readers’ expectations, and technological enhancements when working with ebooks. They should consider how digital publishing will affect the way that people read and how content will be contained and presented. She recommended that editors develop proficiency in Microsoft Word as a basis, and that they learn basic technical skills in markup languages, such as XHTML, CSS, and Javascript. She predicted that editing, proofreading, and indexing will continue to be outsourced. Agata noted that hyperlinked indexes are being produced by the XHTML-based system used by Sydney University Press and provided a demonstration. Her advice for editors may well apply to indexers as well — develop basic technical skills and continue to think about new ways that people are reading and how content can be presented. Indexers who are knowledgeable about the ebook production process and able to discuss workflow with editors and to collaborate on ebook enhancements will be in demand. Mary Coe 9 | ANZSI Newsletter Learning by indexing: the UC Berkeley Extension course arly last year, I felt a need to consolidate my indexing Once you get to the major assignments towards the end of Eknowledge and fill in a few gaps. I completed the coursework, you can choose which package you want the ANZSI Basic Indexing course quite a few years to use to produce your indexes. ago and, since then, have learnt ‘on the job’ with each index I’ve done, and through the wonderful, informal Each of the 10 modules has online course notes, reading mentoring support of Max McMaster (and occasionally lists from the texts and activities to be completed (usually a Mary Russell). I was also fortunate enough to be granted mix of online research, short exercises, major assignments, an ANZSI scholarship to the 2009 Conference in Sydney, and emails to share with other course participants on your which was a very valuable learning experience. For me, experience with the assignments). Overall I found the living in Perth and not having spare funds to travel to the course notes to be quite clear. Clarification was always eastern states means that the opportunity to participate available from the instructors, either by email or during in professional development courses in person is virtually the weekly online chat session, and extra notes on indexing non-existent. As there are very few indexers (or people practices in both Australia and Canada were included interested in becoming indexers) resident in WA, it is throughout the course notes to cater for international probably not financially viable for ANZSI trainers to come students. Sometimes the assignments were also modified to Perth to run a course for a handful of participants. To depending on which country the student was based in. try and compensate for this, I have participated in at least three ANZSI Peer Review indexing opportunities over The assignments usually entailed making an index of the past few years, and have found them to be excellent some sort, and started off quite small and relatively easy, in developing my skills and confidence, particularly in to get you used to the different software packages. The unfamiliar areas like annual reports. Despite this, I still felt tasks varied from things I found quite simple to things I needed more training. that really stretched my abilities. The philosophy of the Berkeley instructors seems to be that it is more important Over the course of a few weeks, I investigated the online/ for you to learn the correct practice and produce a good distance courses accessible to ANZSI members. Most of index, than to get it perfect the first time you attempt it. them were too expensive or took too long to complete, or I To this end, if they are not convinced you have understood was concerned that there was no consideration of Australian the process and produced a good index, you will be asked indexing practices contained in the courses. Time was an to re-submit it after they have explained in more detail important factor for me, as I needed to balance the course the process you have yet to master. Re-submission does workload with my family responsibilities, part-time work, entail losing a few marks, but it is more important that and any indexing work I picked up during the time I was you firmly grasp the concepts. (I will admit that I did have doing the course. So I didn’t want to commit to a course to re-submit a few of mine, but I was happy that I ended that would take a year or more to complete. up with good indexes, because for me that was the aim of doing the course). After reading the detailed online information on the Berkeley course, I spoke to Max McMaster at length I think this is one of the strengths of the course, because about what I wanted to achieve, and about the Berkeley not only do you come out at the end being able to course in detail. (Max is one of four instructors on the produce good indexes, you also gain the understanding Berkeley course). In October, I decided to sign up for and knowledge of what makes a good index. Having said the course. The cost was US$650 (about the same in that, I wondered how the novice indexers on the course $A at that time), and I had six months to complete the with me would find the process, but most of those I coursework. I purchased the two textbooks (Mulvany’s chatted to online seemed to be doing okay, although we Indexing Books, 2nd ed., and the ‘Indexing’ chapter from were all at different stages of the course. I think you would the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.) and got to work as realise fairly quickly if indexing was for you or not. I was soon as I received my online access, which was the day probably in a better position than most of them, having after enrolling. done indexing for a few years on and off, but there were still things that caught me out. You start the course by downloading student editions of each of the three major indexing software packages The three major assignments were reasonably substantial (MACREX, CINDEX and SKY Index), as you have to indexes: the first, a short text on a medical subject; the use all three to do the first few assignments. This is a steep second, in the social sciences area; and the last, a lengthy learning curve for all participants, but a valuable one. (continued on next page) 10 | ANZSI Newsletter journal article in the legal area. These were all areas Introductory book indexing unfamiliar to me in an indexing sense, yet I ended up producing three good indexes. This experience has given Held 11–12 July 2013 in Sydney me the confidence to index material out of my immediate comfort zone. NZI NSW’s strategy of offering a generous discount Ato those willing to travel for a course seemed to Having successfully completed the course at the end of be effective: four of the eight participants at the July April this year, I now have more confidence that what introductory course were from outside NSW, coming I am doing is right, and feel I have the knowledge to from Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT, and New Zealand. make decisions based on what I have learnt. Completing the course has filled a few gaps in my knowledge and Everyone had their own story about what had brought consolidated my understanding of indexing skills and them to the course. Several of the students were editors practices, so I have achieved what I wanted from the looking to expand their skills into indexing. One course. participant is studying writing and editing at post- graduate level, but her course did not cover indexing, so My one gripe is that having completed the course, you she had come to ANZSI for training. Another, in the tax don’t even receive a certificate of completion for all your field, wanted to overhaul the apparently unhelpful index hard work. The only recognition is a printout indicating in a major reference work she uses very often. More than a completion of three units of a journalism course (yes few of the participants had seen indexes so awful that they a journalism course!). But for me, the advantages far felt that they could — with professional training — do outweigh this small disadvantage! better themselves! I would recommend the Berkeley course to anyone John Archer, from Tasmania, clearly demonstrated that wanting to extend their knowledge of indexing. I can’t lifelong learning can be a reality. A retired dairy farmer, comment on whether or not it would fully equip a novice now in his seventies, he had transcribed over 400 family to be an indexer, as this is not the situation I was in, but letters as a retirement project, using voice-recognition I think it would be worthwhile, particularly for those of software for the first time. He then published them with us in ’remote’ locations who don’t get the opportunity to his own index, which he created using a multi-purpose, attend face to face courses. inexpensive software package. He is now writing a local history book and was looking to acquire more formal Shelley Campbell indexing skills, and to learn about the dedicated indexing Freelance Indexer software options. The students greatly appreciated the willingness of teacher Glenda Browne to share her practical tips as well as her detailed theoretical knowledge of indexing, both as a profession and as a small business venture. Glenda and Mary Coe also kindly brought in a range of general and specialist indexing publications which were available for students to peruse, and to purchase if they wished to acquire resources to supplement the course notes. Two solid days on such a specialist topic may not be everyone’s choice of pastime, but all the participants seemed just as keen, if not more so, at the conclusion of the course, to join the indexing fellowship. Many thanks Students at the NSW indexing course, Sydney to ANZSI, and Glenda, for making this valuable training 11–12 July 2013 available. Back row, L to R: Celia Lindsay Mel Keenan, John Archer, Mary Coe (host), Anna [email protected] Farncomb, Jo Jarrah, Avril Vorsay Front row, L to R: Meredith Stokdijk, Maureen Butler, Celia Lindsay Photo by: Glenda Browne 11 | ANZSI Newsletter Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Old Op Shop, Holy Details at Wed 7 August Indexing numbers & Vic Branch Trinity Anglican Church, 6.00 pm branch library launch www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details. Kew asp?id=320 The Ward Office, 2 Details at Tues 27 August Meet the Puzzle Qld Branch / 63 Annerley Road, 6:00 pm Wizard www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details. Wooloongabba asp?id=332 Details at Tues 3 Sept Golden Cinnamon NSW Branch AGM 6.00 for 7.30 pm Restaurant www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details. asp?id=329 Old Op Shop, Holy Details at Wed 4 Sept The Business of Vic Branch Trinity Anglican Church, 6:00 pm Indexing www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details. Kew asp?id=321 Details at Wed 2 Oct ANZSI Council AGM Vic Branch Elsternwick Club 7:00 pm & Dinner www.anzsi.org/site/calendar _ details. asp?id=319 ANZSI Newsletter n other pages O Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, Annual General Meeting notice 3 VIC 3145, Australia Distributed Council feedback 3 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. IDPF Report 4 ISSN 1832-3855 eBooks self-education 4 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are The publishing and indexing scene in WA 6 those of the respective authors. Etcetera column 8 Editing skills for eBooks 9 Newsletter schedule Berkeley Extension Course 10 The next Newsletter will appear in September 2013. Introductory book indexing course 11 The contribution deadline is Friday, 30 August. The editor welcomes your contributions submitted by email to Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Postage Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia paid 12 | ANZSI Newsletter Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 8 | September 2013 ANZSI News Charging for Indexers Available increase revenue. The major source of Council revenue is t the request of some members, from memberships, with small amounts of revenue from A background to the unanimous newsletter advertising, Council-organised training, and adoption of a fee is presented in this issue online service fees from branches. of the Newsletter. As Council is well aware of the need to reduce expenses, Council runs a very tight budget it has introduced an electronic only newsletter from and for 2011–12 it ran at a deficit. The 1 January 2014, thus saving around $1500 in printing and financial figures in the 2011–12 annual report 2 | ANZSI Newsletter Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers will be held on Wednesday 2 October 2013 at 7.00 pm at the Elsternwick Club, 19 Sandham Street, Elsternwick Victoria (Melway 67, F2). Agenda 1. Minutes To approve the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the Elsternwick Club, 19 Sandham Street, Elsternwick, Victoria on Wednesday 31st October 2012. (Note: These may be found on the website at ANZSI Newsletter | 3 ANZSI: election of officers and Council 2013–14 At the close of nominations for ANZSI Officers and Council at 5.00 pm on Wednesday 28 August 2013, the following nominations had been received: President Glenda Browne Vice President Denise Sutherland Secretary Mei Yen Chua Treasurer Michael Wyatt Committee (five positions) Madeleine Davis Terri McKenzie There being only one nomination for each position, the above-named persons are elected unopposed. In accordance with Clause G1(k) of the Constitution nominations will be called at the AGM to fill the remaining three positions for councillors-at-large. Any member unable to attend the AGM who is interested in standing for one of these positions is invited to complete a nomination form and send it to the address on the form by noon on Tuesday 1 October 2013. Scanned signatures are acceptable. A nomination form may be downloaded from the website The Victorian Indexing Club (The VIC) meeting in July uest speaker Peter Dowling (pictured) drew an the APT team. The self publishing Gexcellent crowd to the July meeting at the State stage also offered a lesson, as the Library of Victoria. This included 22 visitors (the largest page headers he’d created in his cohort seen yet) associated with various historical societies, manuscript disappointingly didn’t academic institutions, libraries and archives. transfer to the published work. Peter is the creator of the Index to imagery in Australian But with that behind him, colonial illustrated newspapers, a two-volume, 1490-page Peter set about marketing his privately produced publication, which indexes around index which is now held by every 12,000 images in nearly all Australian colonial illustrated Australian State and Territory newspapers. Volume I indexes the images by subject, region library, several university libraries, and date, while Volume II indexes the images by creator. the Turnbull Library in New Zealand and the British Peter’s love of 19th century realist art led him to study Library. art history, gaining a PhD in imagery in Australian colonial We came as a bit of a surprise to Peter, as when we illustrated newspapers. Graphic journalism was at its height approached him to speak to us he was not aware of ANZSI. during this era, and to assist in his research Peter devised a He will be writing an article based on his presentation for list of 27 subject headings into which he would categorise the March 2014 edition of The Indexer; we also recorded images. It was this aspect of his work that became the the session with the idea of putting it up on the website seed for his 2012 publication, after Peter realised that the as ANZSI’s first podcast. Vic Branch Committee has been newspapers were a rich but sadly under-utilised resource for toying with the idea of podcasts for some time now, as a art history and history. This steeled his resolve to make the means of sharing meetings of The VIC more widely. (This images more accessible and propelled him down the path news also provided consolation to some disappointed of indexing. people who were unable to get to the meeting due to a Creating the index was a 15-year project which Peter number of cancelled trains!) says he never found boring, and he enjoyed seeing patterns Having so many visitors provided us with a good develop in it as it grew. It was however not without some opportunity to promote ANZSI, and it was good to see back surprises and challenges – for instance, when Peter was well issues of The Indexer and the ANZSI Newsletter disappear, into the project, he was made aware of the Australian Pictorial along with ANZSI bookmarks, lanyards, membership Thesaurus. He decided to continue on with his own list of forms and flyers about forthcoming meetings of The VIC. subject headings after encouragement from a member of Nikki Davis 4 | ANZSI Newsletter Letters to the Editor: Is Indexers Available worth paying for? Two letters this month have put different viewpoints on the issue of charging for Indexers Available ... For: Against: have just paid my $38.50 to retain my listing and feel it is am writing to protest at the new fee for appearing in Iwell worth the small fee, which is tax-deductable anyway. I Indexers Available. This has been presented as a fait I have been ‘found’ through my listing and it has provided me accompli, without consultation with the membership. No real with ongoing work, beyond the initial title I was contracted justification for the impost has been given by the President to do. in either the June or July Newsletter; we are merely told In 2003, I was contacted by Martin Thomas who was that Council has decided to do it. I know that both the looking for an indexer for his book The Artificial Horizon: National Executive and the State branches have very healthy Imagining the Blue Mountains. He lives in Katoomba, and bank balances, so Council cannot claim that it is doing this selected me because I also lived in the Blue Mountains, and because it needs the revenue. had indicated History as one of my areas of strength. It was Council seems to have lost sight of the fact that it exists not a history as one would expect, but quite mystical in its for its members. As a professional indexer, i.e. one who makes approach, partly because of the hazy blue of the landscape, his living from indexing, a listing in Indexers Available is one the aboriginal history in the area, and the number of people of the the main things that has kept my membership active who would come to the mountains for the purpose of suicide. up to now. It is, or rather was, really the only practical thing It was awarded the Gleebooks Prize for Literary and Cultural that the membership subscription of $80 a year provided for Criticism, one of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, in working indexers. It means we are now paying $80 a year 2004. solely for the Newsletter. As a member since 1988, and as someone who served for fifteen years in various capacities, including national president and NSW state president, and as a member of the ANZSI panel of assessors for the last six years, I find this development extremely disappointing and unjustifiable. It is bureaucracy gone mad. I encourage other members who feel similarly to make their feelings known to Council. If I had not been listed in Indexers Available I would Garry Cousins (NSW Branch) not have been ‘found’ and therefore would have missed out on the experience of working with Martin on his wonderful book, and would not have been contracted for his subsequent work. The power of the index I am currently working on a 50th anniversary book for the Australian Society of Authors, both proofreading and indexing. Again, I was ‘found’ in Indexers Available. These are just two examples of my benefiting frommy listing in Indexers Available. When I am contacted by a publisher for whom I have not worked before I always ask where or how they found me. It is or the past ten years, Max McMaster has been about 50/50 Indexers Available or word of mouth. I believe the Fcompiling and cumulating the author and subject fee is a very small price to pay for professional ‘advertising’. I indexes to Chemistry in Australia, the journal of the also believe that if you are selected from Indexers Available it is Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Readers are able a fair bet they had done their homework and looked at others to access the indexes on the RACI’s website listed and made their choice according to the information ANZSI Newsletter | 5 News from Queensland n Tuesday 27 August 2013, ANZSI Queensland Greg has turned his small business into a thriving and Omembers and industry colleagues were entertained by successful industry, which he thoroughly enjoys. the Puzzle Wizard, aka Greg Parker. He has a simple and honest attitude towards his creative Greg suffered life threatening cancer as a young child, puzzle business. He loves giving enjoyment to his clients, but this life crisis may have made him into the genius that who from the size of his print runs, are absolutely craving he so obviously is today. his creative, inventive puzzles and who are happy solving Greg Parker first produced an 87-page book of puzzles the clues which he is still churning out some 14 years using hand-written code and with some computer assistance. later. He planned to do this every three months, but found that Puzzles are such fun, with the answers in the back he had to increase his volume of booklets to make a living. for new puzzlers and rusty vocabularies. Have you tried So he went about this dream with a willing heart and mind to solve the Puzzle Wizard’s clues lately? Have a try and and a fair grasp of the computer programs which he himself stretch your mind – it is rather different to indexing! devised in the process. Next meeting: 24 September, more details TBA – see Since then he has created not one every three months, website QLD Branch but more like 17 different versions every 3 months, with a Moira Brown (President, Queensland Branch) huge print run to satisfy his vast flocks of followers. Seated beside Puzzle Wizard Greg Parker is Moira Brown, and behind (l to r) are Jeni Lewington, Graham Potts, Marisa Trigger, David Muller. Photo Jane Douglas. WA Group dinner cucina bar and restaurant, in Hay Street, Perth, me from hospital to say she was having a plate inserted into É was the venue for the WA Group dinner held on her wrist after sustaining a major fracture following a fall 24 July. Six people attended. Alex George, a botanist and during a canoeing trip. She is fortunately on the mend. botanical indexer, who some members would remember Those of us who attended the dinner had a fantastic from the 2007 Melbourne ANZSI Conference; Jan evening. The food and wine were excellent, we talked about McCahon Marshall and Jenna Lynch from the City of all manner of things, including indexing, and the company Perth History Centre, both of whom are involved with the was very agreeable. At the end of the evening, everyone indexing of oral histories; Frank Smith, an editor, and his present asked if we could make the get-together an annual wife; and myself. event – a definite indication that they had enjoyed it! Where were Linda McNamara, WA Group rep, and The dinner is already marked on next year’s ANZSI Shelley Campbell, you might ask? Although both had calendar. intended to come to the dinner, life happens. Linda took Max McMaster a very sudden opportunity to travel to the UK to help celebrate her mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. Shelley phoned 6 | ANZSI Newsletter Zakuski elcome to another bite of Zakuski. Congratulations Librarian’s image reinvented Wto Denise Sutherland and her colleague Jane Douglas If you were ever a fan of Lego as a child, one clever person on their first column of Etcetera. Well done ladies! has been still playing with it. Lego now has its own version Every time I write this column I worry that I may not of a Lego Librarian, from the typical stereotype to the have enough information, but fear not, here are some more downright sexy. All very amusing!! I quite like the warrior titbits to devour. one and the one holding the whip!! No I am not bent and A library with a difference twisted!!! To celebrate Seniors Week in October, Whitehorse ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Quiet achievers in indexing – Prue Deacon Who has been the greatest influence on your disappeared when the National Library’s World 1 project career? was abandoned in the 1990s. I wonder how many other think it would have to be John Balnaves, who taught electronic records from this era have been lost because of Ithe Information Retrieval Systems unit at the Canberra maintenance difficulties. College of Advanced Education in the mid-1970s. This My next big project was developing a new thesaurus. was one of the first units of my Graduate Diploma in The Department had expanded from health to incorporate Librarianship and I can well remember John pacing community services. (Later housing and local government backwards and forwards expounding his wisdom. From were added.) MeSH was no longer appropriate. However, him I learned the importance of looking at systems as a I was able to use MeSH as the basis for health terms and whole and aiming for excellence in all parts of a system. for the overall structure. The thesaurus was first published in 1991 and I have recently been involved in preparing the How did you come to an indexing career? 9th edition. My indexing career has been in the areas of cataloguing, database indexing, thesaurus development and metadata. What do you see as your greatest For most of it I was a librarian in the Australian Government achievement? Department of Health and Ageing. My greatest achievement was being part of the team that My first library job was in the science and technology developed HealthInsite. In the mid-1990s, when websites branch of the National Library, ANSTEL. Here I met my were first being developed, Roxanne Missingham was longest-standing colleague, Sandra Henderson. I enjoyed one of the Department’s information services managers. reference work and was horrified at the prospect of Astutely, she snared the role of content management for the being rotated to Cataloguing after Library. Later, along with Jill Buckley my first year. My placement was in Smith and Stephanie Tow, I was the PRECIS indexing section where fortunate to move into a combined we provided the subject indexing for IT and librarian team to manage the the Australian National Bibliography Department’s internet and intranet (ANB). To my surprise, I loved it. Of sites. The Health Minister envisaged course PRECIS indexing was not cost- a ‘megahub’ to provide health effective and it was later abandoned information for all Australians. We by ANB. However, for me it provided created HealthInsite, a gateway to an intensive grounding in looking at quality health information resources a book or article, determining what it on other Australian websites. Metadata was about and matching the concepts was crucial, providing the data for to index terms. At that time Jan Prue in Patagonia site structure, search enhancement, Fullerton was head of Cataloguing personalisation and search results and in the ANB team I met Jill Buckley (later Jill Buckley display. We also created a mechanism to keep the metadata Smith), with whom I worked so closely on HealthInsite in up-to-date. recent years. As a former cataloguer, accustomed to being in the I next moved to the Commonwealth Department of backroom, it was exciting for me to be working with my Health Library and managed cataloguing there for many colleagues and IT professionals to build a very public years. I was initially attracted by the opportunity to work website. It was also gratifying to be able to demonstrate the with MeSH, which had such a logical structure compared value of metadata so clearly. with Library of Congress subject headings. I always HealthInsite is still at 8 | ANZSI Newsletter (Quiet achievers – Prue Deacon, continued from previous page) paid working hours. However, I spent a lot of time outside work on professional development activities – writing papers, committee/conference work and study. Of course, when I had children at home, they had some priority. Over the years I got to know my stress limits and when to take a break. These days I am an expert procrastinator and avoid worrying about the length of my to-do lists. I try to have lots of outdoor exercise. What do you like most about your work? What do you like least? In subject indexing and thesaurus development what I like most is working with words, concepts and fuzzy logic. I also enjoy the health subject area and read widely on health issues, especially evidence-based practice and the history of medicine. What I like least is the constant need to justify the costs of indexing to new managers with no experience of library work. What advice would you offer to indexers just starting out? Be very clear about what value you are adding in your work and learn how to explain that value to your managers or clients. If you could dine with a famous historical figure, who would it be? My first degree was in science and my initial thoughts on this question were about my heroes in science, people like Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur. On further reflection I have selected Rosalind Franklin, inspired by a recent biography written by her sister*. Franklin was the X-ray crystallographer whose work contributed to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Colleagues went on to receive a Nobel Prize but, sadly, Franklin died in 1958 at the age of 37. Her role was not properly acknowledged at the time, even by the people who had used her X-ray diffraction images. There was some controversy about this but her contribution has now been recognised. I can understand Franklin’s passion for research and her (reputed) prickliness. Her personality has been depicted in many writings and films. I would love to chat with her about the people she worked with and find out her opinions of their personalities. *Glynn, Jenifer. My sister Rosalind Franklin. OUP, 2012. If you were a letter of the alphabet, which letter would you be and why? I am not keen about being a letter. I would rather be an exclamation mark, used judiciously to express happiness, joy or astonishment! ANZSI Newsletter | 9 Quiet Achiever: Alan Eddy Who has been the greatest influence on your town, and the fact that the nearly all the students were career? trainees bonded to the Victorian Public Service had made areer here means my 40-plus years with the State it simple for boarding-school rules to endure, despite the CForests Department and what I chose to do after snowballing social changes of the 1960s. that. I single out A O P (Alf ) Lawrence OBE, who was The times were unsettling for the young, in many appointed as a junior forester in 1923 in Victoria, as having countries. The age of students ranged from 17 to 20-plus, the greatest influence. My brief encounters with him from most having come straight from Year 12. The birthdate 1946 until his retirement in 1969 from the chairmanship lottery for national service and service in Vietnam loomed of the Forests Commission always left me with a new idea as an interruption to further studies and getting on with or challenge to chew over. He was not overtly a mentor, a career in forestry. Clothing fashions had changed, but his autocratic pronouncements and personal discipline and by 1967 hippies had become conspicuous. Teenage stimulated productive, even lofty, thinking and action. music dominated the radio, hairstyles for youths caused parents and teachers worries. Widespread availability of the Pill abetted social changes. By 1973 the voting age was lowered to 18 years. Perhaps these could rightly be called years of challenge for the young. The Forests Commission Victoria which ran the School was sensitive to sudden changes under fresh management; likewise the conservative town of Creswick, watching over its school. The principal of a residential college must sacrifice personal time with family and friends, and some recreations fall by the wayside. If I was at home I was on duty, 24/7 in today’s language. How did you come to an indexing career? I was invited to join the board of the infant Sovereign I had been book reviews editor of Australian Forestry, Hill early in 1969, which turned out to be a growing proofreading papers, making referee’s comments and interest. compiling the simple annual index. A librarian friend I was responsible for a school that grew and diversified suggested in the mid-1970s that I would make a good successfully while it prepared its students for responsible indexer because I was pedantic and fussy over details, and positions in forest resource management. Without the it could be an interest in retirement. I attended a three- dedicated support of a mainly new teaching staff, and the Saturday introduction to indexing offered by the Society in cooperation of the students, the story could have been quite Melbourne, and my interest grew little by little until about different. The mood and morale of the School community 1990. changed quite quickly. Rules and procedures were altered What do you see as your greatest at a controlled rate. The wholehearted support of the achievement? Forests Commission and the Board of Forestry Education The answer to this tough question must be what was throughout was magnificent. I claim my contributions achieved while I was Principal of the Victorian School of to forestry education as a major achievement, being Forestry, at Creswick, from January 1969 for about ten encouraged to say so now by opinions expressed recently years. The School, established in 1910, had changed its by students of the 1970s. regimes little during the depressed 1930s and the war years. The practical isolation of the School in a small goldfields (continued on next page) 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Quiet achievers – Alan Eddy, continued from previous page) Mine was a shared achievement because my wife editors need to be taught that Friday afternoon and sunrise accepted her role with unfailing good judgement and on Monday are separated by more than 50 hours. discretion. Overseas and Australian visitors would be What advice would you offer to indexers just brought to our house by the central quadrangle for lunch starting out? during an inspection of Victoria’s forestry school set in an Become familiar with the contents of the ANZSI website. arboretum, with native forest and pine plantations at the Delve particularly into the Indexing Resources section. Test back door. the water by enrolling for a basic course in book indexing, What has been your biggest challenge? to give you a glimpse of how an indexer starts to think Accepting rejection of my index by an editor for one of the about compiling an index. university presses because the four or so authors of chapters Digest a couple of books on the art of indexing, making of a second edition of a textbook on education in the time to look critically through indexes in a range of books arts didn’t like it. I had stuck to style sheets and indexing in the municipal library. Choose a few indexed books on specifications provided by the editor, and delivered on time. subjects you know about and test the scope and depth of I was nonplussed when she phoned to say that they could the indexing. not use my index. The editor agreed that the index satisfied Enrol for courses offered through the Society, and attend the specifications and herself. She said the teacher-authors Branch events if times and distances allow it. Apply for had then spent two days and nights, heads wrapped in wet membership and digest the Newsletters as they are issued. towels, devising an index that suited them. Do not expect freelance indexing to pay many bills. How do you try to achieve work-life balance? If you could dine with a famous historical My indexing assignments have been more a trickle than a figure, who would it be? flow. It has been simple to accommodate them within the To me that means ‘dine at his table with other guests’, not routines of a small household, my weekly volunteering and just the two of us. I would choose John Evelyn, the English few social commitments. My wife is content for an index diarist, linguist and writer of more than 30 books on a to take over my daily life for ‘as long as it takes’. I become surprising range of subjects during his long life from 1620 absorbed in the work to the extent that I neglect garden to 1708. and other chores, until reminded. I am content to work John Evelyn knew leading natural philosophers and every day when this is needed to meet a deadline. Not a writers, including Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Isaac good balance, true. Newton, Robert Boyle, and Samuel Pepys with whom he What do you like most about your work? corresponded often. John Evelyn was a prominent original What do you like least? Fellow of the Royal Society, under the auspices of which Most Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest Trees, was published in 1664. In Paris he was a courtier around the uncrowned Charles II. Producing something of value to readers of a book, He lived in turbulent times, under three kings, one of them to the style wanted by its publisher and fulfilling my publicly executed, and he left the English jurisdiction for understanding of a worthwhile index. There is always scope his own safety when Cromwell held power. Evelyn lived to include an impish entry in the index, in the hope that it though the Great Plague and the Great Fire. will amuse some readers. Who could refuse the chance of hearing his conversation Compiling an index is a sort of battle of wits. The calibre with companions at table, observing what food was eaten, of an index depends as much on the comprehension and and what courtesies were followed ? wit of the indexer as on following rules and conventions. Finding errors and inconsistencies provide opportunities to If you were a letter of the alphabet, which alert the editor and establish a clearer understanding of the letter would you be and why? indexer’s role. M. It stands sturdy, and as close to the centre as can be. It A freelance can work early and late, taking short or is sounded with closed lips, suggesting discretion but not longer breaks as other commitments and the editor’s necessarily secrecy, or perhaps restrained agreement with deadline allows. There is no travel to work, and no dress something just heard. The twin dashes for this letter in standards are required. Morse code should be a reminder to editors to pay close attention to hyphens, en and em dashes, and the use of Least spaces. Unreasonable deadlines, but the pleasure of demolishing an unreasonable deadline is worth a lot. An editor’s demand for the finished index by ‘COB Friday’ can be outrageous. Negotiation by phone is far more effective than emails, for ANZSI Newsletter | 11 ANZSI and Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Sun 22 Sept 30 Fourth Avenue, NZ Branch AGM Note revised venue 11.00 am Kingsland, Auckland Tues 24 Sept Qld Branch General meeting Wooloongabba, Brisbane 6.00 pm TBA – see website QLD Branch Wed 2 Oct ANZSI Council Details at ANZSI Elsternwick Club 7.00 pm AGM & Dinner ON OTHER PAGES ANZSI Newsletter Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI News 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI AGM agenda 3 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI Offi cers and Council 2013–14 4 ISSN 1832-3855 Th e VIC in July 4 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are Is Indexers Available worth paying for? 5 those of the respective authors. News from Queensland 6 WA Group dinner 6 Th e power of indexing 6 Newsletter schedule Zakuski 7 Th e next Newsletter will appear in October 2013. Interim Victorian Branch President 7 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 27 September. Quiet achiever – Prue Deacon 8 Please send contributions by email to the Editor Quiet achiever – Alan Eddy 10 Peter Judge Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 9 | October 2013 ANZSI News Annual report t the Council AGM on 2 October the ANZSI Annual report will be presented. The A complete report will be available at ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13 President’s Introduc�on he Council has pleasure in presenting its Annual Report for 2012–13. The report will be presented at the Annual TGeneral Meeting in Elsternwick on 2 October 2013. The report is compiled from contributions from all Council members and officials to represent all the work done by ANZSI. 2012–13 This financial year has been significant not only for ANZSI but for indexing in general with the work of the IDPF Indexes Working Group. Here are a few highlights • The first ANZSI Conference to be held in New Zealand was held in Wellington in March. It was a success and, with content of interest to publishers, provided a wonderful opportunity to promote indexing in New Zealand. • A comprehensive survey of members provided useful information about members, such as the type of indexing done and what other work they are doing. Back-of-book indexing is the main type of indexing done but, of the respondents indexing books; over half are only doing between one and five indexes a year. Indexing is typically only one way respondents earn an income with most doing other work, such as editing or proof reading. Income earned from indexing is typically less than 25% of total income and for three quarters of respondent it is either nothing or less the $15,000. • Training courses have been held around the Society. Introduction courses were run in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Intermediate or practical courses were run in a couple of different forms by New South Wales and Queensland Branch, (continued on next page) (ANZSI Annual Report, continued from previous page) as well as a Council run peer review on journal indexing. Specialist courses were also run on embedded indexing, indexing annual reports and InDesign indexing. • To be able to formally recognise the contributions to ANZSI by non- members we established an Outstanding Contribution Award. Th e fi rst recipient was Sylvia Ramsden. • Our work on the International Digital Publishing Forum, EPUB Indexers Australian and New Zealand Working Group continued through the work of the ANZSI Representative, Society of Indexers Inc. Glenda Browne. • ANZSI highlighted some of the issues relating to indexes in ebooks by ANZSI Newsletter sending a response to the ‘ALIA Ebook and elending issues paper’ and ISSN 1832-3855 attending an ALIA event. Editor: Peter Judge • Council runs a very tight budget. Its main source of funds is membership (continued on next page) 2 | ANZSI Newsletter (ANZSI Council Report, continued from previous page) Officers of the Society Education Coordinator Max McMaster (from December 2012) Editor of the Newsletter Peter Judge Membership Officer Karen Gillen Web Manager Mary Russell State and Territory Representatives Northern Territory Frieda Evans North Queensland Jean Dartnall South Australia Jane Oliver Tasmania Christopher Brennan Western Australia Linda McNamara Chairs of Boards and Committees Awards Alan Walker (to December 2012) Garry Cousins (from December 2012) Board of Assessors Sherrey Quinn Conference Committee (2013) Tordis Flath Conference Committee (2015) Tracy Harwood (from March 2013) Promotions and Publicity Max McMaster (to December 2012) Dominique (Nikki) Davis (from December 2012) Margaret Findlay It was with sadness that the Society learned of the death, on 8 September 2012, of Margaret Findlay. Members of the Council and the Committee of the Victorian Branch attended Margaret’s funeral service in the Uniting Church in Hawthorn on 13 September. An obituary appeared in the Newsletter (Vol. 8, no. 9, October 2012). During her professional career Margaret managed the Cunningham Library at ACER in Camberwell. She was a member of AusSI (as it was then) in the early days and was employed as a consultant/organiser for the Society’s first conference In Marysville in 1995. Margaret then rejoined the Society in 1996 and continued as a member until her death. Following the success of the Marysville Conference she was heavily involved in organising the Hobart Conference in 1997 and all subsequent conferences held in Victoria. She was successively Treasurer of the Victorian Branch and then, from 2007–12 of ANZSI. She was a model committee member and contributed greatly to the Society. Margaret will be sadly missed. In memory of Margaret a donation of $200 was made to the Australian Cancer Research Fund Meetings Council met nine times during the year. As in the two immediately previous years a full meeting of the Council, including the ex officio members, was held at the Great Western Airport Motel and Conference Centre in Atwood, close to Melbourne Airport. Because of the conference in Wellington in March the meeting this year was held in May. Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) This Act supersedes the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Vic) under which the society was incorporated in October 2010. The Act came into force on 26th November 2012 and organisations using their own rules were allowed a twelve month period of grace to bring their rules into line with the new Model Rules. Council undertook a review of the Constitution and a revised Constitution was approved and will be put to the members at the Annual General Meeting on October 2013. Survey of Members The quinquennial survey of members was carried out, returns being due by June 2012. The results were analysed and presented to Council in September 2012 and were referred to branches for comment. A majority of members expressed a preference for the terms “Accreditation” and “Accredited Indexer” rather than “Registration” and “Registered Indexer”. and Council approved the use of the new terminology at its meeting in July 2012. Another interesting finding was that 76% of members earn less than $15,000 p.a from indexing and 55% less than $5,000. A summary of the results was printed in the Newsletter in (Vol. 8 No. 9, October 2012) and the full results are on the website with the Council papers for September 2012 (http://www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/36-129%20Survey%20results.pdf). (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 3 (ANZSI Council Report, continued from previous page) Renewal of Accreditation Consideration of this item occupied some six months. Council realised in December that there was an anomaly in the Constitution in that the policy of a five yearly renewal of accreditation ran counter to the provision that “The inclusion of a member’s name in the Register will entitle a member to be known as a Registered Indexer of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers so long as he or she remains a financial member of the Society.” On the recommendation of the ACT Region branch a motion to correct this anomaly had been put to the annual general meeting in 2007 but it was defeated. A similar motion in 2008 was also defeated. Renewal of Accreditation was scheduled to take place in 2012, five years after the first renewal exercise. At its meeting in December 2012 Council agreed that the Society needed to decide whether or not it wished to continue with the policy and that, if so, the anomaly needed to be resolved. Accordingly the scheduled renewal exercise did not take place. Two simple alternatives for criteria and procedures were suggested by the Chair of the Board of Assessors but were not accepted by the Council. Following consultation with the Board of Assessors the issue was referred to the meeting of the full Council in May. At that meeting the Council decided to discontinue the policy. Following this decision it was ascertained that, as a result of the first round of renewals in 2007, eleven members had not been granted renewal. Of these six did not wish to seek renewal, four had not responded, and one application for renewal was unsuccessful. Of the eleven two have since died and seven others are no longer members. The two remaining members were re-instated as accredited indexers as required by the Constitution. Education Coordinator Council created the position of Education Coordinator and appointed Max McMaster to the position. A position description was approved at the full meeting of the Council in May 2013. Draft Curriculum A draft curriculum for the Society’s basic course in indexing was prepared by Glenda Browne for the former Education Committee. The document was approved in principle in 2011–12. Following consultation with the branches itwas formally approved by the Council meeting in May 2013 and has been posted on the website. (http://www.anzsi.org/ UserFiles/file/Curriculum%20May%202013.pdf). The draft curriculum is designed to set out the content of a course, or suite of courses, covering basic indexing principles and practical indexing Council Training Adelaide courses Council ran two separate courses back-to-back in Adelaide over three days, August, 6-8, 2012. Basic Book Indexing Parts 1 and 2 were conducted by Max McMaster (6-7 August), and a Web Indexing and Metadata course was conducted by Glenda Browne (8 August). The courses were organised by Jane Oliver (South Australian Group representative) and Janet Wilkinson-Smith. We are grateful to both organisers for their assistance in initiating and managing the courses. Twelve participants attended each day, which was the maximum the venue (DOME) could hold. Feedback following the courses indicated that all participants had gained enormously from the experience. Profit from the courses was $4,760, which was a very successful outcome for Council. AusSI/ANZSI Newsletter Peer Review The indexing of 37 years of the AusSI/ANZSI Newsletter involved 32 participants. Although the majority of the volunteers were from within the Society’s ranks, assistance was provided by some knowledgeable Australian non- Society members, as well as some overseas indexers. Eight of the volunteers requested their indexing be peer reviewed to ensure their journal indexing skills were up to the mark, and this was capably done by Mary Russell. IDPF Indexes Working Group Glenda Browne agreed to continue in her role on this Group. A statement on the work of the group appears elsewhere in this report. Council is grateful to the ACT Region Branch for covering the cost of the honorarium. Librarians, as purchasers and lenders of books, are an important group in the ebook community. ANZSI Council sent a response to the ‘ALIA Ebooks and elending issues paper’, describing the work of IDPF and the IWG, and two ANZSI NSW members attended the associated meeting, and raised the question of ebook indexes. Review of ANZSI policies Council undertook a review of ANZSI policies. The following policies were reviewed and, following consultation with the branches, revisions were approved and have been posted on the website: Branding, Life Membership, Payments to Members, Proxy Voting and Recommended Rate for Indexing. (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (ANZSI Council Report, continued from previous page) Membership and Subscriptions Subscriptions Council decided to hold the subscription at AUD80 plus GST for Australian members (an increase of 10% owing to the introduction of GST) and NZD80 for New Zealand members. It was also agreed that New Zealand members should have the option to pay their subscriptions into the New Zealand Branch’s bank account with the New Zealand branch Treasurer transferring the resulting income to the Council’s account in bulk, thus minimising bank transfer fees. Over the past year the Society continued the trial of two subscription options: (a) Calendar-year Subscription (1 January to 31 December); and (b) Financial-year Subscription (1 July to 30 June). After consideration in early 2013, it was resolved to discontinue dual membership renewal periods in favour of a single renewal date of 1st July, and that the Constitution be amended accordingly. It was later resolved that members due for renewal in January 2014 pay a pro rata subscription to bring them into line with those whose membership runs for the financial year. The amendment to the Constitution will be put to the members at the AGM in October 2013. Membership For some time, the Society has offered a ‘Student’ category of membership. In recent years, however, the number of members selecting this option has varied between one and two. In view of the small number and the relatively small concession it was resolved to discontinue this category of membership and to amend the Constitution accordingly. This amendment will be put to the members at the AGM in October 2013.. Substitute members at Council meetings The President of the New South Wales Branch was unable to attend the meeting of full Council in May and sought to nominate her Vice-President as a proxy. This, however, is not at present permitted by the Constitution, which makes no provision for proxies at council meetings. At the suggestion of the Secretary of the NSW branch a solution was found whereby the NSW Vice President was elected by the Council to fill one of the vacancies for councillors-at-large’. The revised Constitution, to be put to the AGM in October 2013, includes a provision for presidents of branches, if unable to attend, to nominate a proxy. Registration for GST In April 2011 Council considered a paper canvassing the option of registering for GST. The paper was referred to branches. Comments in support of the proposal were received from the ACT Region Branch and the New Zealand Branch and at its meeting in June 2011 Council formally resolved to take the steps necessary to register for GST. However, owing to the illness of the Treasurer the process of registration was not completed. Council took up this matter again in preparing the budget for 2013–14 and applied for registration. The process proved to be more complicated than anticipated as it was discovered that, when the Society changed its name to the current form in 2004 the change of name was not registered with the Australian Taxation Office as required under the rules for ABNs. Before the Society could register for GST it was first necessary to resolve this matter. An application is currently before the ATO to register for GST with effect from Monday 17 June 2013. Indexers Available The full Council meeting in May decided to charge a fee for an entry in Indexers Available of AUD38.50 (incl. GST) for members resident in Australia and NZD35 for members resident in New Zealand. This decision was taken in the context of a situation in which ANZSI faced a probable deficit in 2013–14. The alternative was to increase the subscription to AUD110 (incl. GST) for members resident in Australia and NZD100 for members resident in New Zealand. A brief explanation of the budget decision, and of this decision, appeared in the June issue of the Newsletter. A longer explanation appeared in the September 2013 issue. Prior to the introduction of the fee, members elected whether to include their details on Indexers Available, and it was their responsibility to manage their entries (i.e. to include accurate and up-to-date information about their qualifications, expertise and experience). While many members elected to include their details on Indexers Available, some have neglected to update their details on a regular basis. There have also been a number of other concerns related to the list, such as: members being included although they were no longer actually available to take on any indexing work; members indicating they had expertise in numerous areas but failing to provide any details of their qualifications, or publications indexed, to support their claims; and members listing their contact details but not including any qualifications and/or indicating any areas of expertise. As a result, much of the information available to potential clients has been inaccurate or at best uneven. It is hoped that, with the introduction of a fee for advertising in the forthcoming financial year, members will be encouraged to keep their entries accurate and up-to-date. Indexers Available will then be a far more useful product for both clients and indexers. (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 5 (ANZSI Council Report, continued from previous page) Risk Assessment The Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic) requires incorporated associations to indemnify office holders against “any liability incurred in good faith by the office holder in the course of performing his or her duties as an office holder”. The term “office holder” is defined to include all members of the governing committee. The limit of indemnity is $20,000. The choice for the Society is to carry this risk itself or to insure against it. The Secretary and Treasurer carried out a review of the Society’s insurance needs and presented a paper to the full meeting of the Council in May. Council decided that, in general, the Society’s existing policy is adequate for the our needs. On the question of the indemnity Council decided that the cost of insuring was out of all proportion to the risk. Communication within ANZSI Glenda Browne presented a paper which was considered at the full meeting of the Council in May. Arising from the paper Council resolved to ask the NSW Branch to investigate the feasibility of the use of communications technology for meetings of the Council. Outstanding Contribution Award At the Annual General Meeting in October 2012 an Outstanding Contribution Award was presented to Sylvia Ramsden. The award was reported in the Newsletter for November 2012. At the full meeting of the Council in May a recommendation for a further award was approved. The award will be presented on a suitable occasion. Archives At its meeting in June 2013 Council considered the need to formulate an archives policy. As an initial step it was agreed to conduct an audit of the Society’s archives as part of the process of handing over to a new Council. Council 2013–14 At the full Council meeting in May members were informed that neither the current Executive, nor the two elected members of Council, would seek re-election when nominations were called for the election of officers and council members for 2013–14. Membership Report This is a selection of the major elements of the Membership Report section of the Annual Report. Table numbers are as they appeared in the Annual Report. Subscription periods The Society continued the trial of two subscription options: (a) Calendar-year Subscription (1 January to 31 December); and (b) Financial-year Subscription (1 July to 30 June) though this is likely to change. Total Membership at 30 June 2013 (AR Table 1) At 30 June 2013 ANZSI had a total of 198 members, of whom 29 are currently subscribing to a calendar-year membership subscription. Membership Figures at 30 June 2012 and 30 June 2013 (AR Table 2) The table below compares the total membership figures at 30 June 2012 with those at 30 June 2013. Gains and losses were calculated on the basis of the difference in overall total of branch memberships at the end of each financial year. It was gratifying to see membership numbers stabilising after the trend of diminishing subscriptions in the previous two financial years (losses of 21.3% in 2010–11 and 15% in 2011–12). Whereas losses were distributed evenly across the branches in 2011–12, this financial year NSW was the only branch to register a reduction in overall membership with a loss of close to 25%. Victorian membership was static with losses balanced out by gains in membership. The loss of NSW members was balanced by gains in the ACT Region, New Zealand and Queensland branches, with the greatest increase in membership being in the New Zealand Branch. (continued on next page) 6 | ANZSI Newsletter (ANZSI Membership Report, continued from previous page) Members at Members at Overall Overall Branch 30 June 2012 30 June 2013 Gains Losses ACT and Region 32 35 3 0 New South Wales 41 31 0 10 New Zealand 25 30 5 0 Queensland 29 30 1 0 Victoria 64 64 0 0 No branch affiliation 6 8 2 0 Total membership 197 198 11 10 Table 2. Membership figures at 30 June 2012 compared to 30 June 2013 Accredited Indexers (AR Table 4) The Table 4 below shows the number of accredited indexers by branch, in whole numbers and as a percentage of Life + Personal members. Personal+Student+Life Percentage Branch Accredited Indexers Members Accredited Indexers ACT Region 33 7 21 NSW 31 13 42 NZ 29 3 10 QLD 30 2 7 VIC 62 15 24 No Branch 8 0 0 TOTALS 193 40 21 Table 4. Accredited Members at 30 June 2013 Indexers Available (AR Table 5) From 1 July 2013, a fee will be introduced for advertising in Indexers Available, and the Membership Secretary has been allocated the role of maintaining a register of subscribers. The statistics for those listed inIndexers Available at 30 June 2013 are presented in Table 5 which follows. Corporate members are not included as they do not advertise freelance indexing services. Percentage Personal+Student+Life Members Listed on Personal+Student+Life Branch Members Indexers Available Members Listed in Indexers Available ACT Region 33 15 45 NSW 31 22 71 NZ 29 15 52 QLD 30 11 37 VIC 62 31 50 None 8 5 63 TOTALS 193 99 51 Table 5. Members listed on Indexers Available at 30 June 2013 ANZSI Newsletter | 7 Etcetera Eat Your Books The team of women who run EYB are not professional at Your Books (EYB) is a great indexers; they include enthusiastic home cooks, a E concept — an online index professional chef, a few editors and food writers, and to your own cookbooks. It is an information technology specialist Deborah Sauvé, who has ‘e-book’ way to search all the recipes ‘supervising indexers’ listed under her work experience. in your personal ‘p-book’ cookbook To date EYB have indexed over 800,000 recipes from collection, quickly, elegantly, and over 4,500 popular cookbooks, magazines, food blogs, and easily. websites. But there are thousands of cookbooks listed on To use EYB, you sign up at their their database which are waiting to be indexed. website News from Queensland ast month Queensland Branch members and industry Judy’s interest in writing has found application here, L colleagues enjoyed an informative and entertaining initially in writing and researching the memoir of the presentation from Judy Frederiksen: editor, writer, proofreader late Bill Wallace when a friend of Bill’s had sought her and Honorary Liaison Officer between the Society of Editors help. Judy’s first ‘memoir’ project sparked an intriguing (Qld) and the Queensland Writers Centre. discussion among the audience, because Bill had inhabited Judy had a long and very successful earlier career in an island in North Queensland long before it became the banking, both in Australia and internationally, reaching tourist mecca that it is today. Another lively discussion arose Branch Manager. Her talk focused on how she moved on publishing contracts, and in particular on one dubious into editing. She gave a lively contract that Judy has been description of her previous offered for this memoir. career and the many skills she Judy’s motto would have developed, and how these have to be ‘have a go’. As someone stood her in good stead as starting out in a new field, she she moved to her new career. has accepted that there will be It was particularly interesting a certain amount of pro bono to hear of her willingness to work. But this has gained her have a go and say yes to the references for her CV, helping opportunities that came her her build her portfolio and way. Judy is clearly making a leading to further work. success, having worked on a Judy presented a virtual wide range of projects in the At the meeting were: (front row) Guest Speaker Judy Frederiksen, master class in how to make last four years. David Crosswell; (back row) Brian Clarke, Graham Potts, a career change, use contacts Part of her strategy for the David Muller, Jeni Lewington. Photo Moira Brown. and networking and be willing move was completing a Post to seize every opportunity that Graduate Certificate in Editing and Publishing at the comes your way. It was inspiring to hear how much University of Southern Queensland, which led to many industry experience and what a reputation for hard work useful connections with publishers and other colleagues. We you can gain if you are willing to put yourself out there and heard of the importance of networking, through contacts in have a go when starting a new venture. Rotary and writers’ groups for example, and of being in the David Muller (Editor, Musician) right place at the right time. But most impressive was her And see page 12 for upcoming Branch events in October energy and enthusiasm for creating her own opportunities. and November... China Society of Indexers conference If you have been thinking of going to the China Society of Indexers conference in Shanghai, 2–4 November, and you would like to be the ANZSI representative, please contact the incoming ANZSI Secretary, Mei Yen Chua ANZSI Newsletter | 9 Tips and hints – using your unique Indexers Available link f you are listed in Indexers Available you have a unique Creating a signature in Gmail: Ilink for your name. For example, mine is 10 | ANZSI Newsletter ACT Region Branch AGM and 21st Anniversary Tuesday 22 October, Brassey Hotel, Barton AGM at 6.30 pm, followed by dinner at 7.15pm njoy a convivial evening, with the new President of E ANZSI presenting special awards. The menu offers two main courses, two desserts, and tea or coffee for $52.50 per person. Drinks are your own responsibility. Bring along your friends and partners – a great venue and great company! RSVP to Shirley Campbell by Tuesday 15 October, tel: 6285 1006 or at Write, Edit, Index: a na�onal conference for editors, indexers, and publishing professionals ... … is the title of the 2015 conference to be held in Canberra, 6–9 May 2015, jointly hosted by the ACT Region Branch of ANZSI and the Canberra Society of Editors on behalf of ANZSI and the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd). An organising committee, with a mix of editors and indexers, has been set up and is gently advancing plans. Rydges Lakeside has been selected to host our conference, and a deposit paid to confirm our booking. The four-star hotel has recently been refurbished and is looking pretty flash. With the trendy New Acton precinct continuing to grow, we think Rydges Lakeside will be an excellent venue. The committee has contacted two keynote speakers, who have both expressed interest, but have yet to be confirmed. We are going to set up a website using WordPress, and have a placeholder ANZSI Newsletter | 11 ANZSI and Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Tues 22 Oct Details at ACT Region AGM and dinner Th e Brassey, Barton 6.15 for 6.30 pm ON OTHER PAGES ANZSI Newsletter Published by the ANZSI News 1 Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13, President’s Introduction 1 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI Newsletter 2 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13, Council Report 2 ISSN 1832-3855 ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13, Membership Report 5 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are Etcetera 8 those of the respective authors. News from Queensland 9 China Society of Indexers conference 9 Tips and Hints – using your Indexers Available link 10 Newsletter schedule News from New Zealand 10 Th e next Newsletter will appear in November 2013. Letter to the Editor 10 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 1November. ACT Region Branch AGM and 21st Anniversary dinner 11 Please send contributions by email to the Editor Write, Edit, Index: the 2015 conference 11 Peter Judge Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 10 | November 2013 President’s Report The new ANZSI Council will have I’ll write more on individual committees in the next met by now, but I wrote this before issue as one of the first tasks for the new Council will be to the first meeting. It covers my general confirm these. aims for the coming year. These will New Council be revised and expanded as we get The newly elected members of Council were announced on together (electronically) to discuss the page 4 of the September 2013 ANZSI Newsletter. We have future. elected members from Tasmania (a Queensland Branch Outgoing Council member), Victoria, ACT and NSW, and, of course, ex Firstly, thank you to members of the officio members from New Zealand, Queensland, NSW, outgoing Council for their hard work and careful thought ACT and Victoria. over the years. In particular, thank you for the advice and I am delighted with the balance. We have relative thorough handover you have given me and other incoming newcomers and old hands; we have closed system (book) executive members. indexers and open system (database) indexers; and we have As well as leading ANZSI, Mary Russell has played a key some continuity from the previous Council (Nikki Davis, role in the international indexing community, especially as who is now the Victorian President, and myself, with my coordinator of ICRIS. She has also been a member of the brief service as a committee member). Publicity and Promotion Committee, and has been – and Aims will continue to be – a terrific webmaster. Running Council requires a careful balancing act, as The move to incorporated status followed by changes to there are many competing claims for our time and money the Act and model rules has involved a lot of work updating from our varied membership. The listed aims of ANZSI, our Constitution and other documents. Michael Ramsden at 2 | ANZSI Newsletter (ACT Region Branch Report, continued from previous page) Annual General Meeting, 16 October 2012: The AGM and Our Yahoo Discussion Groups email list has made the dinner which followed were very successful. Thirteen circulating messages and information easier and more attended the AGM and sixteen the dinner. The dinner is transparent; and the DropBox site for storing correspondence the annual social get-together for ACT Region Branch means that we can all access past papers and minutes of members and friends. meetings. Frances Lennie’s visit, 24 November 2012: Branch activities Eleven participants (including two members of the Canberra 28/29 July 2012: Regional conference ‘From pbooks to Society of Editors) met to hear Frances speak on Indexing ebooks’ was held in conjunction with ACT Branch at as Art: Impressionism vs. Precisionism. Craigieburn in Bowral in the Southern Highlands. For the On 26 November 2012 Diana Witt, a visiting indexer from first time, indexers collaborated with publishers to consider the USA, joined five members of the Committee for a most the future of ebooks and digital indexing. enjoyable morning tea. 23 August 2012: NSW Branch Annual General Meeting On 22 April 2013, following the biennial ANZSI was held at Golden Cinnamon Restaurant with Alan Conference in NZ in March, a meeting was held at which Walker as Returning Officer. The 2011–2012 Committee members who attended the conference in Wellington could was re-elected for the new term, with the welcome addition share information and opinions about the papers and of a new Committee member, Michael Wyatt. proceedings with other members. September 2012: Some NSW members attended a Training lunchtime event on ebooks run by the Australian Law No training was held in the ACT but members and others Librarians Association (ALLA). interested were encouraged to participate in training 17 November 2012: Holiday gathering. Guest speaker sessions offered by the NSW Branch. Frances Lennie gave an illuminating presentation on Index Future events as Canvas: Impressionism vs. Precisionism at Thomson Reuters in Pyrmont, followed by lunch at the Pyrmont ‘Working with Words’, an afternoon session to discover Point Hotel. how Denise Sutherland writes crosswords, cryptics and other puzzles: 6 July 2013. Training A visit to the National Gallery of Australia’s Research 7/8 July 2012: Introductory Book Indexing training Library: 2 August 2013. course was held by Glenda Browne at Thomson Reuters in 2013 Annual General Meeting will be held on 22 October Pyrmont, with nine participants. 2013 which is the actual 21st anniversary of the founding 11 September 2012: Introduction to Embedded Indexing of the ACT Region Branch. A celebration of the Branch is course was conducted by Jon Jermey, Mary Coe and Glenda planned at a dinner to follow the AGM. Browne at NSW Writers’ Centre, Rozelle. The content included LibreOfficeWriter, CINDEX in embedded projects, and embedded indexes in ebooks. New South Wales Branch 1–28 February 2013: Intermediate/Practical indexing Committee members course, led by Glenda Browne, continued a new form of President Frances Paterson indexing training which Glenda is exploring, whereby Vice-President Glenda Browne students work at home, indexing a short book over Secretary Mary Coe four weeks. The groups have access to a YahooGroups Treasurer Sue Flaxman mailing list to interact. The workshop had six participants, Members Madeleine Davis, Lorraine Doyle, Helen including two from South Africa, and it concluded with Enright, Elisabeth Thomas, Michael Wyatt an optional face-to-face meeting (which didn’t include the South Africans, alas!). Commi�ee mee�ngs Social networking The Committee has continued to meet by teleconference ANZSI has a Facebook page with 72 ‘Likes’ including every month and, since Thomson Reuters facilities became non-members and other indexing societies and is joined to unavailable, we have met using Skype. Committee members Twitter. Both are managed by ANZSI NSW members. have also experimented with other teleconferencing facilities to test presenting documentation during meetings. Tele- conferencing has made our meetings accessible to all Committee members who are located in both metropolitan Sydney and regional New South Wales. (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 3 (ANZSI Branch Reports, continued from previous page) New Zealand Branch 23 October 2012 – Lisa Jones, Curator of the The 2012–13 year was probably the most successful so far Queensland Police Museum was our guest speaker. for the New Zealand Branch. Our membership rose to 30, 27 November 2012 – Christmas Dinner Party at the the greatest so far. Salisbury Hotel in Brisbane with Queensland members, their spouses and other industry colleagues. Committee members 26 February 2013 – Mei Yen Chua met interested trainees President Julie Daymond-King to discuss Queensland Branch’s online indexing course. Vice President Tordis Flath 26 March 2013 – Palaeontologist Dr Susan Turner. Secretary Rae Foster 23 April 2013 – Queensland Branch turned 5 years old Treasurer Jill Gallop this year. We celebrated with guest speaker and Queensland Members Nelly Bess, Robin Briggs, Geoff Kelly, member Jane Douglas, giving us her impressions of the Pam Strike, Meredith Thatcher 2013 ANZSI Conference, in Wellington, NZ. Branch activities 28 May 2013 – Elizabeth Riley, Librarian and long Nine members attended the AGM held in Auckland in standing Branch member, on the American Society for August 2012. It is now planned that the next will also be Indexers Conference in San Antonio, Texas. held there. 25 June 2013 – Branch members were invited to bring Otherwise, the only event held was the 3-day biennial along their indexes to a ‘Show and Tell’ evening. Society conference held in Wellington, in March. This of Training course was a major event, requiring much effort from a few members and the willing assistance of several more. Online indexing training is a pilot program using We believe we did raise the profile of indexing amongst the Queensland Indexer Mei Yen Chua as Mentor. It will publishers here, as well as provide a pleasant and interesting be run from March to October 2013. The 13 trainees opportunity for all Society members to learn and network. are using The Indexing Companion and its Workbook by We were very gratified by the response from the participants, Glenda Browne and Jon Jermey as texts, along with other as well as the welcome injection to our finances. unindexed books, which it is hoped will give indexing experience and confidence to new trainees.. A revised local directory of freelance indexers was produced and issued in the lead-up to this event. Publications and marketing The Branch would like to praise and thank the members A Freelance Directory of Queensland Indexers and a small of the outgoing Council, whom we greatly respect and brochure will be used for marketing Branch members. admire. Best wishes to you all, and many thanks for your Along with the ANZSI bookmarks created by the Victorian support over the years for the officers of our Branch. Branch, we hope that the Queensland brochure will raise community awareness of Indexing in the community Future events Queensland Branch 27 August 2013 – Greg Parker, the Puzzle Wizard will be Executive Committee our guest speaker in Brisbane. President Moira Brown 23 November (Saturday) – Christmas Party Lunch at the Vice-President Vacant Norman Hotel, Wooloongabba, Brisbane. Secretary Beryl Macdonald Treasurer Franz Pinz Members Mei Yen Chua, Vicki Law, Deirdre Victorian Branch Kesteven, Jean Dartnall and Jan Rees. Committee Executive Committee Meetings President Iris Bergmann Three meetings were held: 16 August 2012; 9 April 2013; Vice President Terri Mackenzie 12 June 2013. Secretary Ray Price Branch activities Treasurer Nikki Davis Member Mary Russell The Annual General Meeting was held on 24 July 2012. Nine General Meetings of the Branch were held: Commi�ee mee�ngs 24 July 2012 – Amanda Greenslade, Graphic Designer and Seven meetings were held: 3 July 2012, 14 August 2012, Editor, was our AGM guest speaker. 24 September 2012, 12 November 2012, 29 January 2013, 28 & 29 August 2012 – Indexing guru Max McMaster held 27 March 2013, 20 May 2013. an ‘Indexing Q & A ‘ evening in Brisbane and Townsville. (continued on next page) 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (Victorian Branch Report, continued from previous page) Branch events Training July – The VIC – Show and Tell October 2012 – Basic Book Indexing Part 1 August – The VIC – Afternoon with Frances Lennie October 2012 – Basic Book Indexing Part 2 September – The VIC – Indexing needlework tools February 2013 – Basic Book Indexing Part 1 October – The VIC – Visit to the Australian Road Research February 2013 – Basic Book Indexing Part 2 Board Library February 2013 – Embedded Indexing in MS Word November – The VIC – Indexing and geotechnical February 2013 – Annual Report Indexing engineering Future events December – The VIC – Festive season index September 2013 – The VIC – The business of indexing February – The VIC – Indexing with gusto! November 2013 – The VIC – Indexing the ANZSI/AusSI March – The VIC – Multiple author indexes Newsletter April – The VIC – Indexing software December 2013 – The VIC – Christmas crossword June – The VIC – Visual indexes Vale The Victorian Branch notes with sadness the deaths of two longstanding members, Margaret Findlay (whose passing is noted in the Council section of this Report) and Elizabeth Ellem-Wood. ANZSI Annual Report: Conferences ANZSI 2013 Conference: Intrepid Indexing without Borders Conference Committee Chair Tordis Flath Members Elizabeth Fisher, Meredith Thatcher The Conference also included workshops on advice on (until December 2012) tips and traps for indexers wishing to become accredited, Jill Gallop provided advice and assistance advanced SkyIndex, and intermediate CINDEX. on financial matters, NZ Branch Jan Wright held an ‘InDesign’ workshop on Tuesday members assisted from time to time. morning, 12 March, attended by 13 people including The Conference attracted 71 attendees, most from 2 non-members. The ICRIS meeting was held at the Australia, and 13 workshop participants. The Conference conference venue on Tuesday afternoon. The cocktail theme was carried through by many of our speakers. Our function on Wednesday evening was well-attended and keynote speaker, Jan Wright, gave an inspiring address useful as a ‘mixer’ for attendees. entitled ‘Intrepid Indexing: from the sea to the stars’. There were many requests pre-conference for a ‘Lord An important part of this Conference was looking at of the Rings’ tour and Hammonds Tours created a tour indexing for languages and cultures other than for English- for ANZSI on Thursday, collected the 17-strong group speaking communities. Sessions covered Māori names and near the conference venue, made sure they were provided terms, East Asian (CJK) indexing, understanding Asian with lunch, snacks and drinks, and showed them the city names, indexing practice in Japan, archiving and indexing according to the Hobbits! history in the Pacific Islands, and database indexing for The conference dinner on Thursday was attended by indigenous collections in Australia. 52 people (including partners), diners were transported by Panel discussions and roundtable discussions proved charter coach to the art-deco style Roxy. On arrival, attendees popular with ideas and comments freely flowing! Topics were presented with pre-dinner drinks and platters and covered were Māori names and terms; typesetting dilemmas; then treated to a performance by the ‘Improvisors’, a long- Asian names; publishers, editors and indexers; indexing established Wellington theatre sport group. Dinner was techniques and EPUB; running an indexing business; future held in the art-deco style ‘Coco Restaurant’ and consisted electronic indexing; Pacific Islands archives and indexing of a moving buffet of platters delivered to the tables. Prizes history; indexing numbers; military history indexing, and were awarded to the best-dressed Art-Deco style diners and reports from overseas societies about developments in the main award was won by Tracy Harwood, from ACT. Canada, USA, China and the UK. Ebook publishing and the EPUB3 Standard and Charter were also covered. (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 5 (Conferences, continued from previous page) Trade tables were presented by Glenda Browne, CINDEX A conference committee was formed early in 2013, and ASI/SI (promoting indexing books), Capital Books comprising: (NZ books), Tordis Flath (jewellery and prints), and Tracy Harwood (Convenor) ANZSI ACT/CSE Wellington Quilters’ Guild (NZ-made souvenirs). Shirley Campbell ANZSI ACT Sponsorship for the Conference was received from Sherrey Quinn ANZSI ACT/CSE Indexing Research (CINDEX), Capital Books (Wellington) Geraldine Triffitt ANZSI ACT and Unity Books (Wellington). Bookmarks from the Denise Sutherland ANZSI ACT National Library of Australia, Capital Books, Unity Books, Karin Hosking ANZSI ACT/CSE. ANZSI, and The Indexer were put in the conference The committee began planning immediately, in order to satchels. have a date to announce at ANZSI’s conference in Wellington The Conference sponsored the attendance of Carol in March and at IPEd’s conference in Fremantle in April. Dawber (Dunedin) and Sandy Liddle (Queensland) with Being mindful of the dates used by ANZSI’s sister societies, the payment of half their conference fees. Their reports and by other relevant professions such as the Australian appeared in the ANZSI Newsletter (April 2013). Publishers’ Association, the technical communicators, the The venue was at the NZICA Conference Centre science communicators, and writer’s festivals, as well which also provided the catering. Many compliments as avoiding ‘annual report season’ in Canberra (July to were received about the layout, natural light, lunch area, October), the committee chose Wednesday 6 to Saturday outdoor seating, walking distance from accommodation 9 May 2015. These dates are clear of public holidays and and restaurants, and especially the NZICA staff and their school holidays and the weather in Canberra tends to be ‘calm under fire’. most stable in autumn. Wednesday will be set aside for A profit of $5059.48 was made. workshops and training, and the conference proper will run for 2½ or 3 days, from Thursday through Saturday. After investigating 12 possible venues, Rydges Lakeside ANZSI 2015 Conference was selected to host our conference. An agreement has been Write, Edit, Index: national conference for editors, signed between ANZSI Council and ACT Region Branch indexers, and publishing professionals to formalise and support arrangements for the Branch to The conference will be held in Canberra, 6–9 May 2015. host the conference. A similar agreement between CSE and It will be hosted jointly by the ACT Region Branch of ACT Region Branch has been drafted and is currently with ANZSI and the Canberra Society of Editors (CSE), on the CSE committee for consideration. behalf of ANZSI and the Institute of Professional Editors Quotes have been sought from professional conference (IPEd). The two societies last jointly hosted a national organisers, in the particular hope that we might be able to conference in Canberra in 2001. ANZSI already had an outsource some of our financial management. The quotes established pattern of national conferences, but the joint are fairly expensive, and we might have to think creatively conference helped to kick-start biennial conferences for about how to manage the finances. Australian editors. News from New Zealand Saturday 23 November, from 12.00 pm but that’s the other half's department, and he'll be away at resident Julie Daymond-King will be hosting a garden a geology conference. There is also a large rock collection Pparty at 614 Inland Road, Helensville, and is delighted for those kind of nuts.) that our two Waikato members will be travelling up for the Any members in the vicinity would be very welcome, as occasion. well as all the Aucklanders the party is intended for. Julie plans to do look-ups from her (licensed) New Our newest member, Kate Guthrie, comes from Zealand Woman’s Weekly database 1933–59 of New Dunedin. Treasurer Jill Gallop will be organising a get- Zealanders in the magazine, for anyone with families here together of the now four members there. Tordis has a in that period. You never know! There are probably over similar group operating out of the Wellington area. So, we 100,000 people to be found, many with multiple records. are really getting regionalised here in NZ. Of course, there should also be plenty of interesting Kia ora, Julie discussion and lots of flowers. (And fruit and vegetables, 6 | ANZSI Newsletter Zakuski etween 9 and 25 October, I was aboard the P & O US President Barack Obama has an interesting quote: BPacifi c Pearl on a Mutiny on the Bounty Cruise. On ‘At a time when book banning is back in vogue, libraries board this ship there were lectures about Norfolk Island, remind us that truth isn’t about who yells the loudest, but the Bounty and Captain James Cook. Th ere was scenic who has the right information.’ cruising, as well as far too much eating, drinking and many Actress Julie Andrews had this to say: ‘In my youth… activities on board ship. Ports included visits to Norfolk the library was “the big place” … where you went and then Island, Tonga, Fiji and Noumea. I visited the Museum of suddenly you could access something magical.’ Fiji, which contained many historical artefacts as well as Every chapter has books that each celebrity recommends. relics from colonial days – Winner of ANZSI Medal 2013 his year saw some changes in the composition of the panel of judges for the TANZSI Medal. Alan Walker stepped down as convenor after many years of service, and I (Garry Cousins) was invited to take his place, an off er which I accepted. Dr Jeremy Fisher, the inaugural winner of the ANZSI Medal, continued from previous years as a judge, and Frances Paterson, also a medal winner, and the immediate past President of the NSW Branch, joined the panel. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan Walker, as the outgoing chairman of the Awards Committee, for his service to the society. Th e Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers’ Medal is off ered annually to the most outstanding index to a book or periodical compiled in Australia or New Zealand. Th e judges look for an index which goes beyond being competent, (continued on next page) ANZSI Newsletter | 7 (ANZSI Medal 2013, continued from previous page) or suitable for its particular purpose. The key word in the State branches, then headings for periods in opposition, requirements is ‘outstanding’. We look for an index in differentiated by who was leader in a given year, then entries which the indexer faced difficult challenges and met them for ALP leadership, then ALP policies. Similarly the entry in an elegant and admirable manner. This year only two for Liberal Party is equally extensive, being divided into entries for the Medal were received, but both were of a high a general entry, and one titled ‘Liberal Party leadership’, standard. Both dealt with complex subject matter, and both and complemented by an extensive entry on the Coalition showed a good grasp of the language appropriate to the texts. in opposition titled ‘Opposition, Coalition in’, which is However, one of the two indexes stood out as remarkable, then subdivided by period. Other good, extensive entries and that was Alan Walker’s index to former Prime Minister include ‘elections’, ‘media’, interesting entries for ‘Sydney’ John Howard’s autobiography Lazarus Rising, published by and ‘Melbourne’, a very large entry on the ‘United States’, HarperCollins in 2011 (revised edition). which itself says much about the nature of the Howard The indexer faced a considerable challenge in indexing this book because John Howard had a longer career than most politicians, and his career encompassed a number of portfolios both in opposition and in government. This meant the indexer was faced with organising a tremendous mass of material and, most importantly, was required to use great discretion in giving appropriate weight to important, and less important, topics. The indexer also needed in-depth knowledge of Australian politics and history to do the work justice. Alan Walker met these challenges admirably, providing an extremely detailed and comprehensive index, which at the same time is clearly organised and easy to use. The index is remarkable for an index to an autobiography in that there is no heading for the protagonist, i.e. John Howard. It takes considerable courage for an indexer to make this decision, as often the entry for the protagonist in a biography or an autobiography is the most lengthy and detailed in the index. To not have an entry for the protagonist means that the indexer must make the information that would usually be found in that entry available by other means, namely subject indexing. The outstanding feature of this index is its subject analysis and the exhaustive subject headings which that analysis has generated. government, and an interesting entry on symbolism. Although there is no entry for John Howard himself, The index takes up 38 pages of the 688-page book, a there is a an extensive entry for ‘Howard Government’ proportion of index pages to pages of indexable text of 5.5%. which is divided into a general entry containing references Main treatment of topics are in bold, and photographs are to cabinet members etc (including an entry for ‘JH as prime indicated by plate numbers, which are placed at the end of minister, 231-646’!), followed by an entry titled ‘Howard references to text. An extensive network of cross-references Government policies’. There is also an entry for ‘Howard anticipates readers’ queries well. family’, as well as all the individual members of the Howard The judges are therefore pleased to award the Australian family. And there are entries titled ‘personal and political and New Zealand Society of Indexers’ Medal for 2013 to relationships’ and ‘personal and political relationships Alan Walker. This award makes Alan a three-time winner of (Howard’s)’. The latter contains much information that the medal, a distinction he now shares with Max McMaster. would normally be found under the heading for the We also congratulate HarperCollins as the publisher of this protagonist (had there been one). book. Several of the subject headings deserve specific mention Garry Cousins as they are particularly well thought out. The entry Chairman, Awards Committee for the Australian Labor Party is especially good: first (Photo of Alan receiving his award by Ray Price) there is a general heading which includes references to 8 | ANZSI Newsletter Award ceremony t was with great pleasure (writes Glenda) that I attended the ACT Region AGM to present two awards – Honorary Life IMembership to Edyth Binkowski and the Outstanding Contribution Award to Peter Judge. The official nominations will be on the ANZSI website, so I will just provide some highlights here. Honorary Life Membership to Edyth Binkowski Edyth joined AusSI in 1976, and has been a member of AusSI and later ANZSI continuously since then. She was also a member of the Society of Indexers in Australia prior to the formation of AusSI. Edyth has been a Registered/Accredited Indexer since 1985 – only nine indexers precede her on the Register. Edyth has been an ACT Region Branch committee member continuously from 1999, including stints as Branch Secretary and Minutes Secretary. She looks after the Branch archive and small library collection, and offers her home for meetings of the Branch committee. She was also a member of the National Committee (later Council) from 2002 to 2004. Edyth has written many items for the AusSI/ANZSI Newsletter as well as an article for The Indexer about a volunteer newsletter indexing project. Honorary Life Membership may be awarded to members in recognition of outstanding service to indexing and/or to the Society. Edyth is a true ‘quiet achiever’, who, without fuss or any thought of reward or glory, has made a sustained contribution to the Society. The ACT Region Branch nominated Edyth for outstanding service and this nomination was unanimously approved by ANZSI Council at the AGM. Outstanding Contribution Award to Peter Judge As ANZSI Newsletter editor from 2004, Peter Judge has made an enormous contribution to the Society. He was introduced to members in the October 2004 issue, but since then has kept out of the spotlight. Peter has produced the newsletter professionally, keeping to accurate deadlines and introducing changes in layout and style that reflect his personality. Peter’s monthly reminders to Council and Branch members to send in copy, with as many photos as possible, have kept us on the straight and narrow. When the level of copy has been light, Peter has included his own contributions to ensure that the publishing schedule was maintained. Peter’s enthusiasm for the job over the past nine years, together with his wit and personality, has endeared him to ANZSI. Max McMaster and Michael Ramsden nominated Peter for services to ANZSI by a non-member. We are delighted that Peter’s wife, Christine, was able to assist with the purchase of a handsome pair of cufflinks as our gift. ANZSI ACT and ANZSI Council kept their secrets well, as the awards came as a total surprise to both recipients. Congratulations, and thank you, Edyth and Peter. Glenda Browne, ANZSI President Top photo, l to r: Sherrey Quinn, Edyth Binkowski, Shirley Campbell, Glenda Browne; lower photo: Peter Judge, Shirley and Glenda. Photos by Denise Sutherland. ANZSI Newsletter | 9 North Queensland Regional Group he NQ Regional Group (this month’s featured group) people with no particular knowledge of indexing. The first Thas two members, Suzie Davis and myself, Jean steps were to convince everyone of the need for a controlled Dartnall. We both live in Townsville and are retired from vocabulary and find one that was suitable. full time work, having developed our interest and practice Finding a thesaurus that covered our range of subjects as indexers through our work as librarians. There are no proved difficult, yet I was not keen to begin a new one from mainstream book publishers scratch. I believe I achieved a in North Queensland. Our good compromise beginning many authors, scientists with the APAIS thesaurus. The and scholars send their National Library of Australia work out of the region for makes this thesaurus free for publication. downloading by not-for-profit Our indexing work organisations. Starting with this includes some annual structure and basic vocabulary, reports, occasional or unusual I added, subtracted, edited publications, and work from and generally fiddled, guided outside the region referred by the knowledge of the CIC through particular contacts or team about what questions interests. This does not mean, they were asked and how those though, that there is no local questions presented. outlet for indexing skills, as I l to r: Teneale Grigg, CIC Co-ordinator, Jean Dartnall, Changes are made as need hope the following article will Barbara Pearson, former CIC Co-ordinator arises but on the whole we show. have a thesaurus that has now Indexing community organisations been stable for several years and provides some certainty for indexers and searchers. Anyone interested in accessing Community Information Centre this thesaurus can contact me 10 | ANZSI Newsletter (Northern Queensland Group, continued from previous page) I am not brave enough to decide between ‘boules’ and ‘bocce’. They are both in there with one entry each. • Organisations come and go. Fortunately the software suppresses subject headings with no attached organisations. However, there is a regular need for housekeeping of cross references. Large changes in the number of organisations in a particular subject area can result in too many entries under one heading, useless cross references, or other issues that make changes in the structure of the thesaurus desirable. • Organisations have jargon. Professional service providers may use the database for their own information needs as well as on behalf of their clients. The need to keep up with current usage and amalgamate technical and semi technical terms into a common indexing vocabulary remains a challenge. For example, the phrase ‘post school options’ is, at best, ambiguous to the general user but has a specific technical meaning, and is a sought term, in the world of service to people with disabilities. The index inevitably contains many terms that are just clutter to most users. This is a never ending, ever fascinating task. I wonder if other indexers are doing something similar: I would love to share experiences. Jean Dartnall NSW Branch social lunch at Blaxland Sunday 17 November, 12.00 for 12.30 pm lease join us for lunch at Glenda Browne’s house, P32a Ross Crescent, Blaxland. Spouses and partners also welcome. Bring drinks and a plate of food to share. RSVP to Glenda at ANZSI Newsletter | 11 ANZSI and Branch events Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue Contact details Wed 6 Nov Th e VIC: Indexing Old Op Shop, Holy Trinity Details at Vic Branch 6.00 pm ANZSI Newsletter Anglican Church, Kew ANZSI Newsletter ON OTHER PAGES Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI President’s report 1 PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East, ANZSI Newsletter 2 VIC 3145, Australia ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13: Branch reports 2 © Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI Annual Report 2012–13: Conferences 5 ISSN 1832-3855 News from New Zealand 6 Opinions and statements expressed in the Newsletter are Zakuski 7 those of the respective authors. ANZSI Medal 2013 7 Award ceeremony 9 Newsletter schedule Northern Queensland Regional Group 10 Th e next Newsletter will appear in December 2013. NSW Branch social lunch, Blaxland 11 Th e contribution deadline is Friday, 29 November. Please send contributions by email to the Editor Peter Judge Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 2059, Wattletree Road LPO, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia Newsle�er of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. Volume 9 | number 11 | December 2013 President’s Report his report covers some actions those members currently subscribed on a calendar- arising out of the AGM held on year basis. Thanks to Karen Gillen for seeing this 2 October, and notes on our �irst through.October mee�ng meeting as a new Council in late October.Cons�tu�on T The new ANZSI Council has had its �irst meeting using teleconferencing with members connecting via The ANZSIAssociations Constitution Incorporation had to telephone or Skype. In future we would also like to Reform Act 2012 be revised following the passage use web conferencing (which is cheaper and offers of the additional features) but we have experienced poor (Vic). The revised ANZSI Constitution sound quality when we have trialled a mixture of phone was approved at the AGM on 2 October 2013. and web access and need to explore this further. Following the AGM, Michael Ramsden forwarded a The main tasks at the meeting were con�irming copy of the revised Constitution to Consumer Affairs of�icial details (addresses and bank accounts) and Victoria (CAV). appointing people to various positions. We also Our revised Constitution explicitly stated that in decided not to renew our Yellow Pages telephone listing. Few calls were received so it was not considered respect of matters relating to discipline and grievances Commi�ees we will be governed by the Model Rules. CAV advised to be worth the expense. that this is not suf�icient and that we have to write the text of those Model Rules into our Constitution. They Committee members who have been newly appointed advised that this change would not have to go to a or re-appointed are listed below. special general meeting, but that we should report to • Promotions and Publicity (Nikki Davis, Max the next AGM that the change had been made. McMaster and Karen Gillen) The necessary provisions have been added to the • Accreditation Board (Sherrey Quinn as Constitution (re-formatted to conform to the style of Chairperson) the rest of the Constitution and substituting ‘Council’ • Indexers Available (Madeleine Davis, Mary Coe and for ‘Committee’). The Table of Contents and Index have Sherrey Quinn) also been amended. • Awards (Garry Cousins) The revised Constitution will be posted on the • Database/Open System Indexing Accreditation ANZSI website. (Julie Daymond-King) Many thanks to Michael Ramsden for seeing these • Newsletter Coordinator (Denise Sutherland) changes through, for chasing up a response from CAV, • Electronic Options Coordinator (Mary Coe) Membershipand for providing this update. Not all Branch representative positions have yet been con�irmed. They will be announced in 2014. We still need to con�irm the ICRIS and Education Following a vote at the ANZSI AGM on 2 October, it Coordinator positions, and have put on hold the idea was decided to discontinue the option of a calendar- of having a Social Media Secretary. year subscription period. All ANZSI subscriptions will Thank you to those who are continuingGlenda , or starting, Browne now cover the �inancial year (July to June). Please see in these positions. the Membership Secretary’s note in this letter which contains details about the changeover process for Council bios ... Over the next few issues we will be presenting brief bios of Council members, starting with theThe President President and Vice-President.(on the right) Australian and New Zealand live in the Blue Mountains in NSW Society of Indexers Inc. with Jon Jermey (also an indexer), our daughter Jenny (a Year 12 student), and ANZSI Newsle� er two chooks. Our son Bill has just �inished his university studies in Canberra. ISSN 1832-3855 I I studied indexing in a library diploma in Editor: Peter Judge 1988 and have been an indexer ever since (at times I’ve also been a medical librarian and TAFE teacher). I love the variety of indexing and the fact that I can work from home, for myself. About s noted in the President’s Report, following a vote at the ANZSI AGM in October, it was decided to discontinue the option of a calendar-year subscription period. All subscriptions for ANZSI membership will now cover the �inancial year (i.e. July – June). A one-off pro-rata subscription for 6 months is being offered to bring those currently on a calendar-year subscription into line with those on �inancial-year subscriptions. The one-off pro-rata fees to cover the period A1 January 2014 – 30 June 2014 are: Personal Membership – Australia AU$44.00 (includes $4.00 GST) Personal Membership – New Zealand NZ$40.00 Corporate Membership – Australia AU$55.00 (includes $5.00 GST) Corporate Membership – New Zealand NZ$50.00 All members whose subscriptions are due for renewal at the end of December will receive a reminder email containing instructions on how to make an online payment or how to pay by cheque or money order. New Zealand members will also have the option to pay their subscription in NZ$ directly to the New Zealand branch. Any queries regarding the payment of this one-off pro-rata fee should be directed to the MembershipKaren Secretary Gillen Publicity and Promo�ons Commi�ee embers of the 2012–13 P&P Committee are ANZSI bookmarks at a number of local and international Nikki Davis (Convenor), Karen Gillen and Max conferences. McMaster. If you have an interest in promoting ANZSI and The function of the P&P Committee is probably would like either to join the Committee or be involved obvious by its name, but you might not be aware of in a short-term project associated with Nikki it, please Davis Msome of its recent projects. These include updating contact Nikki at The IDPF EPUB Indexes Working Group has reached There is also an example of the index coded using another important milestone, with the EPUB Indexes the speci�ication Jane Douglas writes that, as a newcomerThe Indexing to indexing, Companion one of ANZSI State branches host numerous courses including the best investments she’s made Basic and Introductory Book Indexing, Annual Report is Indexing, and Database Indexing. Check with your local (Browne & Jermey). In addition branch for upcoming courses. to working on building a personal UC Berkeley Extension 4 | ANZSI Newsletter (continued on next page) Auckland garden party ifty kilometres north-west of Auckland central is its past. I ended up doing this for 91 issues rather to Helensville, part of the super-city, and seven fellow my surprise. In addition, we looked up my database members travelled up to my place on 23 November,Cotinus for rellies, and hoped we were on a roll when I found coggygriabringing various goodies for lunch as well. It was too the reference to a photo and article about Daphne’s hot to be outside for long, but the smoke bush ( grandparent’s wedding �irst up. I found also that F Grace) was a big hit. I was still likely to remember if I’d come across a Woman’sBetween Weekly lunch and afternoon tea, I showed the surname, especially if I hadn’t, after all this time as visitors copied pages from the old New Zealand an anthroponomastician. One version of Nicholl was that I have indexed, and talked about family to one of our members. This name, and its some of my most exciting �inds, such as forgotten Robin variants, was the most dif�icult I encountered in the Hyde journalism, Bruce Mason’s childhood work, and entire editing of the database, (over several months an article from 1952 about Colin McCahon as a jeweller. after the actual indexing.) Alas, we had no more Part of my perceived role in this projectSo has Brilliantly been to scores for members’ ancestors, but a spot check on my placeClever such material with appropriate repositories. indexing was undertaken. (Phew!) I showed the visitors the 2011 book Just before afternoon teatime, Lai’s husband and by Peter Graham, about Juliet Hulme and a publisher friend Kit arrived from the airport and Pauline Parker and the murder of the latter’s mother Hong Kong, and we all learned rather more about each in 1954,Woman’s published Weekly and probably indexed by one of other in telling her about ourselves over chocolate our members, Lee Slater of Awa Press! This features a strawberries, rocky road and coffee. Many thanks to 1948 photo of the Hulmes arriving in Lai for coordinating this event. Christchurch that I found and got to the biographer. As By the way, I am happy to look up any of your old af�icionados know, Juliet was already in New Zealand, folk in New ZealandJulie for Daymond-King, the years 1933-1959. NZ President Men separated from her family for the second time. included! Another spin-off was to write short articles for the modern magazine commenting on snippets from At the NZ party, l to r: Fiona Corcoran, Judy Graham, Julie Daymond-King (standing), Lesley Wilson, Julie McMeikan, Susan Brookes and Daphne Lawless. Photo by Lai Heung Lam. ANZSI Newsletter | 5 Handbook of indexing techniques: a guide for beginning indexers Fi�h edi�on, by Linda K. Fe�ers. Reviewed by Silvia Muscardin This handbook on indexing techniques is intended for three groups of people: • Occasional indexers, such as authors and technical documents that require embedded indexing, XML and writers, who may be required to index their own books HTML �iles, e-books, online help �iles and websites. The • Anyone interested in becoming a professional indexer author gives also an outline of taxonomies used for the who is looking for concrete examples or techniques for structure and the searching of websites. learning how to index It is a new industry and therefore in a state of �lux. • Librarians who need a review of indexing techniques. This is re�lected both in the material to be indexed, as well as in the software used to index it. The indexer has to contend with many issues. The size of the job can hus begins Linda Fetters in her preface. The book be extensive, its nature wide-ranging and the content is in its �ifth edition and it is clear to me that one of can be updated frequently. This is particularly true of the reasons for its success is the clarity and conciseness websites. of the style. The opening paragraph quoted above is an The indexer must also be prepared to quickly master example:T it states immediately and in a few words the new and very different indexing software programs; aim of this work, its audience and its scope. not all are dedicated indexing software and some are It also states what this book it is not about and very expensive. This is work for established indexers. what it does not do. It does not deal in depth with And an industry in need of standards. indexing software, nor gives advice on how to start In all chapters, every aspect of the indexing process one’s own indexing business. It focuses exclusively on is illustrated with good examples. Rather than cluttering the technique of indexing, explained plainly and with the writing with complicated explanations, the reader appropriate examples to beginners, or anyone who is directed to further reading, clearly identi�ied with needs a refresher. references to the Classi�ied Bibliography and the The book consists of eight chapters. Work Cited. In that way Fetters manages to keep the Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the subject treatment of the subjects trim, while at the same time of indexing and offers an overview of the resources supplying all the information required to expand on available to acquire the necessary skills: courses, each topic. seminars, internet discussion groups and professional In the process we encounter the challenges of organisations. Indexing standards are also explained. indexing, beginning with the very �irst decision about Chapters 2 to 6 examine the techniques and what to include in and what to exclude from an index. principles of book indexing, although, as the author Next comes the choice of headings and subheadings, says, 'they can be applied to technical manuals, of names, locators and cross-references, alphabetising magazines and journals, in-house databases, and entries, dealing with numbers, symbols and other various kinds of subject �iles (vertical �iles, personal features peculiar of specialist literature. Finally, editing collection of articles, and of�ice �iles)'. the index and choosing the format or style. Challenging aspects of indexing, such as those found As a beginner in the world of indexing I found this in specialist literature, are also dealt with. book very relevant to me. It gave me an understanding A good example of the dif�iculty of indexing personal of what indexing, especially back-of-book indexing, names is exempli�ied by the indexing of biographies is truly about. It also brought home the difference (Chapter 4). between classifying and indexing (see 'Classi�ication Chapter 7 is dedicated to periodicals. Fetters and indexes' in Chapter 3, pp. 30-32). examines the two different approaches to indexing Chapter 7 was the focus of my attention. Indexing serials: the 'traditional' way of assigning headings journal articles is part of my work and the treatment much like keywords in an online environment, versus of this aspect of indexing was enormously useful to the 'book-like' style that allows you to pinpoint the me. The basic difference between the two techniques concept treated by quoting the page it is found in. for indexing journals ('traditional' versus 'book-like'), The other great difference from book indexing is, of maybe obvious to some, was for me an eye-opener. course, the use of a thesaurus. Therefore, while each I de�initely bene�itted from reading this chapter and book index is different and tailor-made to the book, I think it will help me improve my approach to journal periodicals are indexed in a uniform manner by using indexing. a consistent set of terms. The book has a US bias, but I did not �ind it (continued on next page) Chapter 8 looks at the future of indexing: electronic an impediment to my understanding of the subject indexing.6 | ANZSI Newsletter Electronic documents consist of: PDF �iles, (Book review, continued from previous page) matter. Examples are mainly related to North American literature, but if you substituted examples from Australian material you would not have to change anything else. The work’s succinctness and neat writing style Handbookmakes the of book indexing highly techniques: readable a guide and afor great beginning introduction indexers to indexing for a beginner. , �ifth edition. Fetters, Linda K. Medford, New Jersey:Silvia InformationMuscardin Today, 2013, 178 pages. Queensland Branch General Mee�ng Tuesday 25 February ur February guest speaker, Susan Prior, was born in the UK, but fate led her to Australia, where she attended University as a mature-ageOn Line Opinion student specialising in Journalism/Communications. For more than six years she was editor of , anO e-journal of current affairs and social debate. In 2009 she was nominated for, and was runner up in, the Sydney ‘Freelance Writers Good Editor Awards’. Susan has edited books – both �iction and non- �iction – andEureka has worked Street. in corporate and academic editing roles. She is an advisory editor for the publication While holidaying in Britain she organised an intern position with the BBC, and she is still an occasional guest on BBC radio, talking about life in Brisbane. Today, Susan is an experienced, professional freelance editor working from Brisbane. She is currently studying for a Masters degree in Writing, Editing and Publishing at the University of Queensland. Our February meeting starts at 6.00 for 7.00 pm, at the Ward Of�ice, 2/63 Annerley Road (corner of Crown Street), Woolloongabba, Brisbane (of�ice of Cr. Helen Abrahams of BCC). Entrance to the Meeting Room is via the back door entrance, which will be marked with the Queensland Branch logo. Free parking will be found at the back and side of the building, so please enter via Crown Street. Entrance fee and supper is $2.00. RSVP by Monday 24 February for catering, please, to Moira Brown at Date and time Organiser Name of activity Venue ContactDetails atdetails ANZSI Newsle� er ON OTHER PAGES Published by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. ANZSI President’s report 1 PO Box 43, Lawson NSW 2783, Australia ANZSI Newsletter 2 © Australian and New Zealand Society of IndexersNewsletter ANZSI Council bios: President and Vice-President 2 Inc. ISSN 1832-3855 Membership renewals: calendar-year subscriptions 3 Opinions and statements expressed in the Publicity and promotions committee 3 are those of the respective authors. IDPF EPUB Indexes Working Group 3 Newsle� er schedule Newsletter HandbookEtcetera of indexing techniques. 4 NZ news: Auckland garden party 5 Book review 6 The next will appear in February 2014. Queensland Branch February general meeting 7 The contribution deadline is Friday, 30 January. Please send contributions by email to the Editor Peter Judge Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. PO Box 43, Lawson NSW 2783, Australia and . XHTML is the XML