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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Meet the speakers for #SIConf26! We all need to work collaboratively with our clients. Ruth Martin will lead a discussion of how we can support good working relationships with authors and publishers. Book your place at buff.ly/c900y92

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Meet the speakers for #SIConf26! Indexer collaboration is international. Caroline Diepeveen, Madeleine Davis and Jochen Fassbender will discuss current international projects that support indexing, and Ann Kingdom and Mary Coe will update on @indexer.bsky.social. Book your place at buff.ly/c900y92

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Brian PJ Cronin @brianpjcronin.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

When your non fiction book has neither a table of contents nor an index

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Have you put off finding the indexer for your project until Friday? Today's the day to find the right indexer for your book in our Professional Directory. Start a great working relationship via www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde...

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Meet the speakers for #SIConf2026! Lots of indexers combine indexing with part-time work. buff.ly/4DU3i7h leads a session discussing the benefits and challenges of working part-time as an indexer. Book your place at buff.ly/c900y92

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Thanks as ever to those who took part and to Ann Hudson for running such an interesting discussion. There’s no session in November, as #SIConf26 is taking place then, but we’ll meet again in December to discuss theology. In the meantime, remember to book your conference place at buff.ly/c900y92

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Her actual name is Nell Trent, but would anyone look for her under “Trent, Nell?”

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Finally, we discussed indexing fictional characters. Some indexers always omit them, others index them uninverted; still others will index them inverted, although perhaps glossed as a character. These names can be complex: how should we index Dickens's Little Nell?

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

However, in real life subheadings may not break down so neatly, leading to overly complex subentries and over-indexing, where the same locators are repeated through a series of subheadings.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

So, for example, in a history of cookbooks you might have: vegetarian recipes 36–53: by David, 38–40; by Elliot, 48–51; by Grigson, 41–43; by Jones, 52–53 but it might be much more useful to the reader to have something like: vegetarian recipes 36–53: as alternatives, 38–43; whole books of, 48–53

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

One of Sherry’s interesting points is that using names in subheadings to break up long strings of page numbers for thematic headings can obscure further, useful, thematic content.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Space, time available and perhaps also the fee being paid may influence indexers’ decisions on how much extra effort to put in.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

If both names are not used in the book, but an alternative is in common use, how much research and additional cross-referencing should the indexer do? Similarly, if names are incomplete, how much work should we do to try to track down those names?

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Another challenging area is that of names that change over time. Indexing strategies include double entry (with relevant glosses to identify the name change, since the name variants may not both appear on a page) as well as cross-references.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Our experience of this varied; while there was a general preference for including these entries, some clients prefer that they are excluded, and including them can introduce complex reciprocal double entries.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

One perpetual area of consideration in indexing is which names to include. Sherry L. Smith looks at authors of chapters in anthologies and edited collections, which she prefers to include, with clarifying subheadings as required.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Yesterday's Talking about the Past session looked at how we handle personal names. We based our discussion on the book Indexing Names (ed. Noeline Bridge, 2012), and especially on some of the points raised by Sherry L. Smith in her chapter 'Name problems: dispelling the simplicity myth'.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Our online conference #SIConf26 will showcase aspects of indexer collaboration, including mentoring, peer review, team indexing and working with clients. Book your place at buff.ly/c900y92

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

What do indexers do when things don't go to plan? In our Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel of experienced indexers suggest ways of coping when things don't go right - and ways of avoiding pitfalls, too: www.indexers.org.uk/posts/ask-th...

indexers.org.uk

Ask the Indexers: dealing with setbacks

For this post, we asked the indexers how they deal with setbacks: scheduling changes, unhappy clients, or other problems that can disrupt their work. Michelle B

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Try our Professional Directory: www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde... or those of the US, Canadian and Aus/NZ indexing societies: www.indexers.org.uk/resources/ot...

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Academic authors! Don’t want to index your own book? Find an expert professional indexer using our Directory. Filter on subject area and type of indexing, including embedded indexing. But book us early - our schedules fill up quickly www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde...

A drawing of a woman in nineteenth-century dress, leaning on her desk and staring at some papers. Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust via Unsplash.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Join us for #SIConf26, online from 11-12 November 2026; we'll explore mentoring, team indexing, peer review and client relationships - and many other ways in which we're on the same page. Check out the programme and book your place via buff.ly/aoZu0RT

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Our online distance-learning training course concludes with the Pre-qualification Indexing Assessment, an index of a book-length work that is evaluated by an experienced professional indexer. This is a great dry run for professional projects and you'll get detailed feedback. buff.ly/oj8Tjlh

indexers.org.uk

Becoming an indexer 4: the pre-qualification indexing assignment (PIA)

[Photo credit: Photo by Ben White on Unsplash] Once you’ve completed the training course modules and tutorials, and passed the necessary assessments, the final

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Both our publications are fantastic examples of collaboration among indexers – for more on this, join us for our online conference on 11-12 November 2026: buff.ly/aoZu0RT

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Ann also talked about the challenges of maintaining the index to The Indexer. She’s been working on this with Australian indexer Max McMaster for the past few years. Particular challenges include how to index the metatopic of indexing in this context, and developing a headings list for ongoing use.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

All SI members receive The Indexer as part of their membership; access varies for members of other indexing societies, although anyone can subscribe via LUP’s website; articles over five years old are free to access.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

In 2018 we entered into a partnership with @livunipress.bsky.social for the publication of the journal, and it’s now printed, distributed and made available online by them, while still being edited and written predominantly by indexers.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

@annkingdom.bsky.social, deputy editor, showed the diverse range of designs the journal has had over the years. The Indexer has a scholarly approach but balances this with practical content on indexing topics, and also reports on the activities of all the indexing societies around the world.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The Indexer was launched in 1958, a year after the Society was founded, and is published on behalf of the indexing societies that subscribe to the International Agreement of Indexing Societies.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

SIdelights has a team of indexers behind it, including Christopher Pipe (production manager), Christine Shuttleworth (first proofreader) and @baindex.org (second proofreader). Now generally twenty pages long, it has regular features including an article by our President@carosanderson.bsky.social.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

@wolfeditorial.bsky.social, who has recently taken over as editor, gave an overview of the history of the newsletter. Originally circulated in hard copy, it became a digital-only publication in 2015, and it’s been published quarterly for many years.

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Conference 2026 ‘On the Same Page’

Conference programme The Society of Indexers' 2026 online conference will take place via Zoom on 11–12 November 2026. We will have a full programme over two day

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This week’s Coffee Morning included updates on our two publications, SIdelights – our member newsletter – and @indexer.bsky.social – our international journal.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

How do indexers find their clients, and make sure their clients can find them? How do they build relationships with other indexers and the wider publishing world? We asked our panel of expert indexers how they approach networking: buff.ly/AsHOFWX

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Ask the Indexers: making connections and staying visible

In our latest Ask the Indexers blog post, we find out what our panel does to network, make connections and maintain visibility. Christine Boylan, Advanced

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

How can you best improve your efficiency, and give yourself time to focus on the fun parts of indexing work? We asked our panel of expert indexers to share their best advice and tips on working more efficiently: www.indexers.org.uk/posts/ask-th...

indexers.org.uk

Ask the Indexers: working efficiently, saving time

As indexers gain in experience, they develop very efficient ways of working. We asked our panel of indexers for their best efficiency and timesaving tips. Chris

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Nicola King @nicolaking.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Our colleagues at @asindexing.bsky.social have a guide for evaluating an AI-generated index. It is much the same as evaluating a human-generated index. See asindexing.org/ai-news/eval... if you need to evaluate an index.

asindexing.org

Guide to Evaluating an AI-Generated Book Index

The AI Committee of the American Society for Indexing is pleased to release our guide to evaluating an AI-generated book index for authors and editors. While our research indicates that generative …

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Our online distance-learning training course isn't just the modules and assessments. There is support throughout from experienced professional indexers in the form of tutorials and mentoring, as well as peer support from fellow students. Our blog post explains how it all works: buff.ly/O9bUqMf

indexers.org.uk

Becoming an indexer 3: tutorials, workshops and other support

[photo credit Kristin Hardwick, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons] This post follows on from the overview of the training course modules and explains how the other asp

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Tanya Izzard @tanyaizzard.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This was such an interesting session but gave me flashbacks to indexing a book about Donald Judd - each of his works is called Untitled... #IndexSky

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Need an indexer for your non-fiction book? In our Professional Directory, you can search on subject, type of publication and type of indexing to find the best indexer for your project. www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde...

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Are you a publishing professional who’s new to working with book indexers? Our guide to commissioning an index takes you through the whole process and helps you foster good working relationships and great indexes www.indexers.org.uk/wp-content/u...

A woman holding a magnifying glass sits at a desk, an open book in front of her. By Houcine Ncib on Unsplash.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Many thanks to Pauline for this fascinating discussion, and to Ann Hudson for facilitating. Next month, on 7 October, we’ll be discussing indexing personal names, a perennial challenge. All SI members are very welcome to take part.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Pauline shared lots of useful examples of her work, showing her indexing process and how she approaches a complex project. She has indexed the catalogue for the forthcoming British Library exhibition on Agatha Christie, a fascinating case study on how to deal with a broad, complex topic.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Challenges include avoiding over-indexing or over-complicating the index. All of us present identified with this, and the pitfall of getting too involved, intellectually, with the index. This can be a good point in a project to go for a walk.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Key issues for indexing illustrated books include how you deal with locators for illustrations; the best approach to indexing titles of works, especially where many of them might start with ‘Untitled’; and how to address names of artists and their subjects.

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Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Readers and reading practices can vary hugely; a monograph on a single artist may be read cover to cover, but readers of a thematic survey might be more likely to dip in to the text. The age range and specific interests of readers for exhibition catalogues can be very diverse.

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