Indexing & Abstracting Books

The Art of Indexing

Larry S. Bonura

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A step-by-step guide to creating comprehensive and usable technical indexes… Numerous surveys indicate that the most common complaint about technical documents concern a poorly designed index—or the lack of an index altogether! An organized, thoughtful index not only ensures that the contents of your book are accessible, but also increases the value of your book. In The Art of Indexing, professional indexer and editorial consultant Larry Bonura addresses the indexing problems specific to technical documentation and presents practical solutions to those problems. The Art of Indexing shows technical writers, editors, and documentation managers how to chart the topics of their books, reports, and documents and present a concise and accurate map that readers, researchers, libraries, bookstores, and reviewers can use to maximize the usefulness of their book. Step-by-step, The Art of Indexing shows you how to become a better indexer by:

• Discussing the function of an index
• Showing how to estimate indexing time
• Presenting methods for selecting entries and subentries
• Reviewing reasons for cross-referencing
• Describing how to treat locators
• Offering an extensive editing checklist for reviewing indexes
• Covering indexing for online documents
• Including numerous usability tests for verifying the strength of an index
• Containing information on indexing standards
• Providing sample indexes and a sample indexing style guide
• And much more!

Indexing from A to Z

Hans H. Wellisch

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Doing Things with Information: Beyond Indexing and Abstracting

Brian C. O'Connor, Jodi Kearns, Richard L. Anderson

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Editorial Review:

The relationship between a person with a question and a source of information is complex. Indexing and abstracting often fail because too much emphasis is put on the mechanics of description and too little on what ought to be represented. Research literature suggests that inappropriate representation results in failed searches a significant number of times, perhaps even in a majority of cases. Doing Things with Information seeks to rectify this unfortunate situation by emphasizing methods of modeling and constructing appropriate representations of such questions and documents. Students in programs of information studies will find focal points for discussion about system design and refinement of existing systems. Librarians, scholars, and those who work within large document collections, whether paper or electronic, will find insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the access systems they use.

Indexing Books (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

Nancy C. Mulvany

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Indexing Books will be welcomed by authors and professional indexers as a much-needed guide to index preparation that is thorough, accessible, well organized, and up-to-date.

Nancy C. Mulvany builds on various style guides, particularly The Chicago Manual of Style's extensive chapter on indexing. She expands its treatment of mechanics with more in-depth discussions of analysis and editorial judgment calls--deciding what is and what is not indexable, and establishing the structure of entries. She also discusses the concept of indexing and how it fits into the publishing process; deciding when to prepare one's own index and when to hire a professional; deciphering publishers' indexing guidelines; and choosing appropriate software.

Mulvany's evaluation of available embedded and dedicated software is especially useful as a current guide to what works best for which tasks. While she advocates use of computers for certain tasks, she demonstrates that no software can replace the analysis provided by a good indexer.

Appendixes provide a worksheet for general index specifications, the table of ASCII characters, tables of commonly used generic characters, and a list of additional resources. The most extensive and up-to-date reference available, this will become the standard indexing guide for authors, technical writers, editors, beginning and advanced professional indexers, and all others involved in writing and publishing nonfiction books. This practical and thorough guide to indexing shows how to determine what is and what is not indexable, select terms to create clear and succinct entries, establish the external and internal structures of entries, choose headings and subentries, cross-reference, manage foreign names, abbreviations, acronyms, numbers, and multiauthored works, lay out an index, and edit an index.

Indexing and Abstracting in Theory and Practice

F.Wilfrid Lancaster

By: University of Illinois Press Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $36.46

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The state of the art of Information Science 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

F.W.Lancaster is a true pioneer in Information Science. He is in my opinion at least among the top ten along with persons such as Eugene Garfield and Patrick Wilson. And in a way he is broader than they are. This book represents in my view the state of the art of a core area in information science today. This does not mean, that I am not critical of it. I have written a long review of this book in the Journal of Documentation, June 1999, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 345-351. In this review I outline how research in this field can be improved. But I believe it will take a long time before we can replace this book with a better one.

Essential 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Since 'Indexing and Abstracting in Theory and Practice' was a required text for my Subject Analysis course, I expected Lancaster's book to be involved and informative... and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Not only does he provide analysis of indexing and abstracting theories, but he includes specific guidelines and examples for a variety of techniques. Most reviews concern earlier editions, but the third edition has only slight changes (addition of chapters concerning indexing/abstracting in context of advancing technology).

Explorations in Indexing and Abstracting: Pointing, Virtue, and Power

Brian C. O'Connor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

According to the author: computers 1, indexers 0 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.

While the author tries to make an interesting case for computerized indexing, offering that it allows the user to become involved in the process by choosing depth of indexing, the book completely misinterprets the results that a good indexer can produce.

The author gave a test article (about 20 pages long) to an indexer, who came up with 7 or 8 search terms describing the index (the indexer did not produce a complete index to the article). The author compares his computer program, which is full of detailed instructions, plus the necessary human tweaking of the computer search results, with an indexer who was given no instructions at all.

It is patently obvious that any indexer told to "index this article as if it were a book chapter" would produce a much deeper, well thought out index than the seven search terms the author received for his "test" indexer.

In addition, because a computer program was used to produce this book's own index, there are a number of occasions where words are listed in the index simply because they show up on a particular page, not because they are an important topic on the page.

While the books presents an intestering description of computer indexing and makes some important points about including users in the process, its analyses of human indexers display a total lack of the value added service and intellectual decisions that good indexers produce on a regular basis. It is also obvious that the author knows little about indexing, as he otherwise would have known that a list of 7 subject descriptors does not an index make.

Editorial Review:

Indexing and abstracting often fail because too much emphasis is given to the mechanics of description and too little is given to what ought to be described. This text focuses on how people seek information. Drawing on a delightfully broad base of intellectual resources--from information theory and classic literature to Beethoven and MTV--the author considers the basic question of how we can index and abstract our information so that the user can actually find it. He also addresses the challenges and opportunities resulting from the information and technology explosion. O'Connor discusses the shortcomings of traditional indexing and abstracting systems and then presents essays, exercises, and case studies that foster consideration of the elements of a successful search in a variety of settings. Useful as a companion volume for reference, cataloging, and indexing and abstracting classes, this book is also of interest to professional librarians, information brokers, and online searchers.

Starting an Indexing Business

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

useful, but too overpriced 4 out of 5 stars.
49 of 49 people found this review helpful.

Indexing isn't just for books... there are journals, databases, government documents, recordings, cd-roms, product catalogs and more. Unless you've done some indexing, you may not realize that indexing requires considerable knowledge--and this rings more true when you consider that 35% of the indexers appearing in this book's 1997 survey have master's degrees.

This book does not explain how to do indexing... although it does list books and courses where you can get that kind of instruction. Instead, as its title suggests, it focuses on the business aspect.

There's information about how to find indexing jobs, decide on billing, and select the equipment you need to get started. There are indexing agreements (designed by the American Society of Indexers) that you can take directly from the book and modify for use with your indexing business. Because the vast majority of indexers work from home, there are also tips for how to continue working full-time, while running your indexing business part-time out of your den.

I liked the survey section of the book the most because it reveals a lot about the standard practices of indexers... how they bill for their work, how they handle billing issues, how often they work, and how much they make. The survey also includes demographic information.

My only problem with this book is its price. There is some excellent information and it may be difficult to find it elsewhere, given that indexing will probably never experience the popularity of day trading or web design. However, this is a *thin* little book, and there is a chunk of space devoted to some *very* general suggestions on how to set up your business. Some of it just seems like common sense.

Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting

Donald B. Cleveland, Ana D. Cleveland

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Every non-fiction book needs an index. It needs a good index. Everyone preparing an index should have had at least one college class on indexing. An alternative, although certainly not an equal, is to study this textbook. Prior to buying the book, I had three times failed in an attempt to index my diary. Now, two 200-page volumes are indexed and the work proceeds.

The book begins with information on the nature of indexes and a history of indexing. It moves on to two important chapters on information theory. Control of the words used in an index is imperative and there is a chapter on vocabulary control. Only then does the author introduce the types of indexes and abstracts. Here was a revelation. I knew about book indexes. National Geographic Magazine had introduced me to indexes of periodicals, and indexes combined into a single index covering decades. However, the authors of this book point out that the yellow pages are an index and that the internet is a big index. Then, there are indexes of indexes. Various government agencies churn out a flock of specialized indexes. This volume gives a variety of examples and analyzes them.

With such a universe of indexes, a novice indexer like me must sort out the material applicable to the type of index desired. That was challenging, but worthwhile. There is one thread woven throughout this volume. That is that the index is solely for the use of the target audience. It should be easy to use. It should be in the vocabulary of the user. In theory, the index should always lead the user to the information sought. Likewise, it should never lead the user to information not desired. There are several lists in the book, but the Ninety-Nine "Dos-and-Don'ts" on pages 146-149 are valuable beyond calculation.

Not only will this book help you make an index, it will make you a better user of indexes. My review has focused on indexing. I consider indexing more difficult than abstracting. However, this book will also make you a better abstractor.

Editorial Review:

Put your hands on the basic knowledge necessary to become a professional indexer. Based on new research and years of practical experience, the book introduces you to such fundamentals as the nature of information, the organization of information, vocabulary control, types of indexes and abstracts, evaluation of indexing, and the use of computers. A new chapter on indexing and the Internet has been added, as has a chapter that lists Web resources for indexers and abstractors.

Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting

Donald B. Cleveland, Ana D. Cleveland

List Price: $35.00 By: Libraries Unlimited Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $9.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Every non-fiction book needs an index. It needs a good index. Everyone preparing an index should have had at least one college class on indexing. An alternative, although certainly not an equal, is to study this textbook. Prior to buying the book, I had three times failed in an attempt to index my diary. Now, two 200-page volumes are indexed and the work proceeds.

The book begins with information on the nature of indexes and a history of indexing. It moves on to two important chapters on information theory. Control of the words used in an index is imperative and there is a chapter on vocabulary control. Only then does the author introduce the types of indexes and abstracts. Here was a revelation. I knew about book indexes. National Geographic Magazine had introduced me to indexes of periodicals, and indexes combined into a single index covering decades. However, the authors of this book point out that the yellow pages are an index and that the internet is a big index. Then, there are indexes of indexes. Various government agencies churn out a flock of specialized indexes. This volume gives a variety of examples and analyzes them.

With such a universe of indexes, a novice indexer like me must sort out the material applicable to the type of index desired. That was challenging, but worthwhile. There is one thread woven throughout this volume. That is that the index is solely for the use of the target audience. It should be easy to use. It should be in the vocabulary of the user. In theory, the index should always lead the user to the information sought. Likewise, it should never lead the user to information not desired. There are several lists in the book, but the Ninety-Nine "Dos-and-Don'ts" on pages 146-149 are valuable beyond calculation.

Not only will this book help you make an index, it will make you a better user of indexes. My review has focused on indexing. I consider indexing more difficult than abstracting. However, this book will also make you a better abstractor.

Editorial Review:

Put your hands on the basic knowledge necessary to become a professional indexer. Based on new research and years of practical experience, the book introduces you to such fundamentals as the nature of information, the organization of information, vocabulary control, types of indexes and abstracts, evaluation of indexing, and the use of computers. A new chapter on indexing and the Internet has been added, as has a chapter that lists Web resources for indexers and abstractors.