2011 - Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers

Transcription

Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. (ANZSI)
ANZSI NEWSLETTER
Volume 7, number 1, January 2011
ANZSI News – Professional development
T
he New Year is a good
time to think again about
professional development
to broaden or update your
knowledge of indexing. Here are some
suggestions.
Indexing Journals
Of course there is the ANZSI Newsletter,
but do you read The Indexer? Previous issues are available on
their website <www.theindexer.org/>, but why not consider a
subscription at the members’ rate of £28 (approx A$45).
Books, articles, websites or email lists
Resources for indexers are scarce so, when the ANZSI
website was developed, a separate section on Indexing
Resources was added. Here books, articles, websites and
email lists of interest are listed and many have links to the
full text.
They have been grouped under the following headings:
Indexing
Indexing as a business
Standards
Thesaurus
Names
Software
Types of indexing
Email lists
Subject specialism
Indexing Societies
There is also a section in the members’ area on Employment
Tips that may be of interest.
I welcome any suggestions for items to be added.
Award winning indexes
Look for books with indexes that have won an ANZSI Medal
or been Highly Commended, to see how they were
indexed.
Recently I went through the lists to see if any were
available on the web. I was only able to locate a few, but
I have added links to them. I would love to see more
available via the website and wonder if any award winners
can assist with copies of their winning indexes.
Training courses
• New Zealand, New South Wales and Victorian Branches
are all offering training courses in the next few months and
ISSN 1832-3855
•
•
•
•
•
•
there are some different courses on offer (see <www.anzsi.
org/site/dates.asp> for full details).
At the base level there are Basic Book Indexing Course in
Sydney in March and Basic Book Indexing Parts 1 & 2 in
Melbourne in May.
NSW is offering training in indexing software packages
CINDEX and SKY at both the introductory and advance
levels in April.
Practical Book Indexing is being offered by NSW in May.
Training in database indexing and thesaurus construction is
being offered in Wellington, NZ, in February and will be
repeated in Melbourne in May.
Embedded indexing training will also be offered in
Wellington, NZ in February and in Melbourne in May.
Indexing annual reports will also be offered in Melbourne
in May.
Attend a branch event
All Branches run meetings, often involving a talk, visit or
even a meal. These are great ways to meet fellow indexers
and discuss indexing issues.
Consider indexing when travelling
If you are travelling why not check the events calendar
<www.anzsi.org/site/events.asp> to see if a Branch meeting is
being held while you are in that city, or if heading overseas
check for conferences or other events of interest at your
destination.
(continued on next page)
WHAT’S INSIDE
Newsletter, Web Manager and Registration details
ANZSI Conference 2011
South Australian group celebrates
ANZSI and Branch events
Getting into Taxonomy, Part 2
Kid-friendly index
Indexing Indaba
News from Queensland Branch
2
2
3
3
4
5
6
7
Deadline for the March issue: 25 February
PO Box 5062, Glenferrie South VIC 3122, Australia
Newsletter,
Web Manager and
Registration contacts
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
Web Manager: Mary Russell
<[email protected]>
Website: <www.anzsi.org>
ISSN 1832-3855
This newsletter is published monthly 11 times
per year, with combined issues for January/
February. It is sent free to all members of
the Australian and New Zealand Society of
Indexers. Opinions expressed in the newsletter
are those of the individual contributors, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
Society.
It is your newsletter, and we are totally
dependent on contributions, both large and
small, from members. Please contact the editor
if you have any questions about the suitability
of items for publication. The editor reserves the
right to edit or abridge contributions.
Please send files via email in MS Word,
.doc files or .rtf, but NOT .html or .pdf. And
please, no images or footnotes embedded in
Word files.
Next deadline
25 February for the March issue.
Graphics
B
Indexing see Change, Brighton, Victoria
righton is a bayside suburb about 13 km from the centre of Melbourne
on the Sandringham train line. The conference venue, the Brighton
Savoy, is just across the road from the beach and the colourful bathing boxes.
Look at that view! A great place to make the change – make sure those dates,
12–14 September, go down in your brand new diary NOW!
(ANZSI News, continued from page 1)
Contact another member
Talking to another indexer is often a useful way to solve an indexing issue you
may be having. Use Indexers Available and /or the Members Directory in the
members’ area to find an indexer working in your subject area or in your local
area.
ANZSI Conference
Don’t forget the ANZSI Conference will be 12–14 September at the Brighton
Savoy, Victoria. See our website at <www.anzsi.org/site/2011Conference.asp>
for further details.
Image files can be accepted in most common
formats. Do not embed images in text files.
Camera-ready art and photos can be scanned
by the editor. Note that photos need to be
clear, sharp and contrasty if they are to copy
well in black and white.
Indexers Available entries
While I’m encouraging you to explore the website, when was the last time you
checked your details in the ANZSI database or updated your listing in Indexers
Available? Why not do it today?
Advertising charges
Floods
Our thoughts are with all the people impacted by the recent floods not only
directly but through family members or business associates.
Mary Russell
Full page A$200; half page A$100;
quarter page A$50.
Membership charges
A$75 per year (NZ members A$68)
from 1 Jul 2010.
Institutional membership A$100.
Subscriptions to the Newsletter A$75 p.a.
The Indexer
(international indexing journal)
Maureen MacGlashan, Executive Editor
<[email protected]>.
ANZSI Corresponding Member
Alan Eddy <[email protected]>
To subscribe at the special rate for indexing
society members, go to <www.theindexer.org>
and click on the subscriptions link.
Registration
Shirley Campbell
Ph +61 2 6285 1006
<[email protected]> or
<www.anzsi.org/site/registration.asp>
Indexers Available
<www.anzsi.org/site/Indexers_available.asp>
2
T
his publication has been written for
someone indexing their first annual
report. They may be an employee of the
company or organisation, a consultant employed
to prepare the annual report or an indexer.
Since no indexing experience is assumed in
this publication, various examples are given to
explain how to index and the ways indexing
entries could be improved. However, it is assumed
the person will have organisational knowledge.
Cost e-book (PDF) A$25, printed $35.
Available from <www.anzsi.org/site/
indexingyourannualreport.asp>.
Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc. (ANZSI) Newsletter
Wine and tapas in the old pharmacy
T
he ANZSI group in South Australia celebrated
the end of 2010 with an informal gathering at
‘The Apothecary 1878’ in the Adelaide West End
(the home of the original Adelaide Fringe Festival). On
the menu were wine, tapas, and a good chinwag. Topics
spanned book indexing, cataloguing legal deposit items,
annual report indexing, giant pandas and other zoo capers.
The ANZSI contingent in South Australia comprises
only six members, three of whom came to the event and
can be seen in the photo: (L-R) Janet Wilkinson-Scott,
Silvia Muscardin, and Jane Oliver. Too small for the rank
of ‘Branch’, the SA group relies on the Victorian Branch
for activities and newsletter. Jane Oliver coordinates the
members and acts a liaison with the ANZSI Victorian
Branch.
We enjoyed the company and the food and we hope to
meet again in the future.
Silvia Muscardin
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Tue 22 Feb
6.45 pm start
Sat 26 Feb
10.00–1.00 pm
Sat 26 Feb
2.00–5.00 pm
Sun 27 Feb
10.00–1.00 pm
Sun 27 Feb
2.00 pm
Wed 2 Mar
11.00 am
Qld Branch
384 Old Cleveland Rd
Coorparoo, Brisbane
See website
1 St Helier St
Abbotsford
Contact 3160 6832, <[email protected]>
<www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=189>
Details at
Details at
Details at
Details at
Details at
Sat/Sun
12 and 13 Mar
NSW
Branch
General meeting
Tour 4MBS radio
Database Indexing
course
Thesauruses
construction course
Embedded Book
Indexing course
Branch meeting with
ANZSI President
The VIC : Visit to
3MBS radio station,
followed by lunch
Introductory book
indexing
Thomson Reuters,
100 Harris St, Pyrmont
Details at
Thur 7 April
(am)
NSW
Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Thur 7 April
(pm)
NSW
Branch
CINDEX
introduction
(BYO laptop)
CINDEX advanced
(BYO laptop)
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April
(am)
NSW
Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April
(pm)
NSW
Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
(Wed 18 May)
Sun 18 June
(am and lunch)
NSW
Branch
SKY Index
introduction
(BYO laptop)
SKY Index
advanced
(BYO laptop)
Intermediate
practical book
indexing
At your home, then
Thomson Reuters,
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI conference
Brighton Savoy
Details at
This course is preceded by one month’s work at
home from 18 May
Details at
<www.anzsi.org/site/2011Conference.asp>
NZ Branch
NZ Branch
NZ Branch
NZ Branch
Vic Branch
Vol. 7, No. 1, January 2011
See website
See website
See website
3
Getting into taxonomy, Part 2
The theme for VIC’s October meeting last year was ‘Show and Tell’ – a lively event in which Les Kneebone, Jenny Restarick
and Bernadette Vaughan shared their indexing experiences. Bernadette spoke on her work as a taxonomist, and the first part
of her presentation on this fascinating area was published in our November issue. Part 2 takes up the story.
Other tasks as Senior Indexing Specialist
From a taxonomy perspective, other
tasks included:
• Implementing, documenting, and
coordinating a multi-disciplinary review
process which managed requests for
changes to the taxonomy framework for
YPOL adPoints
• Researching advertisers’ indexing-related requests
• Ensuring the agreed review process operated and that all
requests were reviewed
• Communicating changes to key stakeholders
• Ensuring that intranet pages accurately recorded the work
practices adopted, and were updated within one week of a
classification change
• Undertaking a detailed alignment exercise between the
CitySearch (2200 headings) and Yellow Pages (2600
headings) classification systems, noting exact matches,
near matches, headings unique to each system, and
recommending changes which could potentially lead to
complete alignment, and hence, the use of a single
classification system
• Participating in various small projects across products
• Sensis intranet, i.e. ad hoc involvement with User Centred
Design (UCD) workshops relating to content analysis,
initial vocabulary development via card sorting exercises
to determine the categorisation structure and content
labeling
• TAFE College, i.e. identified relevant Sensis headings to
promote employment opportunities for students of specific
courses, then designed an overarching taxonomy structure
in which such headings were placed
• ‘WhereIs’ (online mapping product), i.e. reviewed, recategorised and renamed ‘Places of Interest’ featured in this
web-based product.
Digital Asset Management (DAM)
In 2005, I moved to a design studio that had, for several
years, specialised in brand communications, producing
corporate publications such as annual reports, reports to
shareholders, environmental impact statements etc. It had
recently branched out into providing hosted, web-based
Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions, and I took
on the role of its Taxonomy Developer. In addition to
text based assets, its core focus was managing collections
of corporate digital image masters, so that each client’s
digital assets could be retrieved, re-purposed and re-used in
new corporate publications, thereby gaining a Return-On4
Investment (ROI).
My core responsibility was an advisory and
implementation role for taxonomy structures and metadata
schemas in relation to clients’ image collections hosted
within the DAM system (accessible via each customer’s
login and password).
A feature of the product was its template driven design
where a customer might request six, eight or more template
designs formatted in a particular way. After logging in
to their own image collection housed within the DAM
system, the customer could search for and download
selected images, add in textual and price information,
thereby producing in-house flyers, advertising leaflets,
posters, product sheets and so forth i.e. auto publishing
promotional material with brand consistency.
Background research to image collections
My first task was to examine the unique characteristics (or
challenges) of managing an image collection i.e. assets that,
in contrast to text-based assets, usually present themselves
without a designated title, do not always denote the creator,
and often are devoid of other specified details by which to
record, track and retrieve them. As the saying goes, ‘a picture
paints a thousand words’, or what you see in an image and
the words you’d use to describe that image are likely to be
very different to what someone else sees in the image and
the words they might use to describe the image.
A couple of weeks ago, I browsed a few online image
collections, and marvelled at how many web-based
collections now exist. Back in 2005, however, there weren’t
nearly as many, but step one was to browse as many
online collections as I could, and identify characteristics
commonly used when indexing images. I reviewed a
number of simple and advanced search options, search tips,
metadata information for online exhibitions, digital image
collections, galleries, museums, libraries, and commercial
image houses such as:
• Picture Australia
• British Library’s ‘Images Online’
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs
• Smithsonian Images
• Life Photo Archive
• Flickr
• Getty images
• Corbis
From browsing these collections and determining several
(Taxonomy, continued from previous page)
characteristics common to images, I devised a standard
taxonomy and metadata schema for classifying the attributes
of images regardless of subject matter. The first of these
attributes involved acknowledging that corporate images
are not just photos, but may be graphs denoting business
performance, maps displaying operational networks, and
several other image types. Drop-down menus or radio
buttons provided multiple choice tagging options for other
image attributes such as the orientation of each image (e.g.
horizontal), digital rights status, geographical particulars,
and many other more detailed aspects of administrative,
structural and descriptive metadata.
For each client, I then developed a customised taxonomy
for their specific business environment, and this was
supplemented by the standard taxonomy. After the client
reviewed the various drafts, the structure and term validation
agreed upon and signoff reached, I used the metadata tool to
build the agreed taxonomy structure. I keyed the drop-down
menus and radio buttons on the web page, as well as built
the metadata template, linking the fields to represent the
designated relationships in the framework. Depending on
the client’s preference, I might also assign metadata to their
digital assets.
Taxonomy sample
For a vehicle manufacturer, a taxonomy structure might
include these essential aspects of its business operations:
• Vehicles and services i.e. passenger cars, commercial vehicles,
maintenance operations, vehicle conversion services
• Vehicle accessories and parts
• Dealerships, i.e. state networks, dealer names
• Promotional merchandise, i.e. clothes and clothing
accessories, promotional products
• Formula 1 participation, i.e. F1 cars and drivers.
As well as capturing operational features, a taxonomy
framework might also incorporate an organisation’s more
general corporate programs such as:
• Social responsibility, i.e. support of specific charities,
environmental initiatives
• HR programs, i.e. recognition and awards, recruitment,
training initiatives
• Safety, i.e. OH&S, vehicle safety
• Innovation, i.e. concept products.
Other tasks as Taxonomy Developer
• Write and produce the DAM system’s procedural guidelines
for each customer to retain as a reference document, and
also compile topic papers
• Assist in writing sales collateral e.g. sourcing and identifying
assets, file naming conventions
• Editorial research for technical writers e.g. global trade
statistics, quotations
• Client liaison and training customer’s staff to assign
metadata to their own digital assets
• Technical writing and proof reading in a relief capacity.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
In mid-2008, I joined the Tax Office in a taxonomy-based
role, initially working with its corporate, enterprise-wide
repository of business terms known as the Common Business
Language (CBL). Earlier this year I moved away from the
CBL repository, and I’m now working on a project related to
one of the ATO’s information systems. This system captures
the ATO’s interactions (activities) with taxpayers and tax
agents, both inbound and outbound in nature. Activities
may be giving advice, making rulings or settlements, dealing
with complaints, investigating fraud or tax evasion etc.
My role in this project is to research and map the various
activities (of which there are a few thousand classification
sets) to the appropriate records disposal authorities and
business classification scheme, ensuring that ATO records are
kept for the appropriate periods of time.
Bernadette Vaughan
Kid-friendly Index
T
he theme index entries in 1000 Places to Travel with
Kids in Australia, by Anna Ciddor (Explore Australia,
2011), have been deliberately chosen with kids in mind.
All 1000 places have been classified under one of 28
themes, although some entries are included in more than
one category. Some of the themes are self-explanatory,
while others, being kid-friendly, need explanation to assist
the parents!
The themes are: Aboriginal culture; Adventure plus
(e.g. quad bikes); Animal encounters; Arts and crafts;
Big is best (e.g. Big Pineapple Complex); Brain food (e.g.
mazes); Close to nature; Combat (e.g. military museums);
Dinosaur roar! (e.g. fossils); Factory at work (e.g. Perth
Mint); Fairies and fantasy (e.g. Nutcote, Home of May
Gibbs); Flight (e.g. Royal Flying Doctor Service); Getting
wet; High life (e.g. ballooning); Just for fun (e.g. Luna
Park); Lost in space (e.g. Dubbo Observatory); Miniworld (e.g. model railways); Sail away; School with a
difference (e.g. circus schools); Showtime; Spine-tingling
places (e.g. ghost tours); Sports crazy; Time travel (e.g.
heritage villages); Trails; Underground (e.g. caves); Wheels
(e.g. tramway museums); World travel (e.g. Chinese
museums); and Yummy (e.g. honey farms).
The book also has a ‘boring’ name index of the
attractions for the parents, but it is the theme index which
will definitely attract the kids!
Max McMaster
5
Indexing Indaba
W
elcome to another year of
indexing tidbits. A New
Year always brings with it
an element of ‘taking stock’, none more
so than the start of 2011 which has seen
floods devastate the lives of so many
Australians. With 2010 being officially
declared as the hottest year on record,
the climate change debate is back in the foreground with
mentions of the Southern Oscillation Index, that great
measure of El Niño and La Niña weather patterns. Living
in an unaffected part of the country as I do, it’s easy to
wonder about the science of it all and hopefully wherever
you are, you haven’t had to deal with the heartbreak.
On being Gribbenized and other forms of
censorship
Censorship seems to have been a bit of a hot topic this
summer, spurred on by the ongoing Wikileaks saga that has
forced us to give some thought as to how much information
we are entitled to know, in which situations. While the
ongoings have been kept alive through the traditional and
social media outlets, one in particular, Twitter, has also
come under fire for apparently engaging in censorship. It
seems that despite an endless barrage of tweets filed under
the tag #Wikileaks, the subject has failed to make it as a ‘top
trending topic’.
There’s also been a bit of debate raging about an Alabama
publishing house, NewSouth, following the release of its
‘Gribbenized’ edition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Twain scholar Dr Alan Gribben from
Auburn University Montgomery edited the book with the
idea that it would assist those educators uncomfortable
with including the original edition on their reading lists.
Notable among the changes is the replacement of all
mentions of the ‘n-word’ with the term ‘slave’. <http://
blog.al.com/scenesource/2011/01/auburn-montgomery_
professor_al.html>
The edits have outraged others, including social
commentator Michaela Angela Davis, who had this to say
to CNN’s Anderson Cooper:
‘I think this is problematic on so many levels. It’s not
just history, it’s literature, so it’s art. When we get into
really censoring art and censoring literature, we open up a
Pandora’s box. If a teacher is not prepared to have a social
and historical conversation and place this masterpiece in
context, is she prepared to teach that text? When we get
into changing words, unwriting history, rearranging art, we
start to put our democracy in danger. This is not making
it palpable, it’s censorship.’ <www.afro.com/sections/arts_
entertainment/story.htm?storyid=3736>
6
Indexers too are impacted by and may unwittingly take
part in censorship more often than they realise. Last July,
Mary Russell presented a paper at the 2010 Conference of
the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand
Conference which focused on the subject of censorship.
In Mary’s talk she argued that books with poor indexes or
indeed without indexes at all represent a form of censorship.
She explained how this happens through reasons of economy
and space saving, marketing strategies of publishers, errors
made by typesetters, cultural sensitivities as well as indexer
bias. A podcast of Mary’s presentation can be downloaded
at: <http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ecps/conferences/
deprave-and-corrupt/#podcasts>
Choice guide to e-readers
Downsizing house, I am in the process of discovering, is a
wonderfully liberating experience. That is until it comes to
liberating oneself of a large mass of books, which indexers
have a natural propensity to collect. Easing this task has
been the acquisition of a Pocket edition Sony Reader - a
14 x 10 cm gadget, weighing just 140 grams and with
the mind-boggling potential to store up to 1200 books. If
you’re in the market for an e-book reader, you might want
to have a look at the survey published in the December
2010/January 2011 issue of Choice, which is sure to be
available at your public library.
Be afraid, be very afraid!
So suggests Bill Johncocks in the Winter 2010 issue of SI’s
Newsletter Sidelights. He is referring to TExtract, of which
clearly, there seem to be two camps within SI – those who
think that it can save indexers time and those who think
that any index created by it requires so much editing that
the program is of little use. Johncocks believes that the ‘very
slickness’ of this concordance-generating software ‘now
makes it a serious threat to analytical indexing’. A primary
concern of his is that authors, without the skills or the
inclination to index their work will be attracted to the easy
option offered by TExtract. The real problem he sees ‘is not
how limited it is but how very powerful it can seem’. He
worries that while the program, with a few keystrokes, can
build something that looks like an index, it certainly won’t
work like one. Bill Johncocks is disturbed by the inclusion
of a presentation by TExtract’s creator, Harry Bego, at
the last year’s SI Conference in Middelburg. To him it
was ‘a bit like watching the Trojans opening their gates to
welcome in the Trojan horse’.
Annual report of a different sort
The next time you fly, chances are you’ll have a Flight
Memory member on board. Flightmemory.com was set
up to provide anyone who takes to the skies on a regular
(Indexing Indaba, continued from previous page)
basis with a means to keep track of their flight data.
Not surprisingly, it’s popular with flight crews, but a
large number of passengers also seem to enjoy logging
their flights, which the site then turns into nice visual
representations. Information supplied by members is also
used by the site to create a variety of travel statistics.
Travel is not the only area in which thousands of people
have taken to collecting personal data through the use
of websites and mobile phone apps, such as Foursquare.
Thirty-three year old Timothy Ferriss, bestselling author of
The Four Hour Workweek, has been collecting (some would
think a little bit obsessively) data about himself since the age
of eighteen. A former wrestler, he has for example, recorded
every workout he has done since that age. Ferriss’s primary
motivation is achieving his personal best and by dissecting
data about himself he sees patterns which he says, allow
him to do this. In a similar manner, more than one million
people upload data about their food intake and exercise
plans to Dailyburn.com – not only do they track their own
progress but they can see what is working for others.
Graphic designer, Nicholas Felton, has been keeping
data on himself since 2005 – everything from miles flown,
to songs listened to, to the streets of New York that he has
walked. He has been doing this as part of a personal project
called ‘alias Feltron’, in which he turns the recording of his
daily activities into innovative information graphics, using
charts, diagrams and maps. Every year he publishes and sells
annual reports about the minutiae of his life – apparently
they’re in hot demand among design aficionados. And after
discovering that there were thousands of others out there
keen to create their own personal annual reports, he cofounded Daytum.com.
Nikki Davis
T
he year 2010 was farewelled on 4 December by
six members and their spouses at a local Brisbane
restaurant. We were all happy to see Catherine Tully once
again. Catherine is unable to attend General Meetings in
the evenings because of distance and work pressures, but
she has made a huge effort to attend the Christmas lunch
for the past two years and we all had a wonderful time.
Our Branch’s first General Meeting of the year is
a tour of 4MBS Classical Radio Station and Museum
(FM103.7), on Tuesday, 22 February, starting at 6.45pm.
All are welcome. The tour will be run by the General
Manager, Gary Thorpe. RSVP by Sunday 20 February.
Moira Brown
<[email protected]>
7
ANZSI contacts
ABN 38 610 719 006
PO Box 5062, Glenferrie South VIC 3122
<[email protected]>
President: Mary Russell
<[email protected]>
Vice-President: John Simkin
Secretary: Michael Ramsden
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Margaret Findlay
ACT Region Branch
GPO Box 2069, Canberra ACT 2601
President: Shirley Campbell
<[email protected]>
Secretary: Eleanor Whelan
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Sherrey Quinn
<[email protected]>
Committee members: Edyth Binkowski, Helen
Frame, Tracy Harwood and Barry Howarth
New South Wales Branch
President: Frances Paterson
Council members: Alan Eddy, Karen Gillen, Max
McMaster. Branch Presidents (ex officio): Moira
Brown, Robin Briggs, Shirley Campbell, Jane
Purton, Frances Paterson
ANZSI officials
Registration Committee
Contact: Shirley Campbell
<[email protected]>
Awards Committee
Contact: Alan Walker
<[email protected]>
Education Committee
Contact: Michael Ramsden
<[email protected]>
Promotions and Publicity Committee
Contact: Max McMaster
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
Newsletter Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
Membership Secretary:
Karen Gillen
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
Vice-President: Glenda Browne
<[email protected]>
Secretary: Mary Coe
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Sue Flaxman
suefl[email protected]
Committee members: Madeleine Davis, Lorraine
Doyle, Helen Enright and Elisabeth Thomas
New Zealand Branch
President: Robin Briggs
<[email protected]>
Vice-President: Tordis Flath
<[email protected]>
Secretary: Julie Daymond-King
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Jill Gallop
<[email protected]>
Committee members: Nelly Bess, Susan Brookes,
Edith Hodgen, Lee Slater, Pam Strike and
Meredith Thatcher
NT contact
Contact: Frieda Evans
<[email protected]>
Queensland Branch
President: Moira Brown
<[email protected]>
Vice President: Mo Dickson
<[email protected]>
Secretary: Rachael Harrison
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Franz Pinz
;
<[email protected]>
Committee Members: Mei Yen Chua, Jean
Dartnall, David Mason, Jan Rees, Diane Josey
North Queensland
Contact: Jean Dartnall (Townsville)
<[email protected]>
SA contact
Contact: Jane Oliver
<[email protected]>
Tasmanian contact
Contact: Vivienne Wallace
<[email protected]>
Victorian Branch
ABN 58 867 106 986
PO Box 1006, Caulfield North, VIC 3161
President: Jane Purton
<[email protected]>
Vice President: Margaret Findlay
<mafi[email protected]>
Secretary: Nikki Davis
<[email protected]>
Treasurer: Max McMaster
<[email protected]>
Committee members:
Alan Eddy, Terri Mackenzie, Mary Russell,
Bernadette Vaughan
WA contact
Contact: Linda McNamara
<[email protected]>
Australian and New Zealand
Society of Indexers Inc.
PO Box 5062 Glenferrie South
VIC 3122 Australia
ANZSI Council 2009–10
Postage
paid
ANZSI NEWSLETTER
Volume 7, number 2, March 2011
Have you done a good index recently?
W
hy not enter it for the
ANZSI Medal? The
Medal has been offered
annually since 1985, and has been
awarded thirteen times. While
experienced indexers predominate
in the list of winners, some authors
and indexers with only a few years’
experience also appear. Look at the
list of Medal winners and Highly
Commended indexes on the ANZSI website. There are
also links from the website to some of the award-winning
indexes, which you might use as a yardstick of quality.
This year the Medal is offered for the most
outstanding index to a book or periodical
compiled in Australia or New Zealand. The
index must be in print and published after
2007. It must have been compiled in Australia
or New Zealand, even though the text to which
it refers may have originated elsewhere. The
index should be substantial in size; the subject
matter should be complex; and the language, form and
structure of the index should demonstrate the indexer’s
expertise, as well as serving the needs of the text and
reader.
The winning indexer will receive the Medal and a
certificate, and the publisher of the winning index will be
presented with a certificate recognising their promotion of
work of outstanding quality.
You may submit your own work, or look for good
indexes in recently published works. There is a nomination
form on the ANZSI website. Entries close on 31 July, and
the formal presentation will be at the ANZSI Conference
in September.
The judging panel is chosen to represent a range of
expertise in information management. For the last two
years, all three judges have been previous Medal winners.
Jeremy Fisher was awarded the first Medal in 1985,
for the index to the 12-volume fourth edition of the
ISSN 1832-3855
Australian Encyclopaedia (Grolier Society of Australia,
1983). He has enjoyed a long and varied career in the
Australian information industry as an editor, author,
administrator and academic.
Alan Walker has been awarded the Medal twice: in
1989 for The Penguin New Literary History of Australia
(Penguin Books, 1988), and in 2007 for Voices of Islam
in Southeast Asia: a contemporary sourcebook (Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2006). Two other
indexes have been Highly Commended. He also has 20
years experience as a librarian.
Garry Cousins also has library qualifications and
experience, and received the Medal in 2003 for his index to
Fundamentals of Pharmacology: a text for nurses
and allied health professionals, 4th ed (Pearson
Education, 2003). His index to Dark Victory,
by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson (Allen
& Unwin, 2003) was Highly Commended.
Similar awards are offered by the Society
of Indexers (SI) and the American Society
for Indexing (ASI). The British award (the
Wheatley Medal) has been offered for nearly 50 years,
and the American award (the H.W. Wilson Excellence in
Indexing Award) since 1978.
Alan Walker, ANZSI Awards Committee
WHAT’S INSIDE
The Christchurch earthquake
2011 ANZSI Medal Applications
Indexing degustation
Indexing Nursery Rhymes
Search patterns (book review)
New Zealand Branch news
ACT Region Branch visit to Parliamentary Library
ANZSI and Branch Committee contacts
2
2
2
3
3
4
5
6
7
7
8
Deadline for the April issue: 1 April
Newsletter,
Web Manager and
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
ISSN 1832-3855
Society.
Word files.
Next deadline
1 April for the April issue.
Graphics
Advertising charges
quarter page A$50.
B
righton is a bayside suburb about 13 km from the centre of Melbourne
on the Sandringham train line. The conference venue, the Brighton
Savoy, is just across the road from the beach and the colourful bathing boxes.
Look at that view! A great place to make the change – make sure those dates,
12–14 September, go down in your brand new diary NOW!
The Christchurch earthquake
T
he New Zealand Branch has no members in the Christchurch area, but the
earthquake last month affected the whole country in one way or another.
As of 25 February, we have yet to hear of any family losses and are keeping
fingers crossed. We appreciate the messages of sympathy for New Zealanders
that we have received from ANZSI and branches in Australia.
Known effects for us are small in the wider scale of suffering. We had a
training weekend in Wellington a few days later, and one member in the
southern city of Dunedin was unable to attend because her flight through
Christchurch was cancelled. Paradoxically, a non-member course participant
(a member of the British SI) living in Christchurch was able to fly out and
attend the courses. The weekend break that she and her husband planned in
Wellington turned out to be more valuable than they’d originally expected.
We hope that Australian ANZSI members were not badly affected by the
floods in the eastern states.
Robin Briggs, President, NZ Branch
Membership charges
from 1 Jul 2010.
The Indexer
Registration
Shirley Campbell
Ph +61 2 6285 1006
Indexers Available
2
T
his publication has been written for
someone indexing their first annual report.
They may be an employee of a company or
organisation, a consultant employed to prepare
the annual report or an indexer.
Since no indexing experience is assumed in
this publication, various examples are given to
explain how to index and the ways indexing
entries could be improved. However, it is
assumed the person will have organisational
knowledge.
Cost e-book (PDF) A$25, printed $35.
Available from <www.anzsi.org/site/
2011 ANZSI Medal Applications
T
he Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers’ Medal is offered annually for the most
outstanding index to a book or periodical compiled in Australia or New Zealand. The index
must be in print and published after 2007. It must have been compiled in Australia or New
Zealand, even though the text to which it refers may have originated elsewhere. The index should be
substantial in size; the subject matter should be complex; and the language, form and structure of the
index should demonstrate the indexer’s expertise, as well as serving the needs of the text and reader.
The publisher of the winning index will be presented with a certificate recognising their promotion of
work of outstanding quality. The judges may also make ‘Highly Commended’ awards.
Nominations, with bibliographical details and a copy of the book (which will be returned if
requested) should be sent to the address on the nomination form. Publishers, indexers and all
interested people may nominate indexes, and indexers may nominate their own work.
Entries close on 31 July.
A nomination form is available on the ANZSI website at:
<www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/Medal%20form%202011.pdf>
Contact:
Alan Walker, Chairman, Awards Committee,
10 Rockwall Crescent, Potts Point NSW 2011
<[email protected]>
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Sat/Sun
12 and 13 Mar
NSW Branch
Introductory
book indexing
Thomson Reuters,
Details at
Tues 5 April
5.00–7.00 pm
ACT Region
Branch
Visit Parliamentary
Library
Parliament House
Wed 6 April
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
The VIC
Kew Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Contact Eleanor Whelan
<[email protected]> or 6257 7749
by Saturday 2 April
Details at
Thur 7 April (am)
NSW Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Thur 7 April (pm)
NSW Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April (am)
NSW Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April (pm)
NSW Branch
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
(Wed 18 May)
Sun 18 June
(am and lunch)
NSW Branch
CINDEX
introduction
(BYO laptop)
CINDEX
advanced
(BYO laptop)
SKY Index
introduction
(BYO laptop)
SKY Index
advanced
(BYO laptop)
Intermediate
practical book
indexing
At your home, then
Thomson Reuters,
Details at
home from 18 May
Vol. 7, No. 2, March 2011
3
A lender and a borrower be
ave you ever thought that
you could borrow and lend
e-books? A most illuminating
article in The Sunday Age induced my
eyes to goggle mightily. Amazon, which
has sold an estimated four million
Kindle e-readers in the last three years,
has released a lending and borrowing
feature which allows Kindle users to share their books
with users all around the world. Non-Kindle owners can
also join the e-book swap with free reading applications
available for Mac, PC and Android.
The idea began when Catherine McDonald, a Canadian
web developer living on Malta’s island of Gozo, found that
her only access to English reading matter was via wireless
access to e-books on Kindle. When she heard that e-book
sales had overtaken sales of hard copy she decided to act.
The day after Kindle lending began in December last
year, Catherine started a lending page on Facebook. Two
hundred borrowers signed up within a few hours and
when these reached the thousands, she and a freelance
web team created the Kindle Lending Club website. Six
weeks later Amazon asked them to rebrand and move to
the domain <Booklending.com>, whereupon Amazon
handed control of the domain name to Catherine.
‘Consumers tend to be leveraging social media to create
communities around collaborative consumption, and we
are an example,’ she says.
By mid-February there were more than 8000 books for
loan to about 12,000 members who are mostly women
aged between 35 and 55, the most devoted Kindle
users. But there are drawbacks. Amazon will only allow
Americans to borrow for 14 days, after which they cannot
read the book as it disappears from their collection. You
can only borrow once for each book. International readers
may borrow an e-book, but only if it is a title that is
available for purchase in their region. Australians have
access to 69% of Amazon’s catalogue.
According to Catherine, publishers are holding back
e-book lending. Only half the titles are lendable. Only
Macmillan and Scholastic have allowed their full catalogue
to join the global book swap. Publishers think that e-book
lending will cut their profits when they should be thinking
in terms of free exposure and increased sales. The Kindle
library takes its income from a small commission from
book referrals to Amazon, with a “buy” button on titles.
Lendable titles are influencing purchase because readers
like to pass their books on.
H
Catherine believes that the most exciting outcome of
the e-book lending movement is the pending partnership
with Worldreader.org, a literacy charity that is providing
digital books to the developing world. Students in Ghana
have been supplied with 500 pre-loaded Kindles and soon
5000 e-readers will be sent to Kenyan students.
Social media and e-books have enabled writers who
are not getting book deals to launch their creations. A
young self-published writer from Minnesota has sold half
a million copies of her young adult paranormal romances
on Kindle. Catherine says that if a writer develops a
following, Amazon responds with its publishing initiatives.
It is the reason bookstores are finding it hard to compete.
Australia is getting into the swing. International
content provider Overdrive is supplying e-books to several
Australian libraries while the South Australian government
is looking at a state-wide e-book library service. University
libraries have been buying e-books for years.
Cincotta, K. The Sunday Age. 20/2/2011, p. 17.
Talkin names : an introduction to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander personal names
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Studies (AIATSIS) has mounted a tutorial which
gives an introduction to best practice for establishing
headings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander personal
names. The tutorial includes self-paced modules and
practice sessions for hands on experience. The modules;
introduction, Aboriginal skin names, other types of
Aboriginal names, Torres Strait Islander names, and a
review take approximately 20 minutes to view. There is
also a PDF Guide to Talkin Names. There is no denying
that Talkin Names is a wonderful addition to the indexer’s
reference library.
<www.aiatsis.gov.au/collections/talkinnames.html>.
Read all about it, the book is dead
We keep hearing about this unnerving subject which is
on a par with the disappearance of Vegemite. Giles Coren
wrote an article for The Times on the death of the book
which was inspired by the announcement of World Book
Night, to be held on 5 March this year. World Book Night
will be broadcast in partnership with BBC Two and will
see one million books given away by 20,000 ‘passionate
readers’ to the public in the UK and Ireland. According
to Giles Coren in his article which was reprinted in The
Australian, ‘the publishing industry is gambling that
handing out an unprecedented number of free books will
persuade people to read more paid-for ones’. He likens the
exercise to the drug dealer’s scheme whereby free drugs
4
Indexing Nursery Rhymes
T
o introduce beginning students
to practical indexing in the
University of California,
Berkeley (UCB) indexing course, we
ask the students to index some nursery
rhymes. At a recent VIC (Victorian
Indexing Club) meeting we asked our
esteemed attendees to participate in a
similar exercise just to see if they were up to the task.
Their instructions were to write an index for each of
the two nursery rhymes shown below. They were told to
assume that the number following each line represented a
page of text. They were then asked to use their imagination
regarding the information that might be found on each
‘page’ and incorporate it into their index. For example,
if one of the rhymes was ‘Jack Sprat’ (who could eat no
fat), they might have some entries about eating disorders
and/or diets or nutrition.
The Nursery Rhymes
Now for the second rhyme ...
Tea with the Queen
Teddy bear, teddy bear, 1
Where have you been? 2
I’ve been up to London to visit the queen! 3
I went to her palace, 4
And knocked at the gate, 5
And one of her soldiers said, please would I wait? 6
Then one of her footmen, 7
All dressed in red, 8
Led me inside, saying, step this way Ted! 9
And there in a huge room, 10
High on her throne, 11
Sat the poor queen, taking tea all alone, 12
She said, how delightful, 13
Sit down, fill your tum! 14
And soon we were chattering just like old chums! 15
And when time came to leave, 16
She shook hands and then, 17
She said, come back soon, we must do it again! 18
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, 1
Eating her curds and whey. 2
Along came a spider, 3
Who sat down beside her, 4
And frightened Miss Muffet away. 5
Our audience in the VIC meeting came up with the
following index for Little Miss Muffet – but you might
have different ideas. The cross-references have not been
shown.
arachnophobia, 5
curds, 2
dairy products, 2
eating, 2
Muffet, Little Miss, 1−2, 4−5
spiders, 3-5
fear of, 5
tuffets, 1
whey, 2
Have a go at indexing Tea with the Queen. You can
then compare your index with the one created by the VIC
members. Look for their index in the next issue of the
ANZSI Newsletter.
Max McMaster
Indexing degustation, continued from p. 4
generate an insatiable demand for more. The problem is
that ‘drugs are fun’ while books are ‘boring’.
World Book Night will take place two days after
World Book Day, the established nationwide reading
program. According to the WBN website, a growing list
of high-profile figures from publishing, media and the
arts are lending their support by becoming patrons. It is
a case of violets and vinegar. Read both sides.
Giles Coren at <www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/read-allabout-it-the-book-is-dead/story-e6frg8nf-1225969240843>.
World Book Night site <www.worldbooknight.org/2010/12/
the-largest-book-give-away-ever-attempted/>.
Jane Purton
5
Search patterns
E
very now and then you read a
book that makes you think. It
explains things simply, gives
you lots of examples and you find
yourself thinking about it while you
are doing other things. This is what
happened when I read Search patterns
by Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender
(Sebastopol CA, O’Reilly, 2010). The
book is aimed at web designers, but
it is of interest to anyone who searches the web as it
highlights and explains the various strategies well-designed
websites use to assist you in finding information.
To help explain what this
book covers, think of searching
Amazon.com. If you haven’t
yet succumbed to searching
Amazon.com, lock up your
credit card and have a look. It is
an enormous bookshop. Have
a look at the tricks it uses and
persuasive techniques employed
to desperately try to get you
to purchase from them. Firstly,
start to type the name of an
author or book title and you get a drop-down screen of
possible suggestions for your search to save you typing.
Have you noticed how quickly the book you wanted
appears? You don’t seem to have to wade through lots of
unrelated titles. Then, when you select a book there is
often a ‘Look inside’ feature that lets you see part of the
book – usually introductory pages, section of a chapter
and often the index. It also tells you people that bought
that book also bought XYZ – hoping to tempt you to
look at that book as well, as it is often similar to the initial
book you selected. If you have succumbed and purchased
from them, Amazon remembers and likes to suggest other
books you might be interested in. Usually they are quite
reasonable suggestions. More temptation!
Have you ever stopped to think about how Amazon
does all this? Well if so ‘Search patterns’ will explain it,
without you feeling you need to complete a computer
degree first to understand it. All the tricks that Amazon
uses are explained, such as:
• Auto-complete, for the drop down menu of hints as you
type;
• Best first algorithms, for displaying relevant titles based
on popularity, relevance, date, etc;
• Personalisation, for remembering what you ordered or
searched for on previous occasions;
• Federated searching, for searching multiple databases
seamlessly. I just used the book department of Amazon,
6
but there are movies, games, Kindle etc. All will be
searched initially to determine what you want, because, as
Morville says, ‘users don’t know where to look’.
Morville also explains the benefits of different ways to
lay results out and the difference it makes to how useful
the website is. Think of searching several databases at
once. Ideally you don’t know you are. A good example
is ‘Trove’, the National Library Website, <trove.nla.gov.
au>: you search for something and find results from
their book collection, scanned newspapers, photographs,
maps, music etc. All databases are searched at once. The
results are presented in small boxes on the webpage.
You get a little taste of your search results in each of the
separate databases. Have you
noticed the tabs at the top of
the screen? Now pretend there
wasn’t the ALL tab. You would
then have to click on each tab
to see the results in each of
the separate databases. Nothing
like as appealing as seeing the
samples on the ALL tab.
Peter Morville has a library
background, and is a prolific
author. Ambient findability
was another book of his that I enjoyed. Search patterns
examines user searching behaviours. One pattern he calls
‘pearl growing’, involves an initial search, then searching
further using some feature of the result to find similar
things. Perhaps searching for a concept found among the
first results, or for more articles by that author.
As I have mentioned above, he explains all the design
features that can be used to help improve the searching
experience, with lots of examples from websites. There are
lists of things to consider if you want to purchase software
to set up a database. Creators are given suggestions of
things to consider with the user interface. Indexers rate a
mention. He points out that content may not be just one
type of item, such as books, and urges you to remove the
‘ROT’ (content that is Redundant, Outdated or Trivial).
He has a nice honeycomb diagram of what users
want – things that are useful, usable, desirable, findable,
accessible, creditable and valuable.
Having read Search patterns I am now looking at
websites wearing different glasses. I think about the
tricks that are being used to help me find information, or
wishing they would use them!
My only complaint with this book is that the index
could definitely be improved!
Mary Russell
(The cartoon is from page 2 of Search patterns.)
N
ew Zealand branch has published the first three
of its mentored indexes, all of them indexes to
19th century books originally published without
indexes. They are of historical importance and of value to
the many people delving into New Zealand’s history.
The indexing has been done by new indexers who are
going through the Branch’s mentoring scheme, working
under the care of a mentor, in these cases Tordis Flath. The
indexes produced are then reviewed by two committee
members and amended where thought advisable.
Our mentoring scheme co-ordinator, Susan Brookes,
has printed the indexes. She has obtained an ISSN number,
and is notifying libraries which which hold copies of the
books that the index is available. We need to sell just one
copy of each to cover the initial printing costs.
Three more indexes are close to publication.
A sub-committee for this project plans to publicise the
series further, and is considering whether, when and how
to offer such indexes in digital form.
The project is designed to give new indexers practical
experience. It is also a concrete example to present to
publishers, it helps to increase ANZSI’s profile in New
Zealand and raises a little income for the Branch.
The Branch has also sent its third directory of freelance
indexers to key people in more than 60 publishing
companies around New Zealand. The Directory lists
available freelance members along much the same lines
as the ANZSI website, though with more information on
qualifications and indexing experience. An introduction
sets out the value of professional indexing and describes
ANZSI’s role. The directory is sent by email as a pdf file
suitable for printing as an A5 booklet.
Robin Briggs, President, NZ Branch
ACT Region Branch
invites you to join them at the ‘House on the hill’
on Tuesday 5 April, 5.00-7.00 pm.
Find out what goes on behind the scenes in the
Parliamentary Library.
It is important to RSVP, so please contact
Eleanor Whelan
by Saturday, 2 April.
7
ANZSI NEWSLETTER
Volume 7, number 3, April 2011
ANZSI News April 2011
March Council meeting
The March Council meeting brought
the entire Council together with all
the branch Presidents in Melbourne
for an extended Council meeting.
The meeting was a success and it
is planned to make this an annual
event.
for one representative from each Society to attend their
conference. This year Mary Coe will be the ANZSI
Representative at the American Society for Indexing
conference and Alan Walker will be the representative at
the Indexing Society of Canada conference.
Mary Russell
Promotion
The ANZSI bookmark was developed
to promote ANZSI. It has already
been distributed widely, for example
to Melbourne Writers’ Festival,
Writers Centre, SI, ASI, and ISC/SCI
Conferences, Chinese and German
indexing societies, inserted into
an issue of Bookseller + Publisher
journal, and placed in the satchels of
2009 Editors Conference and will be
in their 2011 Conference.
ANZSI Council Meeting 10 March.
Following on from the New Back row L to R: Michael Ramsden, Frances Paterson, John Simkin, Max McMaster,
Zealand initiative we have posted a Alan Eddy. Front L to R: Moira Brown, Robin Briggs, Shirley Campbell, Jane Purton.
bundle of ANZSI bookmarks to each
member. All ANZSI members can assist in distributing
WHAT’S INSIDE
the bookmarks. Why not send them to the editors or
publishers you work for, leave some at your local library,
Newsletter, Web Manager and Registration details 2
2
book group or printer? If you would like to have more
NSW
courses
and
cakes
2
bookmarks to distribute, or have suggestions where
Articles on indexing
2
they could go, please contact Max McMaster at <max.
Indexing training in NSW
3
[email protected]>.
3
2013 Conference
It is with great delight that I can announce that the New
Zealand Branch will be hosting the 2013 conference. So
pencil in March 2013 and possibly Wellington into your
diary and start dreaming of a work related break in New
Zealand.
ASI and ISC/SCI Conferences
The International Agreement between indexing Societies
means those hosting conferences pay the registration
ISSN 1832-3855
NZ Branch news
The VIC visits 3MBS
Indexing Indaba
ACT Region Branch event
Vic Branch courses in May
Indexing Nursery Rhymes (Part 2)
4
5
6
7
8
8
ANZSI and Branch Committee contacts, the former ‘back
page’, will no longer appear in hard copy. Contacts are now
available online at <www.anzsi.org/site/contacts.asp>.
Deadline for the May issue: Friday 29 April
Newsletter,
Web Manager and
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
L
ast month Queensland Branch visited the Museum of Lands, Mapping and
Surveying and was treated to a fascinating tour of this amazing museum,
which is housed in the Landcentre of the Department of Environment and
Resource Management at Woolloongabba. Our hosts were the founding
curator, Bill Kitson, and Senior Curator, Kaye Nardella. The photo below shows
(L to R): Franz Pinz, Lesley Bryant, Bill Kitson and Moira Brown.
<[email protected]>
ISSN 1832-3855
Society.
Word files.
Next deadline
Friday 29 April for the May issue.
Graphics
Advertising charges
quarter page A$50.
Membership charges
from 1 Jul 2010.
The Indexer
Registration
Shirley Campbell
Ph +61 2 6285 1006
Indexers Available
2
Although Bill is now retired, he still visits the Museum regularly and his
amazing memory for detail and ability to spin a good yarn bring the challenges
faced by Queensland’s early surveyors to life, all illustrated by the exhibits in
the museum.
In building up this museum from scratch, Bill spent over 20 years collecting
biographical and subject clippings as well as photographs, artefacts, maps, and
books. Compilation of the computer index for this collection is an ongoing task
for Kaye Nardella who seems to have inherited Bill’s enthusiasm for surveying
and mapping. Many of the enquiries coming to Kaye relate to the history of
properties and she is keen to assist wherever possible.
Lesley Bryant
NSW courses and cakes
N
SW Branch is excited to be running four software courses (intro and
advanced CINDEX and SKY Index) at a historic time for these two
programs. CINDEX is celebrating its 25th birthday this year, and SKY Index
has recently launched SKY Index version 7.0. These achievements will be
celebrated with a birthday cake at each of the courses. Frances Lennie, the
owner of CINDEX, is visiting from the US to present the CINDEX courses,
while the SKY Index trainer will be local computer wiz Jon Jermey.
Details for each of these courses are given in the ‘Events’ table on page 3.
Glenda Browne
Articles on indexing
G
lenda Browne has had an article on indexing, with a focus on biographies,
published in this quarter’s issue of Australian Author (the journal of the
Australian Society of Authors). She has put it on her website at:
‘It’s all in the index’, Australian Author March 2011, pp. 13-15
<www.webindexing.biz/PDFs/AA_FEB2011_Indexing.pdf>.
Indexing training in NSW
N
SW Branch has completed another successful Introductory Book Indexing course. We had
ten attendees, most from interstate and only one from the Sydney CBD. This reflects the fact
that indexing is a job that can be done away from major cities, which is one reason many of
us love it.
Following a long tradition, the course was held at Thomson Reuters, hosted by Lorraine Doyle. We
are grateful to both TR and Lorraine for their generous hospitality. Lorraine quietly kept proceedings
running smoothly over the two days. On the second day we lunched and completed part of our course
at the Point Hotel, which has also proved to be a popular venue. Because networking is such an important part of
indexing work, we feel that a half-hour chatting together socially is an important feature of the course.
A few students had a book or journal that they found very useful, except for the fact that it was unindexed. They asked
about the value of sending indexes they have created for these works to the publisher, with a note saying that they found
an index necessary to get full value from the publication. This is a good way of providing a sample to a publisher when
seeking work, and is also important as a way of increasing the total amount of indexing work.
Thanks to all these students for their keen participation, and good luck for the future.
Glenda Browne
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Tues 5 April
5.00–7.00 pm
ACT Region
Branch
Visit Parliamentary
Library
Parliament House
Wed 6 April
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
The VIC
Kew Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Contact Eleanor Whelan
<[email protected]> or 6257 7749
by Saturday 2 April
Details at
Thur 7 April (am)
NSW Branch
CINDEX
introduction
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Thur 7 April (pm)
NSW Branch
CINDEX
advanced
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April (am)
NSW Branch
SKY Index
introduction
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Fri 8 April (pm)
NSW Branch
SKY Index
advanced
NSW Writers’
Centre, Rozelle
Details at
Mon 2 May
VIC Branch
Basic Indexing
Part 1
Holmesglen Institute
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
Tues 3 May
VIC Branch
Basic Indexing
Part 2
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
Wed 4 May (am)
VIC Branch
Embedded
Indexing
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
Wed 4 May (pm)
VIC Branch
Indexing Annual
Reports
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
Wed 4 May
6.00 pm
VIC Branch
The VIC
Indexing wine
Kew Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Details at
Thurs 5 May (am)
VIC Branch
Database Indexing
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
Thurs 5 May (pm)
VIC Branch
Thesaurus
construction
of TAFE, Chadstone
Details at
(Wed 18 May)
Sun 18 June
(am and lunch)
NSW Branch
Intermediate
practical book
indexing
At your home, then
Thomson Reuters,
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI
Conference
Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Vic
Details at
home from 18 May
Details at
Vol. 7, No. 3, April 2011
3
N
ineteen people from a wide range of workplaces
took part in courses-cum-workshops run by
the New Zealand branch in Wellington on
26–27 February. The three courses, conducted by Mary
Russell, the ANZSI president, covered database indexing,
thesaurus construction and embedded indexing.
Participants included freelancers and people from
libraries, tertiary institutions and government departments.
Several travelled long distances – from Auckland,
Whakatane and Christchurch.
The courses were widely publicised outside the branch
and virtually half of the participants (nine) were nonmembers.
One of our committee members, Edith Hodgen, set
up an online feedback system and the 15 responses were
totally favourable. Mary’s presentation style was praised.
The responses also gave us indications of what people
in the wider indexing area would like in future, such as
training in website indexing, more advanced database
indexing and the use of software in various fields.
On the Sunday afternoon after the courses, we had a
branch meeting attended by 11 members and two guests
– Mary Russell and Sally Harvey. Sally is a Society of
Indexers member who spends part of each year in the
UK and part in New Zealand and who attended the three
workshops.
Members discussed and approved changes to the
branch mentoring scheme’s fees and timetable, and
discussed promotion of the resulting indexes.
4
We also heard from a sub-committee which has been
considering the prospects of hosting the 2013 ANZSI
conference, and it was agreed that the New Zealand
branch should offer to do so with assistance from the
ANZSI council. The offer was accepted at the council
meeting on 10 March.
The branch meeting also heard and responded to Mary’s
thoughts and questions on the aims of the society, and
discussed the proposal for use of the Society of Indexers
course. Sally Harvey gave a favourable description of it,
though she also appreciated the more personal contact
with other indexers over the weekend.
As branch president, I attended the full ANZSI
council meeting in Melbourne on 10 March and found
the journey worthwhile. It was also useful to meet the
three other visiting branch presidents informally the
previous evening and to discuss branch activities, etc, with
them. I hope that becomes a regular part of what is to be
an annual event.
Robin Briggs
In the photograph below you can see some of the
participants (and tutor) in the Wellington courses on
26 February: from L to R: Parearau Nikora, Lai Lam,
Nelly Bess, Edith Hodgen, Mary Russell, Elizabeth Fisher
(standing), Mary Donald, Pam Strike and Sally Harvey.
The VIC visits 3MBS FM Classically Melbourne
T
he VIC (Victorian Indexers Club) visited 3 MBS
FM classical music radio station on 2 March,
in the idyllic surroundings of the Abbotsford
Convent, located beside the Yarra River in close proximity
to the city and the iconic Skipping Girl [Vinegar] neon
sign.
The statue of the musical nuns in the foyer recalls the
building’s past and its present dedication.
3MBS 103.5 FM is Melbourne’s own independent fine
music station broadcasting 24 hours a day without the
security of government funding. For 35 years Melbourne’s
music lovers have sustained 3MBS through annual
contributions which supported it through its growth from
grassroots to the respected broadcaster it is today.
This volunteer-based Melbourne icon reaches 200,000
listeners every week on 103.5 FM and on-line. Non-stop
programs range from signature Concert hall programs to
specialised programs presented by experts in early music,
opera, musical theatre, organ and choral music, film, new
music, jazz, brass and world music.
During the 1960s ABC Radio was playing a decreasing
amount of classical music and so 3MBS was formed, its
first transmission going on air on 1 July, 1975. Brian
Cabena was the main promoter of the station and it
was originally run out of his radio shop in Kew. In
2007 the station moved into the Convent precinct, and
now occupies the old school complex, complete with a
blackboard and teacher’s platform in the Library. John
Cleghorn (pictured at right), one of our tour guides for
the visit, began his training in 2007, attending the 3MBS
training courses.
There are 4 recording studios available and we entered
the ‘silence’ area of one to watch John Collins do his live
presentation of a 2 hour session. Some performances are
pre-recorded, e.g. the 2.00 – 6.00 am time slot.
More than 200 volunteers and 8 paid staff keep the
music playing, using CDs in the Betty Amsden Library to
compile a program a fortnight ahead of its presentation.
Availability of the CDs is checked again a week prior to the
show by bundlers, and, if any are missing, substitutes are
chosen which match perfectly the various characteristics
of the original choices e.g. duration of performance; style;
musicians/orchestras featured etc. so they can be slotted
straight in. All this pre-programming and any necessary
changes are tracked on the station’s tailor-made software,
developed by Ted Mason, a volunteer. Members were most
impressed by this in-house software program, as they were
shown examples of the programs and changes made.
CDs are donated to 3MBS, as the station has a very
small budget and has a policy of playing Australian
composers for 5 % of the total musical output, with 20 %
of music played by Australian performers.
On Tuesdays from 1.30 to 2.30 pm, in the program
Live@the Convent, university students perform live in the
studios and can rent the premises to record their own CDs
etc. Melbourne-based concerts are recorded by staff and
volunteers and then used in forthcoming programs with
copies kept in the Library.
Our special thanks
go to John Cleghorn,
program producer and
presenter, and Ingrid
Austin, bundler, who
gave us access to
recording studios, the
fabulous library of wall
to wall CDs, and a
personal performance
of a Mozart Symposia
in D Major (by Ingrid)
in the Performance
Studio named in
honour of Marigold
Southey.
If you are interested in subscribing to On Air, the 3
MBS monthly program guide, check out their website at
<www.3mbs.org.au>.
Needless to say we also all enjoyed lunching at the
Convent Bakery and talking and walking through the
beautiful gardens and historic buildings.
Jenny Restarick
5
Indexing Indaba
Unlocking UK census information
A
ncestry.co.uk has just celebrated
the 2011 UK census day on
27 March by offering free
access to all of its census indexes for a
24-hour period. The first ‘snapshot’ of
the nation was held in 1801, recording
only a minimal amount of information, but after 1841
when the census included names for the first time, these
records became particularly valuable for genealogical
research.
Recently released for the very first time, are the 1851
census records for the Manchester region. Several years
ago, whilst in storage, the census returns for this area were
damaged by flood water. They would in addition go on to
develop considerable mould damage. Many believed that
the records of the thousands of people included in these
census returns would be impossible to retrieve and as such
they were known as the ‘lost souls’. Undeterred by the
challenge, Ancestry.co.uk’s systems architect, Jack Rees,
built a digital restoration camera with an extended spectral
range that used infrared and ultraviolet light to enable the
inks of the recorded material to be distinguished from the
damaged pages.
<www.ancestry.co.uk/census_collections?o_iid=47459&o_
lid=47459>
Regions out in the cold
Some dishearting news is the severe curtailing of the
activities of the Collections Australia Network (CAN),
as a result of recent funding cuts. For almost a decade
Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, with combined state and
federal funding of less than $400 000, managed CAN
which played a valuable role in enabling small regional
museums and historical societies to list the contents of
their collections in one centralised database. While stored
information can still be accessed and news items posted,
no new information about collections can be added.
Kylie Winkworth, a heritage consultant, is particularly
concerned that stories of bush events and characters will
be lost. She says, ‘Many stories held in regional collections
are not well represented in state and national collections,
such as mining, pastoral life, water, women’s and labour
history, forestry and agriculture.’
CAN’s demise is indicative though of broader concerns
in the cultural heritage sector. The site’s funding dried up
after a Cultural Ministers Council review recommended
that CAN be attached to the Collections Council, which
was subsequently disbanded not long after. Now it
appears that the Cultural Ministers Council may go the
6
same way, having been earmarked for abolition at the end
of the financial year by a recent review of the Council of
Australian Governments.
Tim Hart, a deputy director of Museum Victoria has
pointed out on the Museum 3 online forum: ‘If CMC is
disbanded the last formal lines of contact for state-based
organisations to Canberra will have been severed.’
A lot of eyes are on Simon Crean in his role as Minister
for the Arts as well as Minister for Regional Australia,
Regional Development and Local Government. In an
interview with Inquirer he said that at the CMC’s final
meeting in early May, a structure for future state and
federal co-operation will be discussed.
‘I hope . . . Crean and his new department have a plan
to fill the void created by closing so many cultural online
assets in such a short time,’ Tim Hart adds.
In Simon Crean’s view, he sees ‘this as an opportunity
with the introduction of high-speed broadband to connect
our valuable cultural collections and make them available
to more Australians.’
<www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/regionalmuseum-web-unravels/story-e6frg8n6-1226023752570>
Lost diggers
More heartening, is the news of an extraordinary discovery
made by a team from Channel 7 in early February.
Rumours of a secret collection of photographs led them
to the attic of a dilapidated farmhouse in the small town
of Vignacourt two hours drive north of Paris. In it they
found more than 3000 glass plate negatives of pictures
taken almost one hundred years ago by farmers Antoinette
and Louis Thullier. As Australian and other allied soldiers
passed through the town, the Thulliers captured thousands
of wonderful, informal images of them.
With the Channel 7 team was Australian War Memorial
historian and First World War expert, Peter Burness. He
says that nearly two thirds of the young men that passed
through were killed or wounded, and that for many, these
would most likely have been the last photographs taken
of them. Their value is clear with Ashley Ekins, Head of
Military History at the Australian War Memorial, rating
this as one of the most important discoveries from the
First World War. He is hoping that funding can be found
to do conservation work on the negatives.
It appears that this collection was almost lost as the
Thullier’s descendant Henriette Crognier had no idea of
its significance and was about to sell the property. On
being told of its importance, she responded with, ‘Pour
les Australiens!’ and immediately donated 500 negatives
to the people of Australia.
continued on next page
Indexing Indaba, continued from previous page
Documenting the collection has now begun, with
identifying the lost diggers being the first challenge. A
photo gallery can be viewed on Channel 7’s website, as
well as on Facebook.
<www.smh.com.au/world/diggers-at-play-frozen-in-time20110226-1b97y.html>
The indignity of indexing
Joel Berson recently threw a good ‘author as indexer’ story
into the pot on index-l.
‘Discussing
the
ordeals
a
non-fiction
author (in this case, an historian) undergoes
to get a book published, J. H. Hexter writes:
‘And then comes the crowning indignity, when
sick to death of his own best effort, he drains the
nauseating dregs of historical scholarship; he has to
read the damn thing again and prepare an index.’
Doing History (Indiana University Press, 1971), pp. 9394.’
Odd spot
Sophia Loren is fairly quiet these days, but she has written
the foreword to Evita Bezuidenhout’s new cookbook
Evita’s Kossie Sikelela, published by Umuzi-Random
House. (Evita, if you are scratching your head, is the alterego of South African political satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys.)
The scrumptious recipes mingle with Evita’s inimitable
commentary on South African life, as well as a heap of
delightful illustrations. The index is a simple affair with
recipes grouped under headings that range from the
broad ‘appetisers and snacks’, to the very narrow ‘beans’.
Nonetheless it works, even if it is rather unusually referred
to as the ‘Register’.
Nikki Davis
ACT Region Branch
invites you to join them at the ‘House on the hill’
on Tuesday 5 April, 5.00-7.00 pm.
Find out what goes on behind the scenes in the
Parliamentary Library.
It is important to RSVP, so please contact
Eleanor Whelan
.
7
Basic indexing, embedded indexing, indexing annual
reports, database indexing and thesaurus construction
What a mixture! These are all courses being offered by the Victorian Branch 2–5 May.
• Basic indexing is the usual part 1 and part 2 courses.
• Heard about embedded indexing and wondered how you do it in MS Word? Well this is your chance to get a taste of in a
half day course. You will also learn the tricks and tips to make it a bit easier.
• End of June is the end of the financial year and annual reports start to be compiled and, hopefully, indexed. This half day
course will give you the training needed to prepare you for the ‘annual report indexing season’.
• You have a large collection of say postcards and wonder how you would set up a database to index them and make them
available to researchers. The database indexing course will give you ideas on how to set up a database and how to index items
and illustrations.
• In setting up your database of postcards you need terms to consistently describe them. Thesaurus construction course will
introduce you to thesauri and give you the basics to creating one to meet your needs.
Full details are given at <www.anzsi.org/site/victoria.asp>
Indexing Nursery Rhymes (Part 2)
n last month’s ANZSI Newsletter,
just as a bit of fun, we suggested you
index the nursery rhyme Tea with the
Queen.
Here is the index compiled by the
attendees at the VIC meeting. Your
index may differ markedly from the
one the VIC members came up with
in both terminology and page selection but, as has been
mentioned on previous occasions, ‘we all index differently
and there is no single definitive solution’.
Max McMaster
anthropomorphism, 3–5, 9, 13–15
clothing, 8
eating, 12, 14
farewell, 16–18
footmen, 7–9
friendship, 13–18
gates (palace), 5
hospitality, 14
invitation (Royal), 18
leavetaking, 16–18
livery, 8
London, 3
palace, 4–5, 10–11
palace gates, 5
protocol, 6, 9, 17
Queen of England, 3–4, 11–12, 16–17
conversations, 13–15, 18
soldiers, 6
tea (meal), 12, 14
teddy bear (Ted), 3–5, 9, 13–15
teddy bear owner, 1–2
VIC 3122 Australia
I
Postage
paid
Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers
Volume 7, number 4, May 2011
ANZSI News
Volunteers
M
ay 9–15 is Volunteer Week, so
I thought I’d take a moment
to say a big THANK YOU to ALL
ANZSI members who volunteer
their time to help make ANZSI the
organisation that it is. It is tempting
to think this applies to only ANZSI
Council members, officials or Branch
Committee members, but you all
probably spread the word about ANZSI when you are at
parties or talking to editors or whomever. So why not give
yourself a pat on the back!
I thought I’d share some statistics on volunteers from
Volunteering Australia.
Who volunteers?
•
•
•
34% of the adult population (5.4 million people),
volunteer.
Slightly more women (36%) than men (32%)
volunteer.
44% of those aged 35-44 yrs volunteer, the
highest participation level of any age group.
Why do they do it?
•
•
•
•
Almost two thirds of those who became involved
in volunteering in the last 10years were asked
by someone (35%) or did so because they knew
someone involved (29%).
They were rarely recruited by the media, with
only 5% doing so as a response to a media report
or an advertisement.
Over half of volunteers (52%) reported that at
least one of their parents had done voluntary
work compared to 23% for those whose parents
had not volunteered.
The top reason for volunteering was ‘helping
others or the community’ 57%, followed by
‘personal satisfaction’ at 44%, and ‘to do something
worthwhile’ at 36%.
ISSN 1832-3855
Other interesting statistics
•
•
•
•
The total annual hours volunteered was 713
million.
The median weekly number of hours volunteered
was 1.1 hours.
The median annual number of hours volunteered
was 56 hours.
People who volunteer are more likely to have made
a donation than those who are not volunteers
(85% compared to 72%).
If you would like to give more of your time to ANZSI,
or just want to find out how you can help, why not get in
touch with your local branch or contact. They will make
you very welcome.
Aims of ANZSI
The big question is:
Should ANZSI develop into a professional
organisation representing and promoting indexers
and indexing in all its guises, or should it remain a
small society supporting a cottage industry?
To help answer this question it is useful to look at
the aims of ANZSI. The aims were developed years ago
and are listed in the website and formed the basis of
Incorporation.
(continued on page 4)
WHAT’S INSIDE
NSW Branch CINDEX Training
The ‘Washington read’
Tips and hints – marketing
NSW Branch Practical Indexing course
2
2
3
6
7
8
8
Deadline for the June issue: Friday 27 May
NSW Branch CINDEX Training
C
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
[email protected]
INDEX software training conducted by Frances Lennie was held on
7 April at NSW Writers Centre. It was hands-on training attended by five
participants and hosted by Helen Enright.
The course covered basic features and provided an overview of the system.
It focused on pattern construction and use, labelling, file structure, record
structure, cross references, short cuts, saving in different formats and several
other useful features such as working on two indexes at the same time.
Frances also showed how CINDEX can be used for different types of
indexing other than books, such as abstracting and minutes of meetings by
changing the number of characters in the record structure. Frances answered
questions of the participants which were exceedingly helpful in understanding
and using the software effectively.
It was a great opportunity to learn first hand from the person who developed
CINDEX. As a recent user of the software I was able to discover useful and
powerful features of CINDEX which I haven’t used before. The group also
enjoyed lunch and afternoon tea provided by ANZSI.
Chitra Karunanayake
About the newsletter
The newsletter is published
monthly 11 times a year,
with combined issues for
January and February.
Opinions expressed in the
newsletter are those of the
individual contributors, and
do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the society. For
details about contributions
and editorial matters, refer to
the ANZSI website at
<www.anzsi.org>.
ANZSI contact information
Contact information (PDF)
is available on the ANZSI
website at <www.anzsi.org>.
From left: Joanna McLachlan, Anne Kocek, Frances Lennie (trainer), Chitra
Karunanayake, Chris Roberts. Frances is cutting the cake to celebrate 25 years
of CINDEX
Photo by Glenda Browne
THE CAKE (decorated by
Helen Enright) to celebrate 25
years of CINDEX. There was
another cake the next day to
celebrate version 7 of SKY.
2
NSW Branch
SKY Index training course,
afternoon session
From left: Sandy Radke, Jon Jermey
(trainer, seated), Helen Enright (host),
Zahid Chowdhury, Catherine Stansfield,
Tracy Harwood
photo by Frances Paterson
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
(Wed 18 May)
Sun 18 June
(am and lunch)
NSW Branch
Intermediate
practical book
indexing
At your home, then
Thomson Reuters,
Tues 24 May
6.00 for 7.00 pm
Qld Branch
Wed 1 June
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
3rd birthday party
Indexing
cookbooks
The VIC
Indexing art books
Salisbury Hotel,
668 Toohey Road,
Salisbury
Kew Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Details at
home from 18 May
Details at
Thurs Fri
16–17 June
Qld Branch
Back of book
indexing 1 & 2
TBA
Sat 18 June
Qld Branch
Macrex musings
TBA
Tues 26 July 6.00
for 7.00 pm start
Qld Branch
AGM
TBA
Thurs 28 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Embedded
indexing
Speaker ANZSI President Mary Russell
Details at
Details at
Thurs 28 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Annual reports
indexing
Details at
Fri 29 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Database indexing
Details at
Fri 29 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Thesaurus
construction
Details at
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI
Conference
Vol. 7, No. 4, May 2011
Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Vic
Details at
$250 per day for ANZSI members; $300 others
Instructor: Max McMaster.
Laptop or PC required for Part 2. Details at
Instructor: Max McMaster
www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=201
Details at
3
The aims are:
Aim 1 – to improve the quality of indexing in Australia
and New Zealand.
Aim 2 – to promote the training, continuing professional
development, status and interests of indexers in Australia
and New Zealand.
Aim 3 – to act as an advisory body on indexing to which
authors, editors, publishers and others may apply for
guidance.
Aim 4 – to provide opportunities for those interested
in and connected with indexing to meet and exchange
information, ideas and experiences relating to all aspects
of indexing.
Aim 5 – to establish and maintain relationships between
the Society and other bodies with related interests.
Aim 6 – to publish information in accord with the
foregoing aims.
At the March Council meeting we started to consider
the following questions (from paper 35-059 on the
ANZSI Documents in the Members area of the website):
1. Are the aims still appropriate?
2. Do the aims need to be reworded?
3. Are there aims missing?
4. What does ANZSI do now to meet each aim?
5. What could ANZSI do in the future to meet each aim?
6. Are there other things ANZSI needs to consider?
After examining questions 1, 2 and 3 the following
recommended aims were developed, and these are now
open for Branch and member discussion:
Recommended Aims
Aim 1 – to improve the quality of indexing in Australia
and New Zealand.
Aim 2 – to promote the training, continuing professional
development, status and interests of indexers in
Australia and New Zealand.
Aim 3 – to act as an advisory body on indexing to
which authors, editors, publishers and others may
apply for guidance.
Aim 4 – to provide opportunities for those interested in
and connected with indexing to meet and exchange
information, ideas and experiences relating to all
aspects of indexing.
Aim 5 – to establish and maintain relationships
between the Society and other organisations in the
field of indexing and related areas.
Aim 6 – to publish and disseminate information in
accord with the foregoing aims.
Aim 7 – to raise awareness of the value of indexers,
indexing and indexes.
Aim 8 – to encourage and assist the development of an
indexing profession in South East Asia.
4
What does ANZSI do now to meet each aim?
These aims may look great but it is only when you start to
look at what ANZSI does and place theses activities under
the aims do they really take shape. You then start to see if
the aims are appropriate and what ANZSI does takes on
a real focus.
For each aim I have considered what Council and the
Branches do to meet the aim.
Aim 1 – to improve the quality of indexing in
Australia and New Zealand.
Taking ‘to improve the quality of indexing’ to mean that
more items have indexes and their quality has improved.
• Best example of this is the work done on annual
reports. There was the work done to encourage all
Federal government annual reports to have indexes. This
requirement was then used to encourage the addition of
the criteria for an annual report to have an index in the
Australasian Reporting Awards. Then there is the recent
publication of the booklet Indexing your annual report.
• Started to work on the quality of indexes in ebooks
by making submissions to the Book Industry Strategy
Group.
• The ANZSI Indexing Series publications that have come
from the Victorian and New Zealand mentoring schemes
has lead to the publication of indexes to books published
without an index.
• Reward/recognise indexers who produce an extremely
high quality index with the ANZSI Medal or Highly
Commended.
• Recognise indexers who produce a quality index through
Registration.
Aim 2 – to promote the training, continuing
professional development, status and interests of
indexers in Australia and New Zealand.
I have looked at each part of this aim separately.
‘Promotion of training, continuing professional
development, status and interests of indexers’
• ANZSI Website
• ANZSI Newsletter
• Bookmarks
‘Training’
• All training is done by Branches
‘Continuing professional development’
• Biennial conference
• ANZSI Newsletter
• Events/meetings run by branches
• Training courses beyond the basics, run by the branches
(ANZSI News, continued from previous page)
• Peer reviews offered either at VIC Clinics or as part of
training as indexing annual report training or Vic Part 3
courses.
‘Status’ of indexers in the sense of promoting indexing skills
as professional.
• Have set recommended rate
• Registration of indexers
• ANZSI Medal
‘Interests of indexers’ are covered by the items listed above
Aim 3 – to act as an advisory body on indexing to
which authors, editors, publishers and others may
apply for guidance.
• The website is a source for further information on
indexing.
• Approached to make a submission on ebooks to the Book
Industry Strategy Group.
• Indexers Available
Aim 4 – to provide opportunities for those
interested in and connected with indexing to meet
and exchange information, ideas and experiences
relating to all aspects of indexing.
Branch-run events and meetings
Biennial ANZSI Conference
Newsletter
Members list on website enable members to contact each
other.
• Discussions on website
•
•
•
•
Aim 5 – to establish and maintain relationships
between the Society and other organisations in
the field of indexing and related areas.
Other indexing societies
• The international agreement covers the formal aspects of
the relationship between other indexing societies. This
includes the exchange of Newsletters, publication of
The Indexer, members’ rate for publications, courses and
conferences.
• There in an email list for representatives of indexing
Societies
Aim 6 – to publish and disseminate information in
accord with the foregoing aims.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Newsletter
Website
Indexing your annual report
Conference proceedings
Indexing Series
Bookmarks
Aim 7 – to raise awareness of the value of
indexers, indexing and indexes.
• Indexers Available
• Recommended fee for indexing
Aim 8 – to encourage and assist the development
of an indexing profession in South East Asia.
• There is some interest in indexing from Singapore and
Malaysia with Australian members doing training there.
What do you think?
The recommended aims and the list of what ANZSI
does to meet theses aims is currently with the various
Branch Committees for discussion, but I would like
your comments. You can either email me directly, add
your comments to the discussion <www.anzsi.org/site/
discussions.asp?task=view&id=47> or contact your local
Branch or Contact.
2011 ANZSI Conference
The draft program for the 2011 Conference is now up
on the web at <www.anzsi.org/site/2011confprog.asp>.
The committee has announced that the cost for full
registration will be $575 (inc GST). Registration is for
the full three days and also includes the conference dinner
on the Monday night. Facilities for registration will be
available in early June.
New look for Newsletter
Thanks to Hugh McMaster we have a new coloured
banner and look to the Newsletter. As mentioned last
month if you miss the contact list on the back page it is
available at <www.anzsi.org/site/contacts.asp>.
Mary Russell
Other organisations in related areas
• There is an arrangement with Societies of Editors and
Technical Communicators where members received
reduced rates to attend events.
• ALIA hosts ALIAindexers email discussion list.
Vol. 7, No. 4, May 2011
5
I love to go a wandering
I
ndexing is commonly seen as a job
where one may stay home all day,
dressed cosily in pyjamas with the cat on
the knee. A number of indexers actually
go out to work in an office, minus PJs and
cat. Some indexers manage to travel and
index at the same time which is truly a
vision splendid. An article in Key Words,
the American Society of Indexing newsletter, featuring
interviews with seven indexers who combine indexing and
travelling had me reaching for my passport.
There was a variety of living arrangements among the
indexers; one lived on a boat, another had no permanent
home, while the remainder took holidays in remote cabins,
camper vans or hotels in the US and abroad. One may ask
if this travel/indexing life is hard to organise. In the old
days when landline phones, snail mail and shoeboxes filled
with cards were the norm it may have been.
Communication with clients is relatively easy in this
age of the cell phone and email and often the clients are
unaware that their indexers are not at home. One would
imagine that the page proofs would be exclusively in
electronic format but several indexers prefer to take hard
copy away with them. The remainder work with pdf files.
Internet access is available from hotels, caravan parks with
WiFi and public libraries but Internet cafes, once the most
popular public source are dying out as iPhones and 3G
take over.
Google’s Android is a ‘lifesaver’ for one indexer.
Amazingly, many third-world countries are well endowed
with cell phones and the Internet. Security arrangements
on the road are not a problem. Work is backed up on flash
drives and email accounts by the hour, husbands bring
along a second computer with indexing software, hotel
safes store the laptop. One indexer has a security cable for
her laptop which contains no personal information, and
uses Dropbox as her backup system. Another has ensured
that her car boot can only be opened with a master key.
Most indexers do not bother with printouts, though
one has a Canon Pixma ip100, which is the size of a text
book, runs on a battery, prints via Bluetooth and can be
stored upright like a book. Electricity supply is ensured
with batteries, adapters which run from a car cigarette
lighter, solar panels and camp hook ups.
Scheduling can be a problem when travel time interferes
with a job. And how does the indexer resist the lure of the
fleshpots, trade the surf for the keyboard? Well, it helps
to get up early and put in a few hours, or work in the
evenings. One makes a judgement about the distractions;
if there are elephants, indexing gets the push. Another
works happily in coffee shops and libraries. Travelling with
6
a sympathetic husband is a great advantage. Husbands
keep the ball rolling, carry extra laptops and even do a bit
of indexing. So there you are, it’s easy.
Drialo, D. (2010). Traveling and indexing: interviews with experienced
indexers. Key Words. 18 (4), 125-129
Acronyms etc.
Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms all loom in
texts and indexes. But what are the rules? What are
the differences? What about contractions? Sources of
information do not agree.
The University of Western Australia style guide outlines
the difference between abbreviations and contractions.
The general rule is that truncated words end with a
full stop but contractions (when the last letter of the
word ends the abbreviation) do not. For example, ed.
(editor), eds (editors) and edn (edition). Exceptions
include metric measures, time and the shortened form
of number (i.e. numero): kg, 6am and no. for example.
Full stops are omitted in acronyms (WA, UWA). http://
www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/styleguide/styleguideabbreviations_and_contractions.asp
T. Carter Ross makes the case that there are actually
three different ways of shortening words. Abbreviations
are merely the shortened form of a word. Acronyms
and initialisms are specific types of abbreviations. Basic
abbreviations are pronounced like the full word they
represent. So “St.” is pronounced “Street” (or “Saint”).
Ross says these basic abbreviations are usually followed
by a full stop which differs from the UWA style guide
(see above). An initialism is a type of abbreviation
pronounced one letter at a time (PGA, IOU, etc.). An
acronym is a type of abbreviation that is pronounced as
a word. For instance, SCUBA, LASER, etc. http://www.
acronym-guide.com/difference-between-acronyms-andabbreviations.php
Another online search for the difference between
abbreviations and acronyms came up with the following;
if the abbreviation can be articulated as a word it is an
acronym. For instance, FBI is an abbreviation while
UNESCO and Laser are acronyms. However, WHO is
spoken as World Health Organisation, not WHO, so it is
not an acronym.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_
abbreviation_and_acronym#ixzz1Jk8B0oXt
The UWA calls WHO an acronym. Ross calls it an
initialism. Confused?
I should have looked in the 6th edition of The Style
Manual first – there is a lovely table featuring
• Shortened words: abbreviations and contractions: Vic.
and Qld for example
(Indexing degustation, continued from previous page)
• Shortened phrases: acronyms and initialisms: Qantas
and SBS
• Symbols: km and A$
Commonwealth of Australia. (2002). Style manual for authors, editors
and printers. (6th edn). John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.
Who said Google has all the answers?
The great style debate
Speaking of style, there has been a debate in London
between the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph on the
occasion of the publication of GuardianStyle (sic). Simon
Heffer of the Telegraph claims that only Icelanders can go
berserk and only Malays can run amok and he hates the
term ‘train station’. David Marsh of the Guardian recalled
that the 1980s version of Guardian Style advised: ‘amok,
not amuck’ and, a few lines later, ‘amuck, not amok’. To a
person interested in words the discussion about autopsy/
post-mortem, lavatory/toilet, and the use of ‘partner’ in
personal relationships would have been riveting.
For those who are addicted to style manuals, the books
are:
Heffer, Simon, The Daily Telegraph style guide (Aurum,
2010) ISBN 1845135717, RRP £14.99, and
Marsh, David and Hodsdon, Amelia, Guardian Style
(Guardian Books, 2010) ISBN 0852652224, RRP £20.00
Shuttleworth, C. (2011), The battle of the books.
SIdelights, 1 (Spring)
Jane Purton
The Washington read
Read, Washington, n. The perusal of a book in a bookstore
that consists of checking the index for references to oneself
and reading only those parts of the book.
Examples of the use of this term go back to 1985. Here
is a more recent citation:
Mr. Thompson: Have you read this book?
Mr. Armitage: I gave it the Washington read.
Mr. Thompson: You looked in the index to see if your
name was in it.
Mr. Armitage: And then what was said about me.
James R. Thompson and Richard Armitage, “Panel IV
of day two of the eighth public hearing of The National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon The United States,”
Federal News Service, 24 March, 2004.
<www.wordspy.com/words/Washingtonread.asp>.
Vol. 7, No. 4, May 2011
7
Tips and hints – marketing your indexing services
A
merican Society for Indexing has published a new
edition of their booklet ‘Marketing your indexing
services’ (edited by Anne Leach, 3rd edition, ASI, 2011.
It is available via ASI’s website at members’ price of
US$28).
The publication has chapters on developing a marketing
action plan; resume strategies; how to market your services;
how to get clients; marketing by word of mouth; building
your website; social networking strategy; and Twitter,
Facebook and MySpace demystified.
Have you looked at the other publications put out by
the American Society for Indexing? There are several other
titles of interest to indexers starting out.
‘Indexing for editors and authors: a practical guide to
understanding indexer’ (by Fred Leise, et al, ASI 2008),
while aimed at editors and authors contains practical
advice on characteristics of a good index; index style and
format; index length and space; author/editor/indexer
relationships; and what the editor needs to tell the
indexer.
Starting an indexing business (edited by Enid L. Zafran
and Joan Shapiro, 4th edition, ASI, 2009) while obviously
aimed at a US audience there are practical chapters on
moonlighting or running your business part-time and
starting up a business and office.
Indexing it right! Advice from the experts (edited by
Janet Perlman and Enid L Zafran, volume 2, ASI, 2010)
contains a mixture of chapters from the basics covering
creating subheadings, locators and see also subentries. It
also has chapters on textbook indexing, indexing naval
and other military books, public policy indexing and
indexing in technical writing. Then there are chapters on
database indexing, embedded indexing and controlled
vocabularies.
I suggest you have a look at the selection of publications
published by ASI and consider developing your professional
library.
Mary Russell
NSW Branch Practical Indexing course
Students are expected to understand basic indexing
principles. There is no set software requirement, but it is
likely that students will be using one of the three dedicated
indexing software packages.
Cost is $300 ($225 for ANZSI members) for the
book, access to the mailing list, up to 2 hours individual
advice, the 3-hour course, and lunch (no GST is charged).
There is an online-only option for $215 ($140 for ANZSI
members). More information at <www.anzsi.org/site/
calendar_details.asp?id=181>.
Glenda Browne
VIC 3122 Australia
N
SW Branch will hold a Practical Indexing training
course run by Glenda Browne from 18 May to
18 June. Students will index a short book alone for a
month, with support from a mailing list and feedback
along the way. They will then get together for a 3-hour
face-to-face session to discuss issues that arose with
indexing the book, and to learn about business-related
indexing issues.
The face-to-face session will be held at Thomson
Reuters, Pyrmont, from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm on Saturday
18 June, and will be followed by lunch.
Postage
paid
Newsletter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc.
Volume 7 | number 5 | June 2011
ANZSI News June 2011
Membership dues for 2011–12
The dues for 2011–12 will be:
Australian members
$80
New Zealand members A$73
Renewals for most members are due
1 June 2011. If you joined ANZSI
this year your membership will be up
for renewal at the end of 2011.
Indexing societies membership dues comparison
To see how ANZSI’s membership rates compared with
our sister societies, Max McMaster decided to look
at three important attributes associated with personal
membership:
• basic membership rate
• is The Indexer sub included in the rate?
• is Indexers Available (or equivalent service) included?
Membership rates comparison
Personal membership
Society
rate
ASAIB
R120 (A$17)
ANZSI
A$75
ASI
US$150 (A$150)
ISC/SCI
CAN$90 (A$90)
SI
£100 (A$160)
ANZSI Council considered offering subscription to
The Indexer as part of membership dues, but the idea was
rejected. I encourage members to subscribe to The Indexer,
as it is your professional journal.
The Indexer June 2012
ANZSI will be the guest editor for the June 2012 issue of
The Indexer. I am keen for it to reflect the diverse range of
indexing done in Australia and New Zealand. If you have
been involved with indexing something a bit unusual and
are able to write it up, please consider doing so. Notes
for contributors are available on The Indexer website at
<www.theindexer.org>. Please let me know if you are
interested.
The Indexer subscription
Indexers Available entry
available via ASAIB
£28 (A$45)
£28 (A$45)
included
included
included
included
US$125 (A$125)
CAN$40 (A$40)
£20 (A$32)
Each society currently publishes a newsletter which
is part of their basic membership. The newsletters vary
in physical size (number of pages), frequency, and the
use of colour within their pages. The ASAIB produces
two newsletters per year, ISC/SCI three, ASI and SI four,
while ANZSI produces 11 per year. There are obvious
cost implications, but these costs are ‘hidden’ within each
society’s basic membership fee structure, so they have not
been considered in the overall comparison.
The results show a marked variation between societies
in what personal members pay. Excluding ASAIB, where
not all the data was available, you can see that ANZSI
members currently pay the cheapest rates overall.
Totals
(A$)
17
120
320
130
192
ANZSI Medal for 2011
Have you recently completed a particularly large or
complex index? Are you proud of your work? Are you
pleased with how the index was printed? If you are
answering yes to these questions, why not enter for the
ANZSI Medal? Applications close 31 July and details can
be found at <www.anzsi.org/site/medal.asp>.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Daphne Lawless on gaining ANZSI
registration.
Mary Russell
ANZSI Newsletter | 1
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
monthly 11 times a year, with
combined issues for January and
February. Opinions expressed in
the newsletter are those of the
individual contributors, and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions
of the society. For details about
contributions and editorial matters,
refer to the ANZSI website at
<www.anzsi.org>.
Contact information (PDF) is
available on the ANZSI website at
<www.anzsi.org>.
Indexing see Change 2011
Conference opportunities
Small group discussion leaders
Included in this year’s Conference are a number of 45-minute
small group discussions focusing on language indexing, subject
indexing and areas of different indexing.
The Conference Committee would like to hear from you if you
would be interested in leading one of these discussions, and you
are invited to nominate a language, subject or different form of
indexing. To see which areas have already been covered please see
the Draft Conference Program at
<www.anzsi.org/site/2011confprog.asp>.
Administration Desk Assistant
The Conference Committee is offering a paid Assistant position
for the three day duration of the Conference. Duties include
assisting with on-site registrations as well as helping delegates with
enquiries. Training will be provided.
If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please
contact Nikki Davis at <[email protected]>.
ACT Region Branch
invites you to join us and our colleagues from the
Canberra Society of Editors
on Wednesday 29 June 2011,
6.00 for 6.30pm (refreshments provided).
Come along, meet and share experiences with your colleagues!
At the Emeritus Faculty, Building 3T
Fellows Lane Cottage (off Fellows Road), ANU
Email <[email protected]>
OR phone
for location details.
See ANZSI website at
2 | ANZSI Newsletter
THE INDEXER
The International Journal of Indexing
Published on behalf of the American, Australian and New Zealand, British, Canadian, Chinese, German
Netherlands and African indexing societies
Carols, Poetry, Fictional characters, the indexing thereof
Saving time as an indexer
Indexer authorship
Irish and Welsh names – sorting them out
Youʼll find it all (and much more) in the June 2011 issue of The Indexer
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE NOW!
<www.theindexer.org>
twelve-monthly subscription rate for ANZSI members for 2011 only: £28.00
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Sat 18 June
(am and lunch)
NSW Branch
Book indexing
(conclusion)
Thomson Reuters,
Details at
Thurs Fri
16–17 June
Qld Branch
Back of book
indexing 1 & 2
TBA
Sat 18 June
Qld Branch
Macrex musings
TBA
$250 per day for ANZSI members; $300 others
Instructor: Max McMaster.
Laptop or PC required for Part 2. Details at
Instructor: Max McMaster
www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=201
Tues 28 June
6.00 for 7.00 pm
Qld Branch
General meeting –
mystery speaker
Wed 29 June
6.00 for 6.30 pm
ACT Region
Branch
Wed 6 July
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
Tues 26 July 6.00
for 7.00 pm start
Qld Branch
Meeting with
Canberra Society
of Editors
The VIC
Same publication
many indexers = ???
AGM
The Salisbury Hotel,
668 Toohey Road,
Salisbury, Brisbane
See next column
Thurs 28 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Embedded
indexing
TBA
Thurs 28 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Annual reports
indexing
TBA
Details at
Fri 29 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Database indexing
TBA
Details at
Fri 29 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Thesaurus
construction
TBA
Details at
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI
Conference
Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Vic
Details at
Kew Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
TBA
Details at
Meeting at Emeritus Faculty, Building 3T,
Fellows Lane Cottage, ANU. Details at
Details at
Details at
Details at
Indexing Indaba
Collaborative indexing
I
n the March 2011 (Vol 29, No
1) edition of The Indexer, Fred
Leise explores the fascinating history
of the index to the 1983 Bell &
Hyman edition of The diary of Samuel
Pepys. Co-edited by Robert Latham
and William Matthews, this version
(which took almost three decades to
finish) was the first to contain the complete text as well as
commentaries on it.
While a major focus of Leise’s article is on the
construction of the index and the special techniques
employed in it, it also brings to light the remarkable
collaboration between its compilers, Robert Latham, the
Pepys librarian at Magdalene College, Cambridge and his
wife Rosalind (Linnet). Together they produced a 317
page volume of between 50,000 and 60,000 locators. If
that is not staggering enough, the Lathams did not have
any computer assistance and created the entire index on
handwritten slips.
They received well-deserved recognition for their
work which won the 1983 Wheatley medal, fitting as
Leise notes because Henry B. Wheatley also enjoyed a
connection with Pepys’s diary. He was the editor of the
1893 Bell edition and like Latham produced an index
which was published in 1899.
Robert Latham noted his wife’s work in the
acknowledgments to the Bell & Hyman index by
writing:
‘My wife Linnet has shared in the making of this
Index. I laid down the ground plan, but she involved
herself in every process of its construction. She read aloud
the entire text of the diary while I took notes - discussing
with me, as we went along, exactly what words might
best introduce the successive groups of references, and
thus converting what might have been a chore into a
paper-game. At later stages she undertook innumerable
investigations into detail, and checked from the text every
reference in the typescript.’
Delving back into the April 1980 edition of The
Indexer (Vol 12, No 1), a report can be found of an
address given by Robert Latham to the Society of Indexers
when the index was completed in 1979. (Perhaps like me
you’re curious about the lag between this date and the
index’s publication in 1983!) From this report, it is clear
how much they enjoyed working together on their joint
enterprise. Apparently some parts of the text were amusing
to the point of hilarity and they sometimes disregarded
rules of deadpan analysis resulting in, for example, a
sequence of sub-entries under a heading for ‘Mrs Bagwell’,
ending in ‘her resistance collapses in ale-house’.
Registering significant trees
Significant tree registers are maintained by the National
Trusts of Australia and are also a common feature of
local governments. Nominations for trees are welcomed
with consideration taken into factors such as outstanding
aesthetic significance; outstanding dimensions in
height, trunk circumference or canopy spread; age and
venerability; genetic value; and links to cultural practices,
historic events and famous people.
Plant ecologist and chairman of the National Trust of
Victoria’s Register of Significant Trees, Dr Greg Moore,
believes that people generally underestimate the value of
trees. But the recent launch of the Trust Trees iPhone app,
has given him something to be optimistic about.
The app, which directs you to significant trees located
across the state of Victoria, has almost 1200 entries. Dr
Moore envisages that its usage is likely to see the database
double in size as more people are prompted to report
significant trees in their area.
(The Saturday Age, 16 April, 2011)
How dirty is your data?*
Greenpeace should perhaps be enlightened on the
benefits of an index, but in the meantime, their recently
released report How dirty is your data? makes for
some thought-provoking reading. The report seeks to
answer the question: As cloud technology disrupts our
lives in many positive ways, are the companies that are
changing everything failing to address their own growing
environmental footprint?
Because of the disparate ways in which the term ‘cloud’
is used, the report defines it as energy and resources used
broadly with online services. ‘Cloud computing’ refers
to IT computing services for hire within the online
ecosystem and in particular they have examined ten major
IT brands - Akamai, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google,
HP, IBM, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo.
The report pays attention to telecommuting, an area
that indexers can easily relate to. While some emissions
are reduced by this way of working, the need for electronic
and telecommunications networks to stay in touch has
given rise to new energy demands. The nature of cloud
computing is that digital consumption remains largely
invisible to us and we probably hardly ever consider the
amount or the type of energy used in the data centres or
‘information factories’ that are the backbone of the IT
brands that we use daily.
It’s a useful publication for those interested in the
energy report cards on their IT brands or simply to read
some of the mindboggling figures on digital consumption.
For example, on a daily basis, Twitter sees half a million
(Indexing Indaba, continued from page 1)
new accounts created and generates 8 terabytes of data.
<www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/
reports/How-dirty-is-your-data/>
History of information
OK, so this does involve a lit bit of digital consumption
but Jeremy Norman’s website <www.historyofinformation.
com/> is well worth a visit. It offers a truly astonishing
amount of information in chronological and thematic
format on, you’ve guessed it, the history of information
and the media from 2,500,000 BCE right up until the
present.
Nikki Davis
Q
ueensland Branch celebrated its third birthday
on 24 May, which was just one month later than
the actual foundation date of 28 April. It was great to
network with old and new Branch members and industry
friends who gathered, in the same venue as in 2008, to
commemorate the formation of the Queensland Branch.
Our first General Meeting after formation was honoured
to have the then ANZSI Council President, John Simkin,
as our first guest speaker.
Obtaining the use of a meeting room in the Salisbury
Hotel for the price of dinner is a huge incentive for the
Branch, so most members purchased dinner and drinks.
We also enjoyed a very tasty chocolate birthday cake for
supper.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation
by Mei Yen Chua, one of the founding members of the
Branch. Mei Yen Chua is a confessed foodie, author, poet
and indexer of Master Chef Australia – The Cookbook
Volume 1. She talked to us about her favourite kind of
books, cookbooks, and gave us a dozen to look through.
Then we had a discussion on the finer points of
what goes into indexing a cookbook. No food topic was
left undiscussed. We participants were enthusiastically
encouraged to discuss the indexes in both Mei Yen’s
favourite cookbooks and others borrowed from the local
library.
We learned what makes an index special and practical
from a cook’s viewpoint. On the flip side, Mei Yen also
delved into what makes an unusable index, and there
are plenty out there! Another aspect that interested Mei
Yen was the multi-ethnic cookbooks – their formats and
their indexes (often quite inadequate for the international
market), leading the group to ever more vigorous
discussion.
The lucky door prize of The Indexing Companion was
won by a great supporter of the Queensland Branch,
librarian and author Graham Potts.
We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and
offer our sincere thanks to Mei Yen Chua for her very
informative and educational evening which helped make
our third birthday celebration meeting such a pleasurable
occasion.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 28 June – come along
and network with an Indexer!
Moira Brown
At the party were (L to R):
Franz Pinz (Treasurer), Mei
Yen Chua, Cate SeymourJones, Moira Brown (Branch
President), Graham Potts,
Deirdre Kesteven, Rachael
Harrison (Secretary).
Annual Report Challenge
T
he cycle of annual report indexing will be upon us
shortly, and it is imperative that we have sufficient,
qualified annual report indexers to keep up with the
demand. Some indexers dismiss annual report indexing as
not being ‘real indexing’, yet for our Canberra colleagues
in particular, annual report indexing keeps them fully
occupied for the best part of three months of the year
– from August to October – so it is far from being
inconsequential.
To put the size of the annual report market into
perspective, according to the 2010 Australasian Reporting
Awards (ARA), 205 organisations throughout Australia
and New Zealand received either a gold, silver or bronze
award for their annual report. These 205 organisations
were spread across federal, state and local governments;
statutory authorities, and the corporate world. Only
96 (47%) of these annual reports had an index! The
number of organisations that submitted annual reports
to the ARA, and which did not win an award, is not
specified, and of course, the number of organisations that
were not involved is similarly unknown. Even ignoring
the very large number of shareholder companies, by
my estimation, there are in excess of 950 federal, state
and local government bodies and statutory authorities
(museums, galleries, energy companies, health authorities,
etc.) in Australia alone, and probably around another 100
in New Zealand. Assuming that an additional 100 annual
reports, over and above the original 96 mentioned under
the ARA, included an index, this would then equate to
around 20% (approx. 200 of 1050) of the annual reports
including indexes. This is a pretty poor effort!
The annual report is one of the principal means of
communication for any organisation. Moreover, one
of its major functions is to provide an organisation’s
stakeholders with an overview of its business activities
and finances. Still, many annual reports are difficult to
navigate through. This is where the index comes in. The
index can be seen as value-adding, thus enhancing the
usability of the annual report.
Is or are your data dirty?
W
Getting into annual report indexing is a good way
of breaking into indexing. If you are serious about
indexing, track down some annual reports covering your
local area. Local government, water authorities, health
authorities, energy authorities, etc. should all produce
an annual report. Have a go at indexing one of last year’s
annual reports, then make contact with the appropriate
organisation, usually via their communications or PR
manager, and show them what you can do to add value to
their annual report. The beauty of indexing the previous
year’s annual report is that most annual reports generally
maintain a similar structure from one year to the next, so,
in many instances, all you need to do is update names and
page numbers.
If you are not sure whether your annual report
indexing skills are up to scratch, the Annual Report
Challenge organised by Vic Branch can help. You are
asked to index one of two annual reports, and submit
your index to <[email protected]> by 31 July. The
Challenge is open to all ANZSI members, and you will
receive written feedback on your index. Assessment of the
index will be based on the Registration criteria. The cost
is $75.00. To register for the Challenge visit <www.anzsi.
org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=205>.
Participants can choose either of the following annual
reports:
Hobart City Council Annual Report 2009-2010
or
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Annual Report 2009/10.
They are both approximately 90 pages in length.
As mentioned above, there are approximately 1050
annual reports which could be indexed. Since we have
some 200 plus members within ANZSI, that equates to
approximately five annual reports each. So make sure you
get your fair share, and get involved!
Max McMaster
hen the editor came across Is your data dirty in Nikki’s ‘Indexing Indaba’, his immediate reaction was
to change is to are. While his red pen still hovered, he thought, ‘but we allow the media is – what
are the latest rulings?’ So he looked. Sure enough, his first reaction was initially supported by the Oxford
English Dictionary (2nd Ed. on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), OUP 2009), which begins its brief entry on Data with
the flat statement, ‘pl. of datum, q.v.’
However, well down in the much longer entry on Datum he found, ‘Used in pl. form with sing.
construction,’ for which one of the citations was ‘1965 J. Allan, Speaking of Computers: Incidentally, by
general usage data is now accepted as a singular collective noun.’’ So the red pen was laid down (on this
occasion), and for any of you pedants out there who may have shared the editor’s doubts, the matter of data
now seems laid to rest. As it has long been for the media ...
NSW Branch sponsorship
for attendance at events of
related professionals
T
his is a reminder that NSW Branch offers sponsorship
for Branch members to attend meetings or events run
by related professional groups. The upcoming Institute
of Professional Editors (IPEd) conference to be held in
Sydney on 8 and 9 September is an eligible event. Because
editors employ indexers, and have a huge influence on the
work we do and the way we do it, getting together with
a large group of editors should be a valuable networking
experience. It is also important for ANZSI to have
representation at these events. Details at http://www.
editorsnsw.com/conferenceregistration.htm.
The Style Council conference on Saturday 10
September would also be an eligible event. It features a
session on revision of the Australian Government Style
Manual which could be important to indexers. Details at
http://www.editorsnsw.com/conferencestylecouncil.htm.
Sponsorship is based on the cost of the event (or a
proportion thereof ), with an upper limit of $100. An
additional allocation of $50 may be made for longdistance travel costs.
The deadline for the early bird discount for the IPEd
conference was 28 May 2011. If you have already paid,
you can still apply for sponsorship. Send details of your
registration to NSW Branch Treasurer Sue Flaxman
(suefl[email protected]).
Members who receive funding are asked to write
a report after the event, and to promote ANZSI and
indexing during the event.
You can find more information at:
<www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/NSW%20event%20attendance
%20sponsorship%202008.pdf>.
How others once saw us ...
“The preparation of the book has enabled an extended
search, often of a very tedious nature, among old
records, in consequence of so-called “indexes” being
little better than caricatures. Indeed, in the old
days, the least intelligent clerks would appear to
have been selected for the important work of indexmaking. Certainly the art of indexing was then only
imperfectly understood, and the idea was never
grasped that the object of an index is to show at a
glance whether the book contains information of the
description sought.”
J.H. Mayo: Medals and Decorations of the
British Army and Navy. (Archibald Constable,
Westminster, 1897.) Vol 1, Preface, p. ix.
From Alan Walker
Tips and hints – building your professional library
ASI publications
A
t The VIC ‘Show and tell’ meeting in April, a lot
of interest was shown in my collection of American
Society for Indexing publications. If you are in business,
a professional library can be a tax deduction (obviously
first check with your accountant), so why not develop it.
What could it include? In this article I shall look at ASI
publications.
American Society for Indexing publications
Their publications cover a wide range of topics. I have
selected a few to give you an idea of the range available.
There are a few titles that assist in setting up a business.
They are aimed at American indexers, but the advice is still
relevant to Australian indexers. Titles include:
• Starting an indexing business
• Running an indexing business
• Software for indexing
• Marketing your indexing services
There is a selection of booklets on indexing specific
subject fields, including:
• cookbooks
• genealogy
• history
• law
• medicine
• psychology
• web sites
A few of their publications include some specialised
chapters. For example:
• Indexing specialties: scholarly books includes chapters
on indexing music, law, political science, philosophy,
economics, and foreign languages.
• Index it right! Advice from the experts volume 1 has
chapters on indexing art, biographies, computer
manuals, encyclopaedias, gardening/horticulture,
philosophy, theology and web sites.
• Index it right! Advice from the experts volume 2 has
chapters on databases, embedded techniques, locators,
subheadings, taxonomies and thesauri, technical
writing, textbooks and naval and military indexing.
One final title I will mention is Indexing for editors and
authors: a practical guide to understanding indexes. This
explains the basics of indexing. It covers what is an index,
number and types of indexes, characteristics of a good
index, index style and format, index length and index
space, author/editor/indexer relations, hiring an indexer,
what an editor needs to tell an indexer, editing an index
without tears and electronic files. While all this advice
is aimed at editors and authors, it is a good resource for
indexers learning the trade.
All these publications and relevant chapters have been
listed in the appropriate sections on the ANZSI website
resources pages.
Don’t forget that ANZSI members are entitled to the
ASI members’ price, thanks to the International Agreement
between Societies. So build up your professional library!
Mary Russell
Income protection insurance
I
ncome protection, or IP, may be something you need to
consider if you set up as an indexer. Like all insurance
there are several types, each with special conditions, wide
range in prices and oodles of fine print. Where do you
begin? Well thank goodness Choice magazine has written
an article (May 2011, p. 25) that explains it all in simple
terms. It is this article I have used as the basis for my
article.
There are three types of IP insurance: agreed value,
indemnity and policies provided through superannuation.
According to the Choice article agreed value, ‘which will
pay the agreed benefit regardless of your employment
status at the time of claiming’ is a useful option for selfemployed. These are the most expensive but ‘pays out the
benefit agreed to reflect your salary at the start of your
policy, and is not affected by any salary fluctuations’.
Indemnity value policies are more common and
cheaper, but ‘verify your income at the time of making
a claim and may adjust your benefit accordingly’. This is
an obvious problem if your work part-time or your salary
fluctuates.
Policies provided through superannuation are the
‘cheapest, are indemnity based, and offer fewer features
and less flexibility’.
All policies vary in cost, depending on age, gender (yes
cover for women is often more expensive), health and preexisting conditions and risk factors such as smoking and
occupation. I won’t go into stepped or level premiums or
what happens once you are over 65. Instead I refer you to
the website for examples of the types of premiums for the
various types of insurance. <www.choice.com.au/reviewsand-tests/money/insurance/personal/income-protectioninsurance.aspx>
Mary Russell
ACT visit to the Parliament House Library
O
n a crisp autumn evening, eight of us from the
ACT Region Branch were locked into the foyer of
Parliament House after the last visitor had left. We were
met by the Director of Database Services, Gaik Khong,
and taken backstage to begin our tour in the lending
library and newspaper reading room on the ground floor.
It is like a miniature public library, and includes nonfiction, magazines, travel guides, and even fiction for the
parliamentarians to borrow.
From there we went upstairs to the main Parliamentary
Library – a ‘square doughnut’ shape, with the Prime
Minister’s courtyard in the centre. It is spacious and well
lit, with beautifully crafted solid wood shelves. We saw the
serials room with their compactus units, and the support
area where bibliographic records compiled.
Within the Parliamentary Library there are two
main sections: Information Access and Research. The
Information Access section employs twelve indexers! Judy
Hutchinson, Assistant Secretary of the Information Access
Branch, and Grisoula Giopoulos, Deputy Director of
Database Services, showed us how Information Access
works. They build resources for the parliamentarians,
fed into ParlInfo at <http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/
search/search.w3p>.
Thousands of newspaper clippings coming in every
day, via Media Monitors, have to be selected for relevance
and archiving. They use an automated indexing tool,
called LAST (Library Authoring System and Thesaurus).
This scours the thousands of clippings, and uses artificial
intelligence to rank each one, ending up with a much
smaller list. Only around a quarter of clippings received are
archived. The indexers’ main job is quality control – the
first job every day is to scan through the clippings selected
by LAST, correct any errors and ensure the metadata is
correct. LAST learns from this feedback, so it should
improve over time.
We were also introduced to the Parliamentary
Thesaurus, – a hierarchical thesaurus, with around 43
head terms and 19,000 registered terms. It’s possible to
drill down around eight levels when selecting terms. There
are around 200,000 unregistered terms, introduced from
another thesaurus – there is still a lot of work to be done
in cleaning up the database.
We had a fascinating visit, and we thank Judy, Gaik,
and Grisoula for taking the time to show us around.
Denise Sutherland
Same publication + many indexers = ???
V
ictorian Branch has organised its third communal
indexing event, and to bring a sense of commercial
indexing reality to the task, we are deliberately restricting
the length of the index allowed. During previous events we
discovered that not only did everyone produce a different
index, but the length of the indexes varied greatly. So this
time we want to consider the question ‘Given we are all
indexing the same publication, should we end up with very
different indexes?’
By restricting the length of the index to a maximum of
240 lines, you will be forced to consider the audience for the
publication and hence consider your entries more carefully.
We plan to write the process up and would appreciate your
comments on the decisions you were forced to make in
preparing your index. We will also produce a combined
index based on the submitted entries, which will also be
limited to 240 lines!
• The book to be indexed: Discovering Portarlington’s
History: A Driving Trail, by Lorraine Stokes. Portarlington
History Group, 2007, 84p.
• Index requirements: The index will be limited to a
maximum of 240 lines (three pages in two columns of 40
lines each).
• Decisions made: Please keep notes on the decisions you
made in preparing the index.
• Who can participate: Anyone can participate. If you are
unable to attend The VIC meeting, send your index and
notes to Nikki Davis and we shall your ensure your index
is displayed.
• Date due: The VIC meeting, Wednesday 6 July.
• Cost: $15 for the booklet including postage. Orders
through ANZSI website <www.anzsi.org>.
• Feedback: There will be no formal feedback provided, but
each participant will receive a copy of the combined index,
so you can compare your index with the final version.
If you are attending The VIC meeting on 6 July, please
bring along a hard copy of your index for display, and
be prepared to discuss it to compare with other indexers.
Whether this is your first index or your 100th, we value
your involvement. We all learn from these sessions. As
mentioned earlier, if you are interstate or out of Melbourne,
send your index along, and we shall ensure your index is
given pride of place. Don’t forget to put your name on it!
Portarlington visit – join us on a visit to Portarlington
during a weekend in October to look at some of the
historic buildings mentioned in the booklet. Date to be
finalised.
Mary Russell
The American Society of Indexing conference
Providence, Rhode Island, 28–30 April 2011
T
he theme of the ASI conference was ‘Providential
Transformation’, which reflected not only the
conference location (Providence) but changes in the
publishing industry. Both keynote speakers focused on
digital topics (ebooks and online dictionaries) and many of
the seminars were about new indexing tools or techniques
(dynamic indexing, taxonomies, cloud indexing).
The conference spanned four days, beginning on
Wednesday afternoon with a table talk session with the
ASI Digital Trends Taskforce, followed by an international
representatives meeting in the evening (unfortunately,
I was not scheduled to arrive in Providence until Thursday
evening and so missed the international meeting). Optional
workshops on Cindex, SKY, basic indexing principles, and
taxonomy/thesaurus creation were offered on Thursday,
and the conference proper kicked off that evening with
chapter leaders/SIG leaders meetings, a new members/firsttime attendees orientation and the welcome reception.
Friday and Saturday programs both started bright and
early at 8.00 am with keynote speeches during breakfast.
Thirty seminars were then packed into the two-day
program, which often meant a choice of up to five sessions
during any one time period. Seminars included topics as
diverse as history indexing, Spanish language indexing,
legal indexing, online help indexing, embedded indexing
tools, work-family balance, ergonomics, and marketing.
Lunch breaks included speeches from the Wilson Award
winner and international updates. Friday finished with SIG
meetings and the Wilson Award presentation. Saturday
afternoon provided an optional trolley and walking tour
of Providence. All in all, it was an exhausting but very
informative conference!
Joshua Tallent of eBook
Architects (www.ebookarchitects.
com) was the first keynote speaker.
Joshua noted that sales of ebooks
are steadily increasing and enhanced
ebook readers are coming on to the
market, such as Nook Color and
Kobo eReader. Ebook applications,
such as Bluefire Reader and Adobe
Digital Editions, are also available
for personal computers or mobile
phones. Dynamic indexes are not included yet in many
ebooks, but they will be needed as the range of material
increases. In addition to his own conversion service,
Joshua mentioned Sonar Bookends Activate, an automatic
hypertext-link generator that can create links from an
index in a PDF document. Joshua thinks that advocacy
by indexers is important and that we should be actively
campaigning for useful ebook indexes. I was interested to
learn that Harlequin romances are the best sellers in the
ebook market – unfortunately, no indexes needed though!
Erin McKean, founder of
Wordnik.com, was the second
keynote speaker. She was previously
editor in chief for American
Dictionaries at Oxford University
Press. She noted the limitations of
the print medium and the unlimited
space in the digital dictionary.
Instead of having to write very
specific, limited entries for a word,
which often don’t capture all of the meanings or context,
she can now create very complete, detailed entries that
more accurately capture the ‘aboutness’ of a word and
its actual use in the language. If you have not yet visited
<www.wordnik.com>, you may want to take a look.
The ‘Word of the Day’ feature is especially entertaining.
I’ve learned a few new words there lately, including
‘catawampus’, ‘loppet’, and ‘tulipomania’ but haven’t yet
found a way to work them into conversation...
Many of the seminars reinforced the ‘brave new world’
concept for indexers. In his Cloud Indexing seminar, Seth
Maislin urged us all to ‘think outside the book box’ and
consider the many areas of the online world that we could
be indexing. He suggests that in the future, the content
of books will be fragmented as digital pieces that can be
reassembled in various combinations and that indexers
will be more important than ever, as readers struggle to
find what they want in a growing world of information.
The ebook roundtable (Joshua Tallent, Stephen Ingle, Jan
Wright) also suggested that indexers could be in demand
as ebooks offer a vast dynamic ‘body of knowledge’ that
will present navigational challenges for readers. Indexers
should perhaps think beyond the ‘static’ world of print
and consider how their skills can apply to ebooks and
the digital world in general. Again, we were urged to be
advocates for indexing and to move beyond the ‘tyranny
of the page’. Taxonomy was also a buzzword for the
conference. The legal indexing panel (Chuck Knapp,
Lori Murphy, Joanne Rhoton, Mary Wendt) told us how
they have had to ‘be nimble and able to change’ as they
transferred their indexing skill sets into taxonomy, using
software such as MultiTes. Locator specificity was also
discussed and indexing to the paragraph level or to section
numbers was acceptable – again, moving beyond the very
specific print medium.
There were approximately 160 delegates, almost entirely
from the US. Three international representatives (ANZSI,
SI, ISC/SCi) were in attendance. I spoke with several
(The ASI conference, continued from previous page)
ASI members who are planning to attend the ANZSI
conference in Melbourne, which should provide more
opportunity for collaboration between ASI and ANZSI.
I am a dual Australian-American citizen, working in both
countries, and I am always happy to see other indexers
cross the Pacific!
ASI rotates its conference locations around the US.
Providence was on the northeast coast, and the 2010
conference was in the Midwest, which means that next
year’s conference will be on the west coast in San Diego,
California (19-21 April 2012). If you are at all interested in
attending an ASI conference, I would highly recommend
the San Diego meeting. It is an easier trip from Australia
or New Zealand to the west coast of the US, the weather
in southern California is usually fantastic, and San Diego
is a beautiful city. Hope to see you there!
Mary Coe, ANZSI Representative
Thinking about words: the disappearing adverb?
I
am a great fan of Professor Kate Burridge, who always
gives good value in her segment, ‘Wise words’, on the
ABC TV program ‘Can we help’. Even when the questions
seem quite inconsequential she provides a scholarly response
with a light touch. One such question recently was ‘Why is
the adverb disappearing from our language? The suffix ‘-ly’
is not used by sports commentators these days.’
Kate began, ‘In Modern English our adverbs usually have
this -ly ending. When it’s left off, it’s usually condemned
as “bad English” as in “Drive slow”.’ But she went on to
examine the medieval origins of the adverb, where a simple
‘e’ on the end of the word could turn it from an adjective to
an adverb: glaed>glaede (glad>gladly). The ‘-ly’ was once a
separate word lic meaning ‘body’ or ‘shape’; it was added to
a noun to make an adjective, and then an ‘e’ was added to
make an adverb. Kate’s example was craeft, meaning skill,
then craeftlic, ‘skilful’, and so craeftlice, ‘skilfully’. Later the
‘-e’ was lost and the ‘-lic’ was whittled down to ‘ly’. But
the -ly isn’t always there, and the adverb without the -ly in
‘Drive slow’ has a long and respectable ancestry.
I wondered whether the occasional suffix ‘-like’ was also
involved in the ‘-ly’ story. The Oxford dictionary considers
that while these two suffixes resemble each other, they
come from different origins: compare the Middle English
adverb gredilike (‘greedily’) and modern Scots adjective
greedy-like (with a hyphen). Other adjectival examples,
such as gentleman-like/gentlemanly, point up the nuanced
difference between the two forms.
The lic had me intrigued. In German the same word
often does duty for both adjective and adverb: gut can serve
for both ‘good’ and ‘well’. Many adjectives (and hence
adverbs) in German end in the suffix -lich, as in freundlich,
herzlich (friendly, hearty) and looking back to the origin of
this suffix we come to the noun Leiche, meaning a body or
shape—just like that Old English lic—so that when added
to a noun it has the meaning of ‘in the form of ’. The OED
gives various spellings under its entry lich, including lic and
lych, and like Leiche, the word lich/lych was once used to
mean a corpse. The lych gate of the church, at the entrance
to the cemetery, is where the coffin was carried through to
the grave site.
Just like the German, ‘-ly’ could turn an English
noun into an adjective—‘scholarly, friendly, lovely’—but
although many of these may look like adverbs they don’t
necessarily behave as adverbs and can be quite confusing.
And how then do we form the correct adverb from a ‘-ly’
adjective? Not by using ‘scholarlily, friendlily, lovelily’!
It has to be reworded, perhaps as ‘he gave me a friendly
handshake’, not ‘he shook my hand friendlily’. I have to
admit that both the Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries
admit ‘friendlily’ and even the MS Word spellchecker allows
it, but I don’t think it’s something we should encourage!
Many adjectives of time, like daily, hourly, weekly, monthly
also serve as adverbs, compounding the problems for the
hapless learner of English as a second language.
What about the very many adverbs in English that
don’t have a ‘-ly’? Pam Peters, in The Cambridge Guide to
English Usage, lists five kinds of ‘zero adverb’: those that
double as prepositions like above, after, before; negatives
like not, never, no; some adverbs of time like often, soon,
then; focusing adverbs like also, even, only; and modifying
adverbs like rather, quite, very. Some can come with or
without a ‘-ly’, like right, wrong, close, flat, all of which
may be used in different contexts with or without the ‘-ly’.
Peters says that where there is a choice, the zero form tends
to be the more colloquial and the ‘-ly’ version the formal
or academic. But she notes that in American writing the
‘-ly’ form tends to predominate (they like ‘rule-governed
forms’), while in English it is the zero form.
So, to sum up, while it may not be the ‘disappearing
adverb’, it is perhaps the diminishing ‘-ly’. And the younger
generation of avid txtrs aiming to minimise keystrokes will
doubtless tend to accelerate this process …
Peter Judge
(Abridged from its first publication in The Canberra Editor,
February 2010)
News from NZ Branch
T
he first orders are coming in from libraries for the
New Zealand Branch’s mentored indexes. These are
indexes to books that were unindexed when first published.
Most are 19th century books, but a couple (alas) are 21st
century.
New indexers with ANZSI training compile the indexes
through the Branch’s mentoring scheme. They are offered
to libraries with holdings of the books and are printed in
A5 form with a light card cover and ISSN number.
The mentoring scheme and index publication do
involve considerable work by several Branch members
– particularly scheme coordinator Susan Brookes, mentor
Tordis Flath and various committee members, two of
whom review each index before publication. However,
we see it as worthwhile in giving real experience to new
indexers. Copyright and income rights are held by the
Branch, so there will be a small ongoing income for the
Branch too.
The project also spreads the ANZSI profile among
people in a related profession.
We have identified Australian libraries with holdings of
the books and will soon approach them too.
We also tell libraries that professional indexers are
available to carry out similar indexes on other books they
hold, and point them to the ANZSI website.
Robin Briggs
Looking for ANZSI contact details?
These are now on our website at <www.anzsi.org>.
IN THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
ANZSI conference opportunities
ACT joint meeting with editors
The Indexer
Indexing Indaba
Annual report Challenge
Tips and hints – building your professional library
income protection insurance
ACT visit to Parliament House library
The American Society of Indexing conference
Thinking about words – the disappearing adverb
News from NZ Branch
PO Box 5062, Glenferrie South, VIC 3122, Australia
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ANZSI Newsletter
Published by the
Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc.
© Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Inc.
ISSN 1832-3855
Opinions and statements expressed in the newsletter
are those of the author.
Newsletter Schedule
The next newsletter will appear in July 2011.
The submission deadline is 1 July 2011.
The editor welcomes contributions submitted by email
to <[email protected].>
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 5 | July 2011
ANZSI News
T
he September Conference is
approaching fast. It will be
held from Monday 12 September
to Wednesday 14 September at the
Brighton Savoy, Brighton, Victoria.
Its title is ‘Indexing see change’. To help
tempt you to come to the Conference I
thought I would highlight some of the
things on offer.
Who should attend?
It is tempting to just say everyone. For some the thought of
attending a conference conjures up the image of lecture type
presentations on theory or high level discussions aimed at
‘experts’. Indexing conferences are not like that. There are
usually about 75 attendees from all sorts of backgrounds and
levels of indexing experience. While there will be ‘experts’,
there are so many aspects to indexing I’m sure even they
would agree they learn new things at conferences.
There will be a few presentations, but also several
workshops and small group discussions that will enable
you to ask questions and learn new skills. It is hoped that
the conference will open your eyes to other ways indexing
skills can be used rather than just back-of-book or database
indexing.
Small group discussions
Building on the success of the small group discussions held in
Sydney in 2009 there will be several small group discussions.
This will be a great opportunity for you to learn the tricks
involved in indexing in different languages, subjects or even
different types of indexing. Topics for discussion include
indexing in French and German, Indonesian and Islamic
languages, law, music, art, craft, gardening, family history,
annual reports, children’s books, manuals, religion and local
history journals.
All group leaders have been asked to highlight some of
the tips and traps for indexers new to that particular area of
indexing. They will lead the discussion on the topic so it is
a great chance to have your questions answered. It is also a
great opportunity to meet others interested in that area of
indexing.
Workshops
This time we have decided to include workshops in the
conference program and include them in the cost. There are
a few workshops being held during the conference. Glenda
Browne and Mary Coe will lead a workshop on marketing,
networking and the web. Max McMaster will be discussing
how to quote for an indexing job. I will be examining when
and how to index footnotes or endnotes and cited authors.
We will also be having a workshop explaining the basics of a
thesaurus and how to create one.
Indexing objects
Indexing objects is a very different area of indexing. It
can overlap with archiving. At the conference there will
be discussion on indexing quilts, both as an object and as
geometric patterns. At another session school archives will
be discussed and how they are used to interest students in
history. The session on Atlas of Living Australia will look at
biodiversity information and the databases used. The visit
to the Brighton Historical Society will also demonstrate
indexing objects.
Taxonomy and thesaurus
These are often attached to databases, both journal databases
and online databases containing all sorts of information.
Indexing with a thesaurus is indexing with predetermined
terms. Who uses them? What skills are needed to develop
them? Matt Moore will be discussing these questions.
Web 3.0 allows users to assign keyword tags of their
choice to web content. This leads to folksonomies*. The
term was coined by Thomas Vander Wal in 2004 in response
to a question about what to call the new informal social
classification comprising user-defined tags on informationsharing websites. Anna Gifford will be discussing how they
are used and their limitations.
The workshop on thesaurus construction will give you
the basics of a thesaurus and how they are constructed.
Indexes as the start of something new
Modern technologies, particularly the web, take an index
and turn it into something else. An obvious example is a well
indexed e-book that contains links that lead to information
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
The newsletter is published monthly
11 times a year, with combined issues
for January and February. Opinions
expressed in the newsletter are those
of the individual contributors, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions
<www.anzsi.org>.
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in the e-book, or information in other e-books, such as a dictionary, or direct you
to a website for up to date information. Susan Hawthorne, from Spinifex Press,
will be a keynote speaker and will explain e-books from a publisher’s point of view,
and the role of indexes in them,
But what about the various mashup examples available on the web. Take the
‘Mapping our Anzacs’ as an example <mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/>. This took
a simple database of basic biographical details for Anzacs and mapped the location
of birth and enlistment on a map. Suddenly the information takes on a whole new
look. One of the people behind this project was Tim Sherratt. He will be a keynote
speaker and will give other examples of what can be done with an accurate index.
‘Atlas of Living Australia’ is another project involved in using web technologies
to improve access to biodiversity information. We are fortunate to have two
speakers to explain various aspects of this project.
All of these are possible because there is an accurate index behind the scenes. We
need to think of an index as having the potential to be the beginning of something
new, instead of the end of a project, as in the case of a published book.
Indexer’s office
Max McMaster will be leading a panel discussion with Ruth Pincoe, Pilar Wyman
and Maureen MacGlashan to determine what is in an indexer’s office. What can’t
you do without? Why not bring photos of your office? It could be a revealing
session!
Volunteering and Pro Bono work
In the genealogy and local history areas, without the dedicated work of hundreds
of volunteer indexers there would not be the marvellous printed and online
indexers available to researchers. Volunteering to index something is often the way
indexers have started out. It gives them indexing experience as well as contacts for
future paid indexing jobs.
Pro bono work means offering your indexing expertise for free. This may
include being called in to assist in developing an indexing project or to train
volunteer indexers to help ensure the quality and consistency of the index.
This session will highlight the benefits of volunteering, discuss what it is like to
be a volunteer and describe projects achieved with volunteers.
Tuesday afternoon
Conferences can be quite demanding, absorbing all the information, remembering
names, etc. So after afternoon tea on Tuesday afternoon the organisers have opted
for something a bit different. You can choose to have time out to take a walk, nap,
swim, do some retail therapy, or whatever; or you may like to visit the Brighton
Historical Society.
The Brighton Historical Society is run by volunteers and focuses on local
history. The visit will be a great opportunity to learn firsthand how organisations
of this type are run, the sort of things they collect and how
they make their material available.
Network
What does ‘network’ actually mean? My Macquarie dictionary
has nine different meanings for ‘network’, but the one of
interest here is ‘to establish social contact with particular
people so as to share ideas and information, establish useful
contacts, etc.’ Conferences provide a wonderful opportunity
to network, both formally at the sessions, but also informally
over coffee or a meal.
One of the things I have found interesting about indexers
is that we all arrived at indexing from very different
directions. There is no one path that leads to indexing. We are
not all librarians, editors, proofreaders, or archivists. There
is a vast array of other professions represented, and we are
all at very different stages of life. The 2007 ANZSI Council
Survey pointed out about 75% of respondents still work in
areas other than indexing. This is one aspect of networking
I enjoy. Finding out how someone arrived at indexing, what
type of indexing they do, and the subject they enjoy indexing
the most, will give you an interesting start to a conversation
with a fellow indexer.
Conference location
The Brighton Savoy is just across the road from the sandy
Brighton beach and the bathing boxes depicted on the
conference webpage. The view from the hotel is across Port
Phillip Bay, so there will be spectacular sunsets with the
Melbourne city skyline in the distance. When inspecting
various conference venues this was certainly a deciding
factor in picking the venue. It also offers the usual hotel
and conference facilities, as well as free parking for those
attending the conference or the dinner.
Brighton is a well established, fashionable suburb of
Melbourne with several stately residences and buildings. As
a result there are several interesting walks in the area on offer
with a historical, coastal or even artistic nature. This section
of the Bay was a popular spot for early Australian artists.
The local council has produced informative maps in a sleeve
attached to a lanyard. These will be included in your satchel,
so pack some comfortable walking shoes.
The venue is a short walk from Middle Brighton railway
station on the Sandringham Line. Links to airport buses,
train timetables, fares and maps are on the website at http://
www.anzsi.org/site/2011Conference.asp.
By the way, if you decide you would like one the bathing
boxes, a couple sold last month for over $200,000 each. The
other catch is you have to live in the area.
Accommodation
Brighton Savoy has a conference deal for Bed and Breakfast
for $199. This is for delegates only, partners pay an additional
$24 for breakfast. When you book be sure to mention you are
attending the conference. As I mentioned earlier they offer
free parking to all attendees. There are links to alternative
accommodation on the website.
Dinners
Can’t make the conference, but want to join in. Why not
attend one of the dinners? The Conference dinner will be
on the Monday night and, if you are attending the full
conference, the cost is included in your registration. On
Tuesday and Wednesday nights we will be booking tables
at restaurants nearby. You are welcome to join us, at own
expense.
Other parts of the conference
The Conference brings members together, enabling us to
hold some ‘official’ events. We will be holding the ANSZI
Annual General Meeting on the Wednesday morning. Also
the Conference Dinner is a wonderful opportunity to present
the ANZSI Medal. By the way, you only have until 31 July to
send in your applications for the Medal.
More?
Yes, there is more! Frances Lennie will be examining the visual
impact of the index; Alan Walker will be comparing political
biographies; Ruth Pincoe with be discussing indexing music.
I think I’ll stop there. Examine the program on the web for
the complete list of sessions.
Tempted?
I do hope you are now tempted to seriously consider
attending the 2011 Conference. Registration is now available
via the website <www.anzsi.org/site/2011registration.asp>
with secure links for credit card payment and a registration
form if you prefer to pay by cheque. The full conference,
including the official dinner on Monday evening, costs $575
(incl. GST). If this will be your first ANZSI Conference
and/or you are new to indexing please let us know, as we will
make you feel extra special by organising discussions over
lunch.
Subsidies
Vic Branch is offering two half-registration subsidies for the
conference. The subsidies are open to Victorian regional,
interstate or New Zealand members. Further details on
page 5 of this Newsletter.
I look forward to welcoming you all to the conference in
September.
Mary Russell
* The editor may be alone in having had to hunt for the meaning
of ‘folksonomy’, but was reassured when it didn’t feature either
in the big Macquarie Dictionary (3rd ed.) or among the 370,000
key words included in the 2009 revision of the Oxford English
Dictionary. In case anybody else out there shares my unfamiliarity
with this neologism, Chambers English Dictionary defines it as ‘any
data classification system that employs terms formed naturally by
the users of the data rather than terms decided by an official body.’
Annual General Meeting
P
reliminary notice is given that the Annual General
Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society
of Indexers Inc. will be held at 9.00 a.m. on Wednesday
14 September 2011 at the Savoy Hotel, 150 The Esplanade,
Brighton, Victoria.
Any members wishing to propose a resolution at the
meeting must give notice of motion. A copy of the resolution
to be moved, signed by a proposer and seconder, must be
received by the Secretary at the address below no later than
Wednesday 10th August.
The Council will move the following amendments to the
Constitution
1. Replace the existing Clause A(2) with the following text
Aims
The aims of the society are to
(a) improve the quality of indexing in Australia and New
Zealand;
(b) promote the training, continuing professional
development, status and interests of indexers in Australia
and New Zealand;
(c) provide opportunities for those interested in and
connected with indexing to meet and exchange information
and experiences relating to all aspects of indexing;
(d) act as an advisory body on indexing to which authors,
editors, publishers and others may apply for guidance:
(e) establish and maintain relationships between the
society and other bodies with related interests;
(f) raise awareness of the value of indexers, indexing and
indexes:
(g) publish and disseminate information in accord with
the foregoing aims.
2. Amend Clause F(3) to read: ‘At meetings of the Council
a quorum will consist of four members entitled to vote,
provided that those present include either the President or
the Vice-President and at least one ordinary member.”
3. Replace the existing Clause I(2)(f) with the following three
new clauses
(f) submit to the Annual General Meeting
an annual report, and accounts that have
been examined by an independent scrutineer;
(g) annually submit to Council, no more than one month
after the date of the branch’s Annual General Meeting, an
annual report together with scrutinised accounts;
(h) maintain accurate minutes of meetings of the branch
committee and make these available to members by posting
them in the branch’s area on the Society’s website.
4. Add to section K the following new clauses and re-number
the clauses following:
(2) Each Committee of the Council shall keep accurate
minutes which will be reported to Council regularly;
(3) Minutes of Council meetings, together with associated
papers, shall be posted in the members’ area of the society’s
website.
Office bearers and council members (other than the ex
officio members) will be elected at the meeting. Nominations
are therefore called for the positions of President,
Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer and for five ordinary
council members. A nomination form may be downloaded
from the ANZSI website
<www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=213>.
Nominations must be sent to the Returning Officer at
PO Box 5062, Glenferrie South, Vic 3122 to arrive no later
than Wednesday 10 August 2011.
Michael J Ramsden
Secretary
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Sun 24 July
2.30–5.00 pm
ACT Region
Branch
Working with
Words
Denise Sutherland’s
home
Tues 26 July 6.00
for 7.00 pm start
Qld Branch
AGM
TBA
Thurs 28 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Embedded
indexing
TBA
Contact Eleanor Whelan for details of Denise’s
address at <[email protected]> or see
Details at
Details at
Thurs 28 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Annual reports
indexing
TBA
Details at
Fri 29 July
9.00 – 12.30 pm
Qld Branch
Database indexing
TBA
Details at
Fri 29 July
1.30 – 5.00 pm
Qld Branch
Thesaurus
construction
TBA
Details at
Wed 3 Aug
Vic Branch
The VIC
Visit to ACER
ACER Camberwell
For more details, please contact Nikki Davis at
<[email protected]> or see
ANZSI Conference subsidy
T
he ANZSI Conference Committee is offering subsidies
for TWO members to attend the ANZSI Conference,
Indexing see Change, 12-14 September, 2011, at the Brighton
Savoy, Brighton, Victoria.
Each subsidy is worth $287.50, meaning recipients will
need to pay the resulting balance in order to meet the full
registration fee of $575. The official dinner on the Monday
evening is included in the registration fee.
Neither accommodation costs nor transport costs are
included in the subsidy.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
• be ANZSI members residing in regional Victoria, interstate,
or New Zealand.
• have not received an ANZSI conference subsidy previously.
• write up their thoughts on the Conference for the October
2011 ANZSI Newsletter.
Applications
Applicants need to tell us of their training, skills and
experience. It is expected that all participants will extend
their knowledge and contribute to the outcome of the
conference. It would be helpful if applicants could explain:
• What knowledge and/or skills they hope to gain by attending
the conference.
Applications, limited to one A4 page, are to be
emailed to Nikki Davis, ANZSI Conference Secretary,
<[email protected]> by Tuesday 26 July 2011.
Successful applicants will be notified by email during the
first week of August.
Max McMaster
2011 ANZSI Medal
Applications
T
he Australian and New Zealand
Society of Indexers’ Medal
is offered annually for the most
outstanding index to a book or
periodical compiled in Australia or
New Zealand. The index must be in
print and published after 2007. It
must have been compiled in Australia
or New Zealand, even though the
text to which it refers may have originated elsewhere. The
index should be substantial in size; the subject matter should
be complex; and the language, form and structure of the
index should demonstrate the indexer’s expertise, as well as
serving the needs of the text and reader. The publisher of the
winning index will be presented with a certificate recognising
their promotion of work of outstanding quality. The judges
may also make ‘highly commended’ awards.
Nominations, with bibliographical details and a copy
of the book (which will be returned if requested) should
be sent to the address on the nomination form. Publishers,
indexers and all interested people may nominate indexes,
and indexers may nominate their own work.
Entries close on 31 July, 2011.
A nomination form is available on the ANZSI website:
<www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/Medal%20form%202011.pdf>
Contact:
Alan Walker, Chairman, Awards Committee,
10 Rockwall Crescent, Potts Point NSW 2011
Tel:
<[email protected]>
NSW Branch Book Indexing course
The month between 18 May and 18 June was a period of
intense activity for the nine participants in the Practical
Book Indexing training course run by Glenda Browne for
NSW Branch, with the assistance of Mary Coe as backup
and co-moderator of the group.
The course consisted of an online component during
which students were required to prepare an index to the
book ‘Bitten by the Penguin: a beginners’ guide to Linux’,
with advice where needed from Glenda and Mary, and
other members of the group, using a Yahoo discussion
forum. Feedback on the draft indexes was provided along
the way, allowing students to refine their work. The online
component was followed by a face-to-face meeting of most
of the participants, at which issues arising from the exercise
were discussed, and advice on practical indexing matters
such as establishing a business was provided.
In order to complete the indexing task, students had to
overcome a number of hurdles – these included the need
to become familiar with online discussion forums and to
learn enough about at least one indexing program to allow
preparation of the index. The subject matter of the book
to be indexed (the Linux operating system, and its various
‘distros’ and applications) provided its own challenges!
Nevertheless, by the end of the month-long exercise,
students had gained experience in considering and resolving
many of the complexities involved in successfully indexing
a book.
Participants in the course were: Siang Beh (NSW),
Carole Dent (NSW), Elizabeth Galloghly (visiting Australia
from Ireland), Frances Guinness (NSW), Lyn Lewis (ACT),
Sandy Radke (NSW), David Roy (NSW), Joan Rubel
(NSW) and Denise Sutherland (ACT).
Lyn Lewis
Fellowships
he SI (Society of Indexers) has
raised the subject of indexing
Fellowships and the reasons for
applying for one. Fellowship is more
than a higher qualification or grade.
The application process involves the
thoughtful analysis of an index and a
review of technique and skills by the
indexer before submission. Feedback
from the assessor adds to the applicant’s skill bank and is a
form of high-level peer review. Prospective applicants can
attend one-on-one online pre-Fellowship tutorials. Two
recent Fellows outline their experiences:
T
I tried for Fellowship just 3 years after Accreditation, but it took
another year and a second attempt for success. I had a lot of experience of
database indexing before joining the Society so this was not as precocious
a move as the timing might suggest. I looked to Fellowship as a way of
advancing my understanding rather than for the purpose of establishing
my credentials, and I’m still unsure whether it actually enabled me to get
more work. I gained particular benefit from completing the Questionnaire
which made me think carefully about all the issues, rehearsing the options
and explaining my decisions (I filled 10 A4pages with my answers). I did
this in parallel with making improvements to the index and checking that
I had treated a particular issue consistently. I spent much more time on the
index than would be possible with normal time and budget constraints.
Before undertaking Fellowship my indexing was guided to a large extent
by what I perceived as conventional indexing practice. But I found
through this exercise that my judgment was freed up, perhaps coming to
many of the same conclusions as before but reasoning more in terms of
usability and helpfulness. Feedback from the assessor (once I found the
courage to read it!) to a large extent confirmed my reasoning, though I still
debate with myself the various issues the assessor raised. Chris Dance
Applying for Fellowship made me look at my work in a way that
nothing else had, especially when using the self-assessment questionnaire.
It’s one thing to look at the questionnaire and checklists, even to attend
a preregistration workshop (eight years ago!) and think I’m working
to that standard, quite another actually to examine my own work in
detail as if I were an assessor. I had finally decided I wanted peer review
for my work, and to use the Fellowship route for this, and that I was
prepared to learn more, and if I did not succeed at first, to learn from the
feedback, if necessary follow the online tutorial and then re-apply. This is
a commitment to the process rather than the outcome. It feels as if I am
moving to a higher level of professionalism, one which affects all areas of
my work as an ongoing process.
Ann Parry, Sidelights. June 2011
Out of Africa
The ASAIB (Association of South African Indexers and
Biographers) relates that the best newly-accredited indexer
in each calendar year will win the Betty Moys prize and with
it 500 pounds. The late Betty Moys MBE, a distinguished
indexer and former ASAIB Honorary Treasurer, left a
generous legacy to the Society to provide the annual prize.
Candidates who successfully complete the training course
within the year are eligible and the winner will have received
high marks in all the test papers. Comments from the
markers and advisors are also taken into account. Sanet le
Roux is the current winner.
ASAIB Newsletter, June 2011 No 31.
Averse to poetry?
Most of us have tried, usually in vain, to track down a poem.
We know what it is about, but have forgotten the author and
even the first line. Poetry anthologies are happy to provide
lists of authors and first lines but are averse to indexing
subjects. Are there good reasons for this?
Hazel Bell has written a most interesting article in
the latest The Indexer entitled ‘Subject indexing of poetry
– could we? Should we?’ Unlike teachers who would like
to see poems indexed by themes or subjects, Hazel Bell
believes that in poetry (such as Gerard Manley Hopkin’s
‘The starlight night’), ‘description itself is more important than
the object described, and the form is more significant than the
content. Indexers fasten on content, not form. This type of text I
would consider quite unindexable.’ (Bell, 1992).
Classification of poetry collections could be just as useful
as subject indexes and many labelled as the latter had really
been classifications. Melbourne’s Edward William Cole of
Cole’s Book Arcade features largely in Hazel’s article due
to his book, ‘The thousand best poems in the world. First
series – containing five hundred poems. Selected and arranged
by E.W. Cole.’ (Circa 1892) There is an ‘Index to Subjects’
which is really a table of contents. His ‘Contents’ is an index
of titles. He allocated his poems to the subjects listed which
resulted in classification rather than an index. Subjects are
listed in order of appearance. As Hazel remarks, does the
following sequence reflect Cole’s experiences? Love, Devoted
love, Proposing, Marriage, Unfortunates, Tears.
The pageant of English poetry, compiled by R.M. Leonard,
OUP, 1909, has a ‘Subject index’, which is actually a
classification. Cross references are used but in a strange
way; see means both see and see also. The latter is enclosed in
brackets: e.g. Doctors. See Medicine. Patriotism : (4). (See
Heroism). Then there are numbers. The figure in brackets
refers to the number of lines devoted to each entry, each line
having about seven references so in the above example there
would be 28 references. Then there are humorous indexes
which, given the trauma of negotiating the above, are
probably the only way to preserve the reader’s sanity. Hazel
lists some examples from The stuffed owl, a tongue-in-cheek
Anthology of bad verse (Lewis and Lee, 1930). For example,
Maiden, Swiss, coming-on disposition of; Tapeworm, lonely
but prolific; Wet nurses, male parents useless as. There are
also stand-alone indexes and student indexes. The latter arose
when Br. Tom Murphy set his students the task of indexing
Emily Dickinson’s poems. They would ‘recognize, organize
and interrelate key words and essential themes.’
For example:
Solitude
of self
of soul (see also Soul)
Bell, H.K. (2011). Subject indexing of poetry – could
we? Should we? The Indexer, 29(2), 56-63
Jane Purton
Vancouver 2011: the ISC/SCI Conference
T
here was an excellent roll-up for the conference of
the Indexing Society of Canada/ Société canadienne
d’indexation (ISC/SCI) in Vancouver on 17–18 May.
About 90 people attended, which is a remarkable turn
out considering that ISC/SCI membership is not many
more than that (121 members was the May 2010 figure).
Vancouver is an attractive venue, and there were several
visitors from the United States and further afield. No doubt
holding the conference in conjunction with the Canadian
editors’ conference also increased the attendance.
The conference was held in the downtown campus of
Simon Fraser University, in the Harbour Centre — and, yes,
the Canadians do spell it that way, in large letters on the
outside of the building.
Australia was represented by Max McMaster and Alan
Walker, both of whom attended the informal international
meeting of representatives of indexing societies before the
conference, and both of whom delivered papers — Max
on preparing the indexing quote, and Alan on indexing
politicians’ memoirs. Both papers are also being presented at
the ANZSI Melbourne conference in September.
The entertaining keynote address (‘Tapping into the
universe’) was given by Do Mi Stauber, and was followed
by two plenary workshops: ‘Polishing (i.e. editing) the
index’ run by Enid Zafran and ‘Indexing as tapestry
weaving’ (decision making in indexing) conducted by Kari
Kells. The parallel sessions on the second day included a
presentation on ‘Freelancers and websites’ (Gale Rhoades)
which recommended that all indexers should now have
their own websites, in the same way as we all used to have
business cards. Another parallel presentation on ‘Indexing
historical documents’ (Kate Mertes), covered material from
the 15th century to the 1850s and was superb. Other
sessions covered ‘Indexing, metadata and search’ (Ronnie
Seagren) and ‘Visual appeal of indexes’ (Frances Lennie).
Frances is presenting this same paper again at the upcoming
Melbourne conference, so you haven’t missed out.
A busy social program featured a pre-conference
gathering in a wine library and a banquet in a local café,
both providing opportunities to meet our Canadian and
American colleagues.
Alan Walker and Max McMaster
In the photo (l to r) the international representatives: Hilary Faulkner
(UK), Pilar Wyman (US), Max McMaster (Australia), Ruth Pincoe
(Canada) and Alan Walker (Australia). (Photo Heather Ebbs)
The VIC – Indexing art
A
t the June meeting of the Victorian
Indexing Club (The VIC), members
looked at areas of indexing peculiar to
art.
1. Defining ‘art books’
It goes without saying that art books
cover a wide and varied scope - drawing,
painting, photography, sculpture, design,
architecture, crafts etc. But regardless of the art form, there
is a commonality in the sort of information found in art
publications.
Typically included is: biographical material; contextual
material about the times and place in which artwork was
created; influences such as the work of other artists; art
techniques and styles; pictures of and text about artworks;
information about exhibitions usually in the form of
checklists; lists of illustrations.
This information may be weighted differently depending
on the purpose of the art publication. For example, the title
may be an art history, a biography, a coffee table book, a
catalogue, a manual of art techniques or an art journal.
2. Approaches to indexing art books
American indexers Marilyn Rowland and Diane Brenner
have summed up perfectly what many readers of art books
will already have noticed:
‘Surprisingly, art and art history books, even those thick
with details about artists and artwork, do not always have
indexes. In fact, they often don’t have indexes, or only cursory
ones. Why is this? Well, according to some publishers, art
books don’t need indexes because the organization of the
book, including tables of contents, chronologies, lists of
illustrations, or glossaries provides sufficient structure to
allow readers to find what they are looking for. In other
cases, the omission of the index may be a cost consideration
or a lack of awareness of the importance of an index, even
in a book consisting mainly of illustrations. Sometimes,
even lengthy introductory discussions or historical essays are
viewed as ‘too short’ to bother indexing.
In those art and art history books that do have indexes,
there is considerable variety in style and format. Sometimes
this is because the indexer and the client have developed a
style designed to meet the specific characteristics of the book.
Sometimes it is because the indexer is not familiar with art
history or aware of art history indexing conventions and
does not know how to index art history materials effectively.’
<www.newenglandindexers.org/art.htm>
2 a. Books without indexes
Barry Pearce’s Jeffrey Smart published by Beagle is well
recognised for being a rich resource on the artist and his
works. While it can be found in numerous Australian public
library collections, easy access to its contents is somewhat
curtailed by the stunning omission of an index.
2 b. Cursory indexes
The National Gallery of Victoria publication, The Joseph
Brown Collection at NGV, is a typical example of a ‘catalogue’
art book. Its index is a simple list of the artists included in
the collection - a pity as the text contains a lot of information
about the connections between the various artists, all of
which is lost.
As a catalogue, it also contains an exhibition checklist,
a separate listing of each artist that includes biographical
information as well as detailed information about each
artwork, e.g. dimensions and medium used.
This amount of information could not possibly be
included in an index, hence the need for an additional
list. (‘Lists of illustrations’ are common to many art
books and serve the same purpose.) As the index and the
exhibition checklist include the artists’ names only, it raises
the interesting question of whether the user would also
want to search by the titles of artworks. Is it warranted to
include them? How many titles of artworks do we actually
remember? Is there also a space saving element to this?
2 c. Integrated indexes
Modern Painters: The Camden Town Group came off the back
of a Tate Gallery exhibition of the same name and was written
by its curator, Robert Upstone. It includes the full breadth
of information found in art books - biographical material,
contextual material, influences, art techniques and styles as
well as pictures of and text about the various artworks. It
takes a vastly different approach to the already mentioned
Joseph Brown catalogue, employing a single integrated
index, although artworks are indexed as subheadings under
the artists’ names only, with no entries for the individual
artworks.
2 d. Biographical art books
Biographies about artists often have the strange and rather
frustrating feature of pictorial material relating to artworks
being almost divorced from the written material about it. It’s
not usual to have to hunt through pages of unindexed and
often randomly placed pictorial material, in order to locate
the picture of an artwork written about in the text. This is
most likely because the indexer has had no access to these
pages which were slotted in at a later stage.
2 e. Unusual approaches
Having made the case for separate lists of illustrations in
addition to indexes, and having said that it’s not possible to
include large amounts of information in indexes, Dorling
Kindersley does just that in its ArtBook series. The books
each contain two indexes. Each entry in the ‘Index of
Places’ includes a geographical location, the name of an art
institution, and is followed by a list of relevant artworks
referred to in the book along with their page locators. Each
entry in the ‘Index of People’ includes an artist’s name, a
biography as well as page locators to relevant information
in the book.
(The VIC – Indexing Art, continued from previous page)
Another interesting approach is the topographical
index in Andrew Wilton’s Turner Abroad (British Museum
Publications). Under headings such as ‘Belgium’, ‘France’
and ‘Germany’ are lists of subheadings of geographic
locations followed by page locators to the relevant landscape
paintings included in the book.
3. Heading conundrums
Art books throw up some interesting challenges when
creating headings.
3 a. Lengthy artwork titles
In Turner to Monet: The triumph of landscape painting
(National Gallery of Australia) the index goes for broke,
including an entry for each individual artwork. Consider
this one:
A Hindoo temple on the island of Rameswaram, with the
approach of the north-east monsoon, Tamil Nadu (William
Daniell)
When titles are this long and when there are several of them,
it naturally wreaks havoc with the visual appeal of the index.
This is where the book designer’s skills come in.
3 b. Untitled and numbered artworks
‘Artists use titles to illustrate, explicate, confound, frustrate – or
justify a tax deduction. Even Untitled suggests a meaning.’
- Kelly Devine Thomas, 2005
Jackson Pollock was famous for producing untitled and
numbered artworks. Untitled artworks are often distinguished
by year, e.g. Untitled (1948) (Pollock) but problems arise
when several untitled artworks have been created in the
same year. For this reason, an artist might include some
added information to distinguish artworks, e.g. Untitled
(red vase). In other situations, the indexer may need to
create a description and contemporary art can be especially
hazardous in this respect! Abstract artists sometimes include
predominant colours in untitled works as an identifier, e.g.
Untitled (grey, white and yellow). The same principles are
often applied to numbered artworks, where titles such as No.
15 are somewhat meaningless.
In some instances, indexers use the subject of the untitled
artwork as an index heading. An example of this can be seen
in John Gregory’s Carnival in suburbia: The art of Howard
Arkley (Cambridge University Press), where an untitled mask
is indexed under ‘masks’.
3 c. Style variations in headings
Under 3 a. we considered the lengthy title of an artwork
by William Daniell. In this instance his full name has been
added as a gloss (William Daniell), but in other art books,
only the surname of the artist is included.
There may also be variations in the ordering of glosses,
e.g. Untitled (1948) (Pollock) or Untitled (Pollock) (1948).
Sometimes dates are written in italics, eg. Untitled 1948
(Pollock). Jumping between italics and roman is another
hazard for indexers of art books.
4. Artists’ names
Some artists are known by a number of different names,
for example, the Italian painter and sculptor Azzolini. At
least, that is his preferred name as he is also known by
seventeen others! The Getty Research Institute has developed
the Union List of Artist Names forming part of the Getty
Vocabularies which contain structured terminology for fine
art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, and
other material culture <www.getty.edu/research/tools/>.
5. Art forgeries and artworks created in the style
of other artists
According to Interpol ‘art fraud is second only to drug
trafficking’. This snippet of information comes off the rather
fascinating <artfake.net> website which maintains an index
of the world’s greatest fakers of art. For example, David
Stein is a master forger of various artists including Picasso,
Chagall and Matisse. But how does one index a ‘Picasso’ by
David Stein?
6. The challenge of new art forms
Graffiti art is invariably abstract and untitled so if you’re
tackling this area you might want to refer to Lisa Gottlieb’s
Graffiti art styles: A classification system and theoretical analysis
(McFarland & Company). Her classification system is based
on art historian Erwin Panofsky’s theories of iconographical
analysis and is designed to identify the style of a graffiti art
piece by distinguishing certain visual characteristics. Another
interesting area is indexing graffiti art locations – not such
a silly idea in a city like Melbourne which is recognised as
being one of the world’s leading graffiti cities. Street and
laneway locations are full of tricky issues for indexers.
Last year, the British art scene was somewhat shaken up
when the Turner Prize, awarded annually to a British visual
artist under the age 50, was presented to Susan Philipsz.
As a sound artist, Philipsz came as a surprise, winning the
prize for a purely aural work. While not a new medium,
the profile of sound art has increased dramatically in recent
years bringing with it more publications about this art form.
Typically, biographical information and information about
context, influences etc. appears in a printed book, while the
sound component (the artworks) is included on a separate
disk. This separation of formats is another challenge for
indexers.
Nikki Davis
The VIC – Indexing Wine
M
any years ago, when I studied for the Registration
Examination of the [British] Library Association, the
part of the syllabus that captured my interest was classification
and cataloguing, and more especially classification, which was
taught by the late Jack Mills, a man who really communicated
his own enthusiasm for the subject. After a career of some
ten years in public libraries I took up a position at the College
of Librarianship Wales where I taught classification theory
and index language construction before moving with my
family to Australia to take up a position at RMIT in 1971
where I taught the same field.
We had not been long in Australia before we discovered
Australian wine and as our collection, modest by some
standards, grew it was natural that I should seek to apply to
its organisation the principles that I taught. Based on that
experience, I led a discussion on indexing wine at The VIC
(Victorian Indexing Club) in May. This article is based on
that discussion.
Definition
In organising any retrieval system we establish the purpose of
the system of organisation, define the field and establish the
core subject. In this case we are concerned with a method
of retrieving bottles of wine from a collection as required.
So we might be interested in a red wine (colour), a wine to
complement a particular dish (food pairing); we might wish
to know if we have a wine of a particular year (vintage), and so
on. The system here described is limited to Australian wine,
though the principles could readily be applied to expand to
include wines from other countries. The main output from
the system will be a listing of bottles held; the arrangement of
the bottles themselves is essentially one of fixed location.
Categories
The design of any indexing system reflects a process of
subject analysis, a point made years ago by Julia Pettee who
pointed out that every list of subject headings reflects, in
its syndetic structure of see also references, what she called
“a hidden classification”1. The first step in the process of
subject analysis is to identify the categories (facets). These are
derived from an analysis of the terms used in the literature, in
this case largely the labels on the bottles. At the VIC meeting
an array of some two dozen empty bottles was on display to
assist in the process.
The categories developed, with examples of terms, were
Wine type: Botrytis, Dessert wines, Fortified wines, Late
harvest, Madeira, Noble, Port, Sherry, Sparkling, Table
wines.
Colour: Red, Rosé, White
Grape variety: Very many, including Cabernet Sauvignon,
Chardonnay, Hermitage, Mourvèdre, Pinot Noir, Riesling,
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Shiraz, Sirah, Viognier.
Labels: e.g. Cellar Door Release, Estate Bottled, Grange
Hermitage, Hill of Grace ...
Blends: Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc/
Semillon
Wineries: Bowen Estate, Brown Bros, Henschke, Grosset,
Leeuwin Estate, Mitchelton, Morris, Peter Lehmann, Pizzini,
Tahbilk, Vasse Felix, Wolf Blass, Yalumba ...
Regions: [Use the official list of Australian regions]
Vintage: By year.
Drink by date: By year (or span of years).
Wooding: Unwooded, Wooded.
Food pairings: Seafood, Rack of lamb, Steak ...
Source: Cellar door; Mailing list; Wine club.
Winemaker: Grant Burge, Robert O’Callaghan ...
Some other categories suggested by members of VIC, but
not pursued as being peripheral to the purpose of the index,
were Alcohol Content, Price, Tasting notes and Label design.
Alcohol Content in some cases was stated as the number of
standard drinks, in others as alcohol by volume and in others
by both measures. Food pairings may be dropped as the
information is often not readily available and Winemaker
may be a detail too far.
Note that Vintage and Drink by Date are not the
same. Vintage indicates the year in which the grapes were
harvested, and some years are better than others. According
to James Halliday’s chart of Australian vintages2 2004 was
a particularly good year in the Yarra Valley and 2006 in the
Barossa Valley. When cellared, wine matures gradually, with
white wines generally maturing more quickly than red wines.
Drink by Date would indicate when a given wine is expected
to be at its best.
For convenience the Region category was limited to
Australia where there is now (as in most wine-exporting
countries) a recognised system of regions.
Wine Regions of Australia
Australia’s system of regions is called Geographical Indicators.
It divides the country into zones, regions and sub-regions.
The following definitions apply.
A zone is an area of land, without any particular qualifying
attributes.
A region must be a single tract of land, comprising at least
five independently owned wine grape vineyards of at least
five hectares each and usually produce five hundred tonnes of
wine grapes in a year. A region is required to be discrete from
adjoining regions and have measurable homogeneity in grape
growing attributes over its area.
A sub-region must also be a single tract of land, comprising
at least five independently owned wine grape vineyards of at
least five hectares each and usually producing five hundred
tonnes of wine grapes in a year. It is required to be discrete
within the region and have substantial homogeneity in grape
growing attributes over the area.3
For example, one zone in Victoria is Central Victoria. Its
regions are: Bendigo, Goulburn Valley, Heathcote, Strathbogie
Ranges and Upper Goulburn (Victoria’s High County). The
Goulburn Valley Region includes one sub-region called
Nagambie Lakes which in turn includes Mitchelton and
(The VIC – Indexing Wine, continued from previous page)
Tahbilk wineries as well as some others. Most regions are
encompassed wholly within the boundaries of a single state or
territory but a few straddle the boundary of two states. For
example the Murray-Darling Region sits across the border
between NSW and Victoria.4
Wine designated as coming from a region must have at
least 85% of its fruit sourced from that region.
Sub-categories
Some categories, including three of ours, can be further subdivided into sub-categories (or sub-facets):
Wine types
We can identify Fortified wines (e.g. Port), Sparkling wines
and Table wines as mutually exclusive sub-categories, and
Dessert wines (Botrytis and Noble) as a kind of Table wine.
Labels
The Labels category includes two sub-categories: those that
designate a range of wines (e.g. Cellar Door Release), and
those that are names of a particular product (e.g. Grange
Hermitage). ‘Hill of Grace’ refers to a wine made wholly from
Shiraz whereas ‘Grange Hermitage’ is made from Shiraz and a
small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Blends
Blends may be regarded as a sub-category of Grape variety; in
effect creating two sub-categories: single grape and blends.
Vocabulary control
If we now consider the terms carefully we can see that there
are some semantic issues that need to be resolved. The issue
in this case is one of synonyms: Hermitage, Syrah and Shiraz
are alternative names for the same grape variety, as also are
Mataro and Mourvèdre, and Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris.
In the first two cases we can select one term to use in the
indexing system (the preferred term) and refer from the other
term or terms. The third case is a little more complicated.
Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the Italian and French names
for the same grape variety. In those countries they yield wine
of a slightly different character, with wines labelled Pinot
Grigio having a slightly lighter and drier character. In this
case, therefore, it is probably preferable to use each term as
appropriate (according to the label on the bottle) and make a
see also reference between the two terms. In the first two cases
we can select e.g. Shiraz as the preferred term and relegate the
other terms to the status of terms from which as see reference
will made (non-preferred terms). Since the wines produced
from grapes styled as Pinot Grigio are slightly different from
those produced from Pinot Gris we will make a pragmatic
decision to use both terms but connect them by reciprocal
see also references.
Significance order
Although the items have been entered into a database I
am old enough to like a printed list. Because one output
from the system will be this printed list of bottles in store
it will be necessary to establish a significance order amongst
the categories. This determines the order of the terms in a
heading comprising terms from different categories. The
importance of this order is that it in turn determines what
aspect of the subject is kept together (collocated). For
example, if we decide that the most important category is
region, then all wines from the Barossa Valley will be kept
together, but bottles of Shiraz will be scattered – some with
Barossa Valley, some with Margaret River, some with Yarra
Valley, and so on. We will adopt Wine type as the primary
category, followed by Colour, Grape variety, Region, Winery,
Label, Vintage, Drink by date, Source in that order. This
will produce entries such as ...
...
Sparkling wine : Red : Shiraz : King Valley : Brown Bros : 2001 : 2011
Table wine : Red : Cabernet Sauvignon : Coonawarra : Wynn : Black Label : 2001 : 2015 : Cellar door
Table wine : Red : Cabernet Sauvignon : Margaret River : Vasse Felix : 2001 : 2016 : Wine club
Table wine : Red : Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz : Barossa Valley : Wolf Blass : Black Label : 2000 : 2015 : John
Table wine : Red : Shiraz : Barossa Valley : Peter Lehmann : Eight songs : 2004 : 2014 : Cellar door
Table wine : Red : Shiraz : Nagambie Lakes : Tahbilk : Reserve : 2006 : 2015 : Mailing list
Table wine : Red : Shiraz : Pyrenees : Taltarni : 2001 : 2011 : Cellar door
Table wine : White : Marsanne : Nagambie Lakes : Tahbilk : 2001 : 2012 : Mailing list
Table wine : White : Riesling : Barossa Valley : Wolf Blass : Gold Label : 2005 : 2011/12 : Cellar door
Table wine : White : Riesling : Clare Valley : Grosset : Polish Hill : 2003 : 2015 : Dan Murphy
We can now index our collection and enjoy the wine.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Michael Ramsden
Pettee, Julia. Subject headings: the history and theory of the alphabetical subject approach to books. H.W. Wilson, 1946.+
See <www.winecompanion.com.au/vintagechart.cfm?>.
These definitions are reproduced by permission of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation <www.wineaustralia.com.au>.
The system is set out in full at <www.winediva.com.au/regions/regions2.asp>.
ACT Region Branch – Working with Words
Sunday 24 July, 2.30–5.00 pm
C
ome along to new ANZSI member Denise Sutherland’s home in Gordon ACT for this special event!
Denise, apart from being a neophyte indexer, is a professional puzzle writer. She writes everything from
cryptic crosswords and ‘quick’ crosswords to word searches, cryptograms, mazes, and more. She is the author of
nine puzzle books, including two For Dummies titles, and is syndicated in Australia.
At this event Denise will show us how she writes puzzles, let you browse her rather unusual and specialised
library of puzzle reference books, and answer any questions you may have. She will have free copies of her book
The Canberra Puzzle Book for you, too.
Please bring a plate of something to share for afternoon tea, and come along for an enjoyable afternoon! As
a bonus you will get to meet her adorable friendly chihuahua, Miss Petal.
Contact Eleanor Whelan for Denise’s address at:
ANZSI Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
Annual General Meeting
ANZSI Conference subsidy
NSW Branch Book Indexing course
Vancouver 2011: the ISC/SCI Conference
The VIC – Indexing art
The VIC – Indexing Wine
ACT Region Branch – Working with Words
1
2
4
4
5
5
6
7
8
10
12
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Opinions and statements expressed in the newsletter are
those of the author.
Newsletter Schedule
The next newsletter will appear in August 2011.
The submission deadline is 29 July.
The editor welcomes contributions submitted by email to
<[email protected].>
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 7 | August 2011
ANZSI News August 2011
Branch meetings
am just back from speaking at the
Queensland Branch AGM, which
I’m sure will be written up elsewhere.
Meeting other indexers is always
enjoyable. It is a great opportunity
to put faces to names, to learn what
others are doing and how they got into
indexing. I encourage all members to
support their local branch and attend their meetings. Why
not also think of indexing when you travel? Obviously going
to indexing conferences overseas is a wonderful opportunity,
but it doesn’t have to be so grand. If you are travelling
interstate, why not check to see if there is an indexing event
on while you are there? I’m sure you would be made to feel
most welcome.
I
2011 Conference
While I’m on the topic of supporting ANZSI events, I’m
sure you could guess I would mention the 2011 Conference.
By the time you read this the Conference will only be about
5 weeks away! Have you registered? If not please do so soon,
as if you leave it till after the 28 August you will incur the
late fee of $50. I won’t harp on about the benefits of going
to the Conference again, instead I’ll encourage you to reread
the ANZSI News Column for July if you have forgotten or
need further persuasion.
2011 Conference registration subsidies
Sarah Anderson from NSW and Judy Richter from SA
are the lucky winners of the Victorian Branch registration
subsidy. I do hope they both enjoy the Conference.
Tasmanian representative
Since October 2009 Vivienne Wallace has been the ANZSI
Representative in Tasmania. Unfortunately she has had to
step down from the role. I wish her all the best for the future
and thank her for work promoting ANZSI in Tasmania.
Special interest groups
Recently I was asked by the American Society for Indexing
to check if someone was a member of ANZSI as they wanted
to join an ASI Special Interest Group. It reminded me
that many members may not be aware of the SIGs and be
interested to learn more. These groups offer a great way to
learn about and seek assistance on indexing in a particular
subject area. Annette Rogers has kindly written an article
explaining the SIGs (see page 8).
Roy Harden Jones
Members will be saddened to learn of the death of Roy
Harden Jones in June. Many of us have known him as a long
time friend of ANZSI, as Clodagh Jones’s husband. Before
he retired he was Chief of the CSIRO Division of Fisheries
Research in Hobart (he is pictured below with Clodagh*).
He was after-dinner
speaker at the 1999 ANZSI
Conference in Hobart.
Looking again at his
address in the Conference
proceedings I am reminded
of his sense of humour when
I read ‘After-dinner speakers should remember that they are
no more than the verbal equivalent of the after-dinner mint
and their place is strictly between the dessert and the port.’
I knew Roy had indexed, but thought I had better double
check with Clodagh if he had actually been a member of
ANZSI. Here is her response and her description of the team
effort that went into the index:
‘No! He came with me to two conferences, but spent his
time visiting art galleries.
‘Together we indexed his first book on Fish Migration.
‘We cut up slips of paper, had 25 jam jars, one for each
letter of the alphabet, and wrote down each entry on a
separate slip of paper using a soft B pencil and a good rubber
when necessary. Roy always wrote in pencil to the end of his
working days. He never conquered the computer!
‘Once a chapter had been completed and the slips put in
the appropriate jam jar, the slips were manually sorted into
alphabetical order. Once all the chapters had been completed
and sorted, we took it in turns to sort each letter of the
alphabet into alphabetical order. It was my job to type out
the index which was then sent to the publisher!
‘I typed his book, burping a baby on my lap when
needed!’
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
I am sure you will all join me in wishing Clodagh and her family all the very best
at this difficult time.
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
Finally
Don’t forget to register for the Conference before 28 August to save the $50 late
fee!
Mary Russell
The newsletter is published monthly
11 times a year, with combined issues
for January and February. Opinions
expressed in the newsletter are those
of the individual contributors, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions
<www.anzsi.org>.
* The photo of Roy Harden Jones and Clodagh was sourced from
<www.abc.net.au/news/2010-02-25/dementia-boom-requires-extra-care-researchers/342530>
Procedure at the AGM
Standing Orders
The debate will be conducted according to the standing orders for general meetings.
These may be found at the address at the foot of this notice.
Advertising rates
Full page: $200.00
Half page $100.00
Proxy voting
Under the terms of the ANZI Constitution proxy voting is allowed for any item
on the agenda other than the election of office bearers. Proxies must be financial
members of the Society. Other rules regarding proxies may be found in Clause
H(8) of the Constitution which may be found on the website at <www.anzsi.
org/site/constitution.asp>
Proxy forms may be downloaded from the website at the address below. Please
note that notice of intention to vote by proxy, and the name of the nominated
proxy, must reach the President no later than Tuesday, 13 September 2011, at
PO Box 1006, Caulfield North, Victoria 3161.
<www.anzsi.org>.
Apologies
Members wishing to present an apology may do so by going to the URL below
where there is an online form which may be completed and sent to the Secretary
electronically.
Information concerning the AGM
Information concerning the AGM, together with rules of procedure, proxy
forms and the online form for apologies may be found at: <www.anzsi.org/site/
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI
Conference
Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Vic
Details at
Wed 5 Oct
Vic Branch
AGM
Elsternwick Club
Details at
ANZSI Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers will be held on
Wednesday, 14 September 2011, at 8.45 am
at the Brighton Savoy, 150 The Esplanade, Brighton Victoria 3186 (Melway 67 C12).
Attendance
Agenda
1. Minutes of the last AGM
To approve the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday, 1 September 2010, at
the Elsternwick Club, 19 Sandham Street, Elsternwick Victoria. (These may be found on the website at
<www.anzsi.org/UserFiles/file/Council%20AGM%20Minutes%202010.pdf>).
2. Matters arising from the minutes not included elsewhere in the agenda.
3. Annual Report: to receive a report on the Society’s activities in 2010-11.
4. Treasurer’s Report: to receive a financial report from the Treasurer for the year 2010-11.
5. Council for 2010-11: to receive a report from the Returning Officer on nominations for the following positions
President; Vice-President; Secretary; Treasurer; five Council members.
6. Constitution
To approve the following motions proposed by the Council
6.1 That Clause E(3)(c) [No Officer may hold the same office for more than five consecutive years.], and the reference
to the clause in E(3)(b), be deleted.
6.2 That Clause F(3) be amended to read:
At meetings of the Council a quorum will consist of four members entitled to vote, provided that those present include
either the President or the Vice president and at least one ordinary member.
6.3 That two new clauses be added to Section I(2):
(g) submit to the branch annual general meeting an annual report, and accounts that have been examined by
an independent scrutineer;
(h) maintain accurate minutes of meetings of the branch committee and make these available to members by
posting them in the branch’s area on the Society’s website.
6.4 That the following new clauses be inserted after clause 1 in Section K and the sections following renumbered
in sequence:
(2) Each Committee of the Council shall keep accurate minutes which will be reported to Council regularly;
(3) Minutes of Council meetings, together with associated papers, shall be posted in the member’s area of the society’s
website.
6.5 That the aims of the Society, as set out in Clause A of the Constitution, be amended to read as follows:
The aims of the society are to
(a) improve the quality of indexing in Australia and New Zealand:
(b) promote the training, continuing professional development, status and interests of indexers in Australia and
New Zealand;
(c) provide opportunities for those interested in and connected with indexing to meet and exchange information and
experiences relating to all aspects of indexing;
(d) act as an advisory body on indexing to which authors, editors, publishers and others may apply for guidance;
(e) establish and maintain relationships between the society and other bodies with related interests;
(f ) raise awareness of the value of indexers, indexing and indexes;
(g) publish and disseminate information in accord with the foregoing aims.
6.6 Shirley Campbell and Sherrey Quinn, on behalf of the ACT Region Branch Committee, have given notice of the
following amendment to the motion listed at 6.5:
That in paragraph (a) the words ‘improve the quality of indexing in Australia and New Zealand’ be replaced with
the words ‘promote standards and maintain and improve the quality of indexing in Australia and New Zealand’.
7. Any other business
Not requiring prior notice
Queensland Branch President’s report 2010–11
D
uring the last year, our Branch general meetings have
been at various venues. The Carindale shopping
centre in Brisbane, formerly our usual venue, was being
renovated, so our last meeting there was in September
2010. We enjoyed a DVD covering the indexing life of
well-known UK Indexer, Hazel Bell.
The Branch’s annual Christmas lunch was held in
Brisbane on 4 December – very enjoyable for those who
could attend and a fitting end to a successful year.
February 2011 saw the Branch visit the 4MBS FM
Classical Radio Station and Radio Museum, where we were
given a tour by the very enthusiastic General Manager Gary
Thorpe and we learned the history of the radio station which
has been broadcasting for over 31 years.
In March 2011 we toured the Museum of
Lands, Mapping and Surveying, conducted by Bill
Kitson, the ex-Curator and Founder. Bill collected
surveying artefacts, maps and photographs for the
Museum for over 25 years. We were joined by his
enthusiastic successor, Curator Kaye Nardella,
who is carrying on Bill’s work.
Our member Mei Yen Chua provided a lively
evening in May with her discussion on indexing
cookbooks. Members and other industry friends
thoroughly enjoyed the effort that Mei Yen had
put into looking at the variations within indexes,
in over 15 different cookbooks. On the same
evening, it was our Queensland Branch’s 3rd
Birthday celebration (a month late due to a public
holiday) and we all enjoyed cake for supper to
mark the event. Since May 2011 the Branch
has moved to the Salisbury Hotel as our regular
meeting venue.
The June General Meeting featured ‘the good,
the bad and the unusable indexes’ in our own
collections of non-fiction books. The gathering
was small but very productive. We gained a new,
very enthusiastic member on the night from this
event.
On 16 and 17 July, the Branch ran two days
of indexing training in Brisbane. Basic Indexing
Parts 1 & 2 were conducted by Max McMaster,
attended by 7 trainees on day one and 6 trainees on day
two. The trainees were predominately locals, many of them
freelance editors, one from Malaysia and another from New
Zealand. All the new trainees left on day two, having created
an index by themselves.
Unfortunately, 4 half-day training courses, which we
hoped Mary Russell could run for us, were cancelled due to
lack of numbers.
I would like to thank all the Branch Executive and
Committee members for their continued moral and physical
support, attending both General and Executive Meetings
throughout 2010–11. I am referring to Mo Dickson (VicePresident), Franz Pinz (Treasurer), Vicki Law and Rachael
Harrison (who shared the position of Honorary Secretary)
and Committee members – Mei Yen Chua, David Mason,
Jan Rees, Diane Josey and Jean Dartnall. Thank you all for
your time and patience in running this ANZSI Queensland
Branch.
Rachael, Mo, David and Diane are stepping down from
their current Branch positions. We wish Mo well in her
endeavours in the Library and University IT arenas. Vicki
Law has also stood resigned from the position of Secretary,
replaced by Rachael Harrison, who will also leave us this year.
We wish Rachael well and thank her for her help in running
the Branch since she joined us in our first year, 2008. My
thanks go to Diane Josey for her support at meetings over
the last year.
Thanks also to David Mason for his support of the
Branch over the last two years, acting as our guest speaker
and for attending several evening meetings, when he lives an
hour and a half out of town.
Vicki Law is joining us again in 2011–12; she has assisted
me tonight and I thank her for all her help.
I am pleased to report that Jean Dartnall is staying on as
our North Queensland contact in Townsville. Jean and Mei
Yen Chua are planning to run ‘online indexing experiences’
(a type of mentoring) for any Branch member interested
in building their confidence by practising indexing with
(Queensland Branch President’s report, continued from previous page)
and pens are just some of the ways in which we hope to
online tutors to contact if any problems arise. Details on this
raise community awareness of Indexing in the community.
scheme will be available in August 2011.
Let’s not forget the passion for ‘social media’ as a channel
The Branch membership over the last year has hovered
for raising awareness. Anyone who likes to Tweet or run a
between 27 and 31 members. The recent indexing training
Facebook page should see me after the meeting.
brought these numbers up to around 36. Welcome to all our
My best wishes to all members in their indexing
new members! We hope that you will make our Branch a big
endeavours.
Thank you.
part of your professional life. Thanks also to all the Branch
Moira C. Brown
members who, every year, renew their membership and who
In
the
photo
at
left,
at
the
AGM
on
26
July:
are silently supporting us.
(in front) Queensland Branch President Moira Brown and
Marketing ourselves was to be a priority in 2010ANZSI President Mary Russell; (back row, from left): Beryl
2011. There is much work to be done towards this goal.
Macdonald (Secretary), Cate Seymour-Jones, Mei Yen Chua,
The Directory of Indexers for Queensland (a marketing tool
Mary Trabucco, Franz Pinz (Treasurer);.
which we intend to send to publishers), Branch brochures
My experience of Basic Book indexing
A
fter hearing about indexing on the radio, I was
intrigued by this mysterious area of the book business
that seemed to offer career opportunities to someone like
me who had studied literature and aspired to get into
publishing. Not long after, I was driving to surburban
Moorooka for a weekend of basic training. Indexing
seemed an obscure field, so I was curious to find out who
else would turn up. As it happened, the other participants
were from diverse backgrounds, but all had been working
with books or the English language in some way, and had
similar motivations about expanding their CVs as editors.
The course was delivered with a relaxed and homely
air. Gathered around Queensland President Moira Brown’s
dining table, we took notes while our tutor Max McMaster
taught us the ground rules, always with an emphasis on
the alternative routes we might take to create a good
index. Later we analysed, debated, and finally constructed
indexes using Macrex software. Face-to-face contact with
an experienced teacher and enthusiastic peers was what
I had come for, and what the course delivered, combining
the ethos of the school room with the spirit of a writer’s
workshop. Another of the delights was Moira’s food,
which was better than that found at most conferences!
Although the course was concise, I came away confident
that I could start indexing. This is a substantial point,
because I soon discovered that the decisions you make
as an indexer about how to sort and order information
are quite taxing, drawing on analytical skills that are not
often called on in other work. Indexing conventions had
to be absorbed, but more difficult was
learning to think like the reader and
anticipate their needs. To the course’s
credit, it revealed these complexities but
still gave us the confidence to roll up
our sleeves and get started.
This is partly due to the freedom that
came from knowing there’s no right or
wrong way to make an index. As we
workshopped exercises, I was struck
by the different approaches others were
taking. But as Max made clear to us,
there is no single way of going about
it. This diversity was all part of the
excitement of Sunday afternoon, spent
exchanging ideas across laptops with
cries of delight as we discovered how
much fun this new skill was! For a first
taste of indexing, I couldn’t have asked
for a more collegial and encouraging
experience.
Mary Trabucco
In the photo:
Adam LeBrocq, Dr. Nicola Learmonth (NZ), Suhainah
Wahiduddin (Malaysia), Mary Trabucco, Helen Kershaw,
Cate Seymour-Jones, Max McMaster (Instructor) holding
Qld Branch logo
Indexing indaba
World without Borders
W
ith REDgroup Retail’s
administration process
almost complete, many are
reflecting on the current state of
Australia’s bookselling industry,
now minus Borders and Angus
& Robertson.
Reports in the Weekly Book
Newsletter suggest that 139
bookshops have disappeared and
if you include 200 redundancies
at REDgroup’s headquarters and
distribution centres, the number
of bookselling jobs that have been lost amounts to a
staggering 2100. Melburnians were also surprised to learn
in the administrator’s final announcement in July that the
well-loved CBD bookshop, Reader’s Feast, will be closing its
doors in a couple of weeks.
While Borders bookshops were primarily located in large
shopping centres, the loss of Angus & Robertson bookshops
in suburban and regional areas is of concern. In many
areas the local A & R was the only dedicated bookshop. To
get a clearer picture of this, Crikey.com has produced an
interactive map of what it calls the ‘bookshop massacre’.
While several A & R bookshops are being re-branded as
Collins and one as Dymocks, 25 franchises have terminated
their agreements with REDgroup to become independent
bookshops, but only time will tell if they survive into the
future.
Booksellers’ concerns over Australia’s largest publisher,
Pearson, agreeing to purchase the online businesses of
REDgroup (this includes Borders and A & R’s websites) has
been noted by the Australian Consumer and Competition
Commission. An ‘informal review’ of the acquisition is to
be conducted.
Existing independent bookshops have started to benefit
from the demise of the chain shops and in the words of
Text Publisher Michael Heywood at the recent Australian
Booksellers Association annual conference: [Australia has]
‘become a nation of independent booksellers overnight.’
Since the beginning of the year, independent bookshops
have increased their market share from 20% to about
22.5%. If anything, the strength of the independents has
come to the fore with some planning e-bookshops and many
more expected to follow.
Saturday, 20 August is National Bookshop Day, and
an initiative of the Australian Booksellers Association’s
Indiebound program aims at encouraging Australians to visit
their local bookshop.
<http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/27/life-afterredgroup-crikey-maps-the-bookshop-massacre/>
Library cuts – Sydney University
When Borders first arrived in Australia in the late 90s, the
idea of eating and drinking in a bookshop café was novel
and plenty took advantage of being allowed to to read while
enjoying a coffee. So a little over a decade later, the idea of
café style lounges in the Fisher Library at Sydney University
would, you might think, meet with little resistance.
But the move, spurred on by the growth of digital books
and e-journals, is being made possible through the culling
of 500,000 books and journals (along with the loss of 30
staff). Student Representative Council President, Donherra
Walmsley, describes it as ‘21st century learning’, while a
less happy Associate Professor in the School of History and
Philosophy, Peter Slezak, says, ‘They’re getting rid of books
to make space for students to sit around, have lunch and
plug their laptops in. Bizarrely, they’ve turned the library
into a kind of a Starbucks.’
A former library assistant also expressed his dismay,
particularly at the disposal of a collection of newspapers
from the 1850s and 1860s. He has salvaged 200 books
destined for disposal.
<http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/
books-get-the-shove-as-university-students-prefer-to-doresearch-online-20110307>
<http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/you-canjudge-a-book-by-its-dust-test-as-university-library-cuts-itsstaff-and-stock-20110511-1ej0z.html>
Library cuts – Victorian public libraries
ALIA has put out a media release about the Baillieu
Government’s recent backflip on promising to boost funding
for Victorian libraries. This is in spite of the finding in a recent
report, Dollars, Sense and Public Libraries commissioned by
the State Library of Victoria and the Public Libraries Victoria
Network and undertaken by SGS Economics and Planning,
that for each dollar invested, $3.56 of benefits were returned
to the local community. ALIA is urging its members and
library supporters to join a Facebook Campaign at:
<http://www.facebook.com/stoplibrarycuts>.
Library cuts – Oxfordshire libraries, UK
Despite a rigorous campaign which had some weighty
support, including that of authors Philip Pullman, Colin
Dexter and Mark Haddon, Oxfordshire County appears
intent on pushing for closure of 21 of its 43 libraries and
replacing a number of its librarians with volunteers.
Shadow Libraries Minister Gloria De Piero has asked the
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey if he has any plans to run the
House of Commons library with volunteers. She presumes
not as he has not replied.
<www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/02/oxfordshirelibrary-staff-replaced-volunteers>
(Indexing indaba, continued from previous page)
You do what?
OK, this story comes second-hand, so there may be an
element of broken telephone here, but it goes like this…
A Byron Bay man was working in his gallery/coffee shop,
listening with interest to a replay of Mary Russell’s interview
with Ramona Koval on the ABC’s Book Show. Like many
other people he’d never met an indexer before and had
precious little idea of what indexing involved.
Not long after the program ended, he struck up a
conversation with a woman who had walked through his
door. It turned out that she was visiting from the United
States which wouldn’t have surprised him as Byron Bay
is after all something of tourist hub. But imagine his
astonishment when his curiosity strayed to her occupation
and was met with this response: ‘I’m an indexer.’ The visitor
was none other than Frances Lennie. So gobsmacked was he
that coffee was on the house!
If you’ve yet to hear Mary’s interview, you can download
the podcast at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/
stories/2010/2901716.htm
Oh ye of little faith
Ken Hassman’s recent introduction to Adobe’s voice feature
left him wondering if he needed to engage the services of a
PC exorcist…
‘Wow, this is a new one for me and I'm wondering if
anyone else has experienced it. I’m sitting here working,
have the pdf file I’m working from and Cindex open side by
side, have done this thousands of times. I also had Pandora
open and playing some music, also done many times.
'Then, all of a sudden I start hearing a voice talking so
I thought my browser had opened some commercial and
I looked and saw there is no browser open. Then I thought
that maybe I was getting some type of radio interference
through my computer via Pandora so I shut down Pandora.
'THEN I realized that what I was hearing are the words
of the book (the pdf file) I’m working from. I followed along
word-by-word and discovered the only way to turn this off
was to close the pdf.
Coincidentally (or not?!) the book is about loss of faith
and the case study I just read was about brothers whose
mother believed in demons and practiced exorcisms.’
(Index-L, 23 June 2011)
Nikki Davis
Corrigendum
There is an error in the ‘Out of Africa’ paragraph from the
Indexing Degustation page in the July issue of the ANZSI
Newsletter.
It is the Society of Indexers that offers the Betty Moyes
Prize, not ASAIB (the Association of South African Indexers
and Biographers). The only South African relevance to the
item is that the winner, Sanet le Roux, is an ASAIB member.
I apologise for any confusion arising from my error.
Jane Purton
ASI invites ANZSI members to join its Special Interest Groups
I
love reading biographies, especially ones about the US
Presidents. I get a thrill from learning about history from a
personal angle. But what I find even more thrilling is talking
with other people who enjoy these kinds of biographies. Not
just another book-lover, but a biography nut like me.
This kind of desire to find people who share not only
your general interests but your specialized knowledge and
passion crosses over to the professional realm as well. And the
American Society of Indexing invites you to satisfy that desire
by becoming part of our Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
In 1996, ASI members began to organize themselves
by areas of indexing specialties. By 1998 several SIGs
had formed as professional development cooperatives with
coordinators, co-coordinators, treasurers, and/or membership
coordinators. Members wanted to educate editors, publishers,
and authors about the benefits of professionally created
indexes; correspond with each other about issues within
their indexing specialties; facilitate networking and referrals
for work in specialty areas; and, in some cases, market their
services in their chosen specialty topics. They intended to use
the SIGs as a professional development mechanism while also
coordinating such efforts within the national society.
Today ASI SIGs, which are organized by indexing specialty,
serve as networking sources and marketing tools for their
members. They do this by means of email lists, newsletters,
brochures, and ASI meetings. SIGs also market their members’
services in specific subject areas to targeted clients.
All of ASI’s SIGs are open to members of international
indexing associations, including ANZSI. You do not need
to join ASI to be part of one or more SIGs. As long as we
can verify that you are a current member in your indexing
organization, the entire list of SIGs is available to you. Here
are the current ASI SIGs:
• Business – Professional indexers and others interested in
the indexing of business subjects such as (but not limited
to) accounting, marketing, management, supervision,
business law, finance, banking, or investing may be
interested in joining this SIG. <www.businessindexing.
org>
• Culinary – The Culinary Indexing SIG is an educational
forum and a network for indexers interested in culinary
indexing in e.g. books, periodicals, CD-ROMs, and web
sites. <www.culinaryindexing.org>
• Garden/Environmental Studies – This SIG is an alliance
of skilled indexers with education and experience in
e.g. botany, gardening, horticulture, landscape design,
agriculture, biogeography, ecology, environmental topics,
geography, homesteading, natural history, natural resources,
wildlife conservation and more. <www.bioindexing.org>
• Genealogy Indexing and Transcription – ASI GIT members
uphold current professional standards in genealogy indexing
and transcription as well as enhance the knowledge of
other indexers, professional and amateur genealogists,
librarians, and publishers regarding the special needs of
genealogists and historians utilizing genealogical works.
• History/Archaeology - The SIG is an alliance of professional
indexers with backgrounds in history, archaeology, and
biography. We also index related subjects including
anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, and
literary criticism. Trade books, textbooks, children’s books,
and scholarly books all fall into our purview. <www.
historyindexers.org>
• Legal - The Legal Indexing SIG has been established and
is for indexers who are interested in legal indexing. The
SIG is open to any member of ASI and the other indexing
societies worldwide. <www.legalindexing.org>
• Periodical/Database Indexing - The Periodical/Database
Indexing Group is intended for both current periodical
and database indexers, freelance and in-house, who are
interested in networking and sharing information.
• Politics/International Indexing - Our YahooGroups email
list is called "indexingpolitics." Interested folks can sign up
at groups.yahoo.com/group/indexingpolitics. <www.wave.
net/upg/pisig/index.htm>
• Scholarly Indexing – ASI's Scholarly Indexing SIG was
established for indexers of scholarly books who want to
share information about, and techniques for, indexing
academic books, and to refer indexing work to one
another.
• Science/Medicine – The Science and Medicine SIG
is an alliance of skilled indexing professionals with
professional and academic credentials in numerous subject
specialties, including technology, clinical medicine,
engineering, physics, veterinary medicine and more. www.
scimedindexers.org/
• Sports-Fitness – The Sports-Fitness Indexing Special
Interest Group (SIG) has been formed to serve as a
network for indexers who work in the areas of sports,
fitness, and related materials. The SIG serves several
functions, including education and networking. <www.
sports-fitnessindexing.org>
• Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies – The Taxonomies
& Controlled Vocabularies Special Interest Group (SIG) is
a networking and educational forum for individuals with
both a professional interest or background in indexing and
involvement, or intentions to get involved, in creating or
editing taxonomies, thesauri, or controlled vocabularies
used for indexing. <www.taxonomies-sig.org>
• Web Indexing – The Web Indexing SIG serves indexers
interested in creating hyperlinked back-of-the book style
indexes on web sites, converting indexes to HTML, indexing
online periodicals and performing HTML metadata keyword
indexing. <www.web-indexing.org>
Take a look at what we have to offer. We would love to
have our international peers become part of our dialogue so
we can talk about what inspires our work.
Annette Rogers, ASI Executive Director
THE INDEXER
The International Journal of Indexing
Published on behalf of the American, Australian and New Zealand, British, Canadian,
Chinese, German, Netherlands and African indexing societies
Indexing at the Einstein Papers Project – 16th century professional indexer, Abraham Fleming
indexing scien�fic texts – handling illustra�ons – Islamic and Middle Eastern indexing resources
military indexing – sor�ng out ships’ names, military ranks and the like
You’ll find it all (and much more) in the September 2011 issue of The Indexer
Followed by the Canadian issue in December, a March 2012 issue dedicated to indexing in the digital environment
and (best news of all?) the ANZSI issue scheduled for June 2012
To make sure of your Indexer and gain instant access online to all issues
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE NOW!
www.theindexer.org
twelve-monthly subscription rate for ANZSI members for 2011–12 remains at: £28.00
Queensland Branch news
ANZSI President comes to Brisbane
Queensland Branch had its AGM on 26 July at the
Salisbury Hotel in Brisbane and we were very happy
to welcome for the first time, ANZSI President Mary
Russell. Branch members enjoyed networking with Mary
over dinner and benefitted from her experience in the
indexing industry.
Dinner was followed by the AGM. Mary Russell
acted as our Returning Officer in the voting. Treasurer
Franz Pinz presented the Branch financial statement
and President Moira Brown gave her Branch report and
introduced our guest.
Our guest speaker Mary talked about her multitude of
professions and her interest in the varied, wide world that is
indexing, including her love for compiling bibliographies
for rare 17th and 18th century books. She discussed
processing annual reports and had some good tips about
finding work and maintaining contacts. Mary and Max
McMaster have co-authored another book, on Assessing
an Index, due to be published shortly, so we will definitely
look out for it.
Mary reiterated the realities of being a professional
freelance indexer – the challenge of juggling family
and work life and achieving balance in workload – or
sometimes the lack of it. Her talk gave budding indexers
a good and realistic approach to the industry – that it’s
something to be approached with eyes wide open.
Mary also stressed the qualities of adaptability and
flexibility in a freelance approach – don’t just stick to one
thing – try lots of different avenues of indexing. Mary’s
approach to web technology and all its possibilities, and
the prospect of indexing opening up so many wonderful
opportunities, was inspiring and exciting for us. She
proved that there is much to explore!
After Mary’s talk, we’re now fascinated by mash-ups,
mapping data and compiling bibliographies of rare books.
We couldn’t have asked for a better speaker! Thanks
Mary.
Mei Yen Chua
Never index your own book!
I
recently re-read a book from my youth – Cat’s Cradle
by Kurt Vonnegut, and was delighted with Chapter 55,
‘Never Index Your Own Book’. I had completely forgotten
about it. This was, of course, a time when being an indexer
was not even the remotest possibility as a future profession!
Cat’s Cradle was published in 1963 and is an hilarious,
pessimistic and thought-provoking satire about the world of
the 1960s, global destruction and in, particular, the fictional
island of San Lorenzo and Bokonism – a new religion. The
narrator is in love with Mona Aamons, whose index entry
in the book about the history of San Lorenzo is revealed
below.
Enjoy!
Madeleine Davis
... As for the life of Aamons,
Mona, the index itself gave a jangling,
surrealistic picture of the many
conflicting forces that had been
brought to bear on her and of her
dismayed reactions to them.
‘Aamons, Mona:’ the index said,
‘adopted by Monzano in order to boost
Monzano’s popularity, 194-199, 216a;
childhood in compound of House of
Hope and Mercy, 63-81; childhood romance with P. Castle,
72f; death of father, 89ff; death of mother, 92f; embarrassed
by role as national erotic symbol, 80, 95f, 166n., 209, 247n.,
400-406, 566n., 678; engaged to P. Castle, 193; essential
naïveté, 67-71, 80, 95f, 116a., 209, 274n., 400-406, 566a.,
678; lives with Bokonon, 92-98, 196-197; poems about,
2n., 26, 114, 119, 311, 316, 477n., 501, 507, 555n., 689,
718ff, 799ff, 800n., 841, 846ff, 908n., 971, 974; poems by,
89, 92, 193; returns to Monzano, 199; returns to Bokonon,
197; runs away from Bokonon, 199; runs away from
Moazano, 197; tries to make self ugly in order to stop being
erotic symbol to islanders, 89, 95f, 116n., 209, 247n., 400406, 566n., 678; tutored by Bokonon, 63-80; writes letter to
United Nations, 200; xylophone virtuoso, 71.’
I showed this index entry to the Mintons, asking them
if they didn’t think it was an enchanting biography in
itself, a biography of a reluctant goddess of love. I got an
unexpectedly expert answer, as one does in life sometimes.
It appeared that Claire Minton, in her time, had been a
professional indexer. I had never heard of such a profession
before.
She told me that she had put her husband through
college years before with her earnings as an indexer, that the
earnings had been good, and that few people could index
well.
She said that indexing was a thing that only the most
amateurish author undertook to do for his own book. I
asked her what she thought of Philip Castle’s job.
‘Flattering to the author, insulting to the reader,’ she
said. ‘In a hyphenated word,’ she observed, with the
shrewd amiability of an expert, ‘ ‘self-indulgent.’ I’m always
embarrassed when I see an index an author has made of his
own work.’
‘Embarrassed?’
‘It’s a revealing thing, an author’s index of his own work,’
she informed me. ‘It’s a shameless exhibition – to the trained
eye.’
‘She can read character from an index,’ said her
husband.
‘Oh?’ I said. ‘What can you tell about Philip Castle?’
She smiled faintly. ‘Things I’d better not tell strangers.’
‘Sorry.’
‘He’s obviously in love with this Mona Aamons Monzano,’
she said.
‘That’s true of every man in San Lorenzo I gather.’
‘He has mixed feelings about his father,’ she said.
‘That’s true of every man on earth.’ I egged her on
gently.
‘He’s insecure.’
‘What mortal isn’t?’ I demanded. I didn’t know it then,
but that was a very Bokononist thing to demand.
‘He’ll never marry her.’
‘Why not?’
‘I’ve said all I’m going to say,’ she said.
‘I’m gratified to meet an indexer who respects the privacy
of others.’
‘Never index your own book,’ she stated.
A duprass, Bokonon tells us, is a valuable instrument for
gaining and developing, in the privacy of an interminable love
affair, insights that are queer but true. The Mintons’ cunning
exploration of indexes was surely a case in point. A duprass,
Bokonon tells us, is also a sweetly conceited establishment.
The Mintons’ establishment was no exception.
Sometime later, Ambassador Minton and I met in the
aisle of the airplane, away from his wife, and he showed that
it was important to him that I respect what his wife could
find out from indexes.
‘You know why Castle will never marry the girl, even
though he loves her, even though she loves him, even though
they grew up together?’ he whispered.
‘No, sir, I don’t.’
‘Because he’s a homosexual,’ whispered Minton. ‘She can
tell that from an index, too.’
The VIC in July: Same publication + many indexers = ???
V
ictorian Branch organised its third communal indexing
event, and to bring a sense of commercial indexing
reality to the task, we deliberately restricted the length of
the index allowed. During previous events we discovered
that not only did everyone produce a different index, but
the length of the indexes varied greatly. So this time we
considered the question ‘Given we are all indexing the same
publication, should we end up with very different indexes?’
By restricting the length
of the index to a maximum
of 240 lines, we forced
participants to consider the
audience for the publication
and hence consider their
entries more carefully.
The publication to be
indexed was Discovering
Portarlington’s History: A
Driving Trail, by Lorraine
Stokes.
Portarlington
History Group, 2007, 84p.
Participants purchased
the publication in advance
and either came to The VIC or sent their index in. This gave
interstate members the opportunity to participate.
At The VIC meeting in July the indexes were attached
to the walls around the hall for all to examine and compare.
The participants were then asked the following questions:
Audience: Who did you consider was the audience for
this book?
Index length: What decisions did you have to make
to keep the index to the required length? Please include
decisions you made before you started indexing, as well as
decisions made during indexing or at the end of the indexing
process.
Is your index different?: Having seen the other indexes,
how is your index different? Based on your perceived
audience is this a good thing?
Review: If you had a chance to review your index, what
would you do differently?
Overview: Was this a worthwhile exercise? If so, how
did you benefit, and if not, how could the exercise be
improved?
The indexes were all different; not only in content, but
also in how they were presented. To highlight this and to
prove we all index differently, the various indexes were put,
together with the participants answers to the questions in
a document. In compiling the document it was decided to
make the indexers anonymous. It was also decided to leave
the formatting as presented, as this added an unexpected
layer of interest to the indexes. So far we have ten responses
and hopefully this article will encourage more participants to
submit their indexes. The draft can be seen at <www.anzsi.
org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=204>.
What next?
This has proved such an interesting exercise and the
resulting comments and indexes such a great resource, the
process and results will be written up for The Indexer. Max
McMaster will also attempt to come up with a definitive
index, still at 240 lines, based on all the variations.
The other part of the exercise was to give us a great
excuse to take a trip to Portarlington. When we mentioned
this to Lorraine Stokes she suggested we visit on Sunday 16
October as there was a local art and garden trail on. Full
details will be added to the website at <www.anzsi.org/site/
Mary Russell
A wide variety of indexes displayed on the wall ...
Good old days?
D
elving into back issues of The Indexer
recently I came across an article on
Australian Society of Indexers from 1987
(Th
The Indexer 1987, 15(3), p. 171). There was
a depiction of an early logo. The article also
mentioned that the recommended rate had
been increased to $18.50 (it is now $65).
Mary Russell
From: <www.theindexer.org/files/15-3/15-3_170.pdf>
ACT Region Branch meets Canberra editors
A
combined meeting of the ANZSI ACT Region Branch
and the Canberra Society of Editors was held at the
Australian National University on 29 June.
Liz Phillips spoke first on editing. Formerly a technical
writer, Liz has been a member of the Canberra Society of
Editors for three years. She set out some of the aims of
editing: to assemble, prepare or modify written material; and
to reconcile the needs of the author, publisher and reader. The
society has produced a commissioning checklist that explains
editing services and lists the three levels of edit – substantive,
copy and verification – to help editors and their clients agree
on the level of edit required for a particular document.
Shirley Campbell spoke on back-of-book indexing. She
explained why an index is necessary, what a professional
indexer does, what the skills of a professional indexer are, and
how an editor chooses an indexer. The registration process
was explained including the criteria used in assessing indexes.
Shirley also explained the difference between back-of-book
indexing and database indexing.
A lively discussion followed these presentations. Of
particular concern was the matter of insurance and professional
indemnity. Other topics discussed were censorship in indexing,
recommended rate for indexing (editors don’t have an
equivalent rate) and annual report indexing.
The editors found this meeting very valuable. Many said
they had no idea prior to this as to what indexers actually did!
We plan to make this an annual event.
Edyth Binkowski
IN THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
Procedure at the AGM
ANZSI AGM agenda
Queensland Branch President’s report 2010–11
My experience of Basic Book indexing
Indexing indaba
Corrigendum
ASI invites ANZSI members to join its SIGs
Never index your own book!
Good old days?
ACT Region Branch meets Canberra editors
The Newsletter and its schedule
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ANZSI Newsletter
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Newsletter Schedule
The next newsletter will appear in September 2011.
The submission deadline is Wednesday, 31 August.
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 8 | September 2011
ANZSI News
History of ANZSI
s ANZSI celebrates its 35th year,
I am delighted to announce that
John Simkin has agreed to prepare the
history of ANZSI. John is in an excellent
position to write the history as he has
served on Council or Victorian Branch
Committees, or both, continuously for
all the 35 years. It is an outstanding achievement and his
contribution to the Council/Committees will be missed.
John is looking forward to travelling around to interview
members and compiling the history.
The history will be funded by the Victorian Branch,
which is appropriate as Victorian Branch is also 35 years
old.
A
2011 Conference
Have you registered for the 2011 Conference? If not, why
not? Can’t make the whole Conference? Why not register
for a day? Abstracts and biographical information have
been loaded on the website.
Green Conference
The Victorian Branch have decided to make the 2011
Conference as Green as possible by reducing the amount
of paper used. Presenters have been asked to submit
copies of their papers and any documentation they would
like attendees to have before the Conference. This will be
placed on a data stick and put in satchels. If presenters
want attendees to have copies during their session they
will bring a few copies to share.
Conference optional dinners
On Sunday 11, Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 September
there will be informal dinners at restaurants near the
Conference venue in Brighton. To join in just be in the
foyer of the Brighton Savoy at 6:30 pm. Partners and
members not attending the Conference are welcome to
join in. To see what is on offer and to get a rough idea
of cost see the Google map available at <http://tinyurl.
com/ANZSI2011Rest>.
ANZSI Annual General Meeting
If you would like your apologies recorded for the AGM
please complete the form on the website <www.anzsi.
org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=213>. There you will also
find a proxy voting form. These need to be completed and
returned by Wednesday 13 September.
Full colour version of Newsletter
Are you currently receiving the printed version of the
ANZSI Newsletter? Did you know that if you subscribe
to the email version you receive it in full colour!
Want to switch to the email version? Log in to
the members area of the website and ‘Update Your
Details’. Scroll down to ANZSI Inclusions and tick
‘Receive Newsletter by Email’. Now scroll down to ‘Save
Changes’.
ANZSI renewals
For many members renewals are due by the end of
October. You will have received an email with a link to
the secure credit card payment facility via the website.
Alternatively you can print off the renewal form and pay
by cheque.
For those new members who joined between January
and June 2011, your membership is due for renewal by
1 March 2012, so you will receive a renewal email midDecember.
Mary Russell
NZ Branch AGM alert!
The New Zealand Branch will hold its Annual
General Meeting in Wellington on Saturday,
29 October.
An indexing workshop using the SkyIndex
program will run in the morning and the AGM in
the afternoon.
Details will be sent soon to all Branch
members.
Robin Briggs, President
NSW Branch: Annual General Meeting
Thursday 27 October 2011
6.30 pm (meeting); 7.00 pm (dinner)
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
<www.anzsi.org>.
Advertising rates
Full page: $200.00
Half page $100.00
<www.anzsi.org>.
Golden Cinnamon restaurant, first floor, above Cafe Kasturi,
767–69 George Street, Broadway
(about a block downhill from Central Station).
Cost: $30 per head banquet menu. Drinks supplied.
RSVP by Thursday 20 October to Frances Paterson at
At the AGM we will be electing President, Vice-President, Secretary,
Treasurer and Committee members for the year.
Minor changes to the NSW Constitution are also proposed for adoption
at the AGM.
Online versions of the nomination and proxy voting forms will soon be
available at the ANZSI website:
The NSW Branch Committee meets by teleconference once a month so
if you would like to join the Committee from wherever you live, all you
need is a telephone to overcome the tyranny of distance. New members
will be very welcome.
The future of ebook indexing
The future of indexers will depend to a large extent on the role that indexes
end up playing in ebooks. At this stage there is no guarantee that they will be
considered a necessary tool, nor that they will be implemented effectively.
In recognition of this, ASI established a Digital Trends Task Force in early
2011. It is using a LinkedIn Group, <www.linkedin.com/groups/ASI-DigitalTrends-Task-Force-4005509>, to further its charge which is to:
• gather information about changes in digital publishing practices as they affect
indexes;
• interface with leading digital publishing companies, digital eReader hardware and
software suppliers, and industry partners to find solutions to ensure there are usable
indexes in nonfiction digital book formats and eBooks;
• inform ASI members about digital trends in a timely manner, so that indexers can
prepare for and participate in technology-driven and process changes.
If you have a LinkedIn account you can search for the group by name
– ASI Digital Trends Task Force – and ask to join. If you don’t have a LinkedIn
account, you can apply for a free one at <www.linkedin.com>.
Please start off by reading the Group Rules up on the right near the top of
the page, and note that the group managers Jan Wright, Mary Harper and Dave
Ream are always available to bounce ideas off of or to help troubleshoot any
issues that come up. There are discussions going on Research, News, Education
and Training, Textbooks, Volunteers Needed, Cindex, Macrex, Digital Book
World, Specifications, PDF issues, Tools Development, NISO, Handhelds and
Webinars, and there are already links to many useful resources.
This information was taken (with permission) largely from the LinkedIn site
and an email sent by Jan Wright to Index-L. I am delighted and relieved that
they have taken on this task, and hope that many ANZSI members will visit the
site and contribute as appropriate.
Glenda Browne
Queensland Branch – Indexing Challenge ONE: Biography
Type: Online Indexing experience / training by Peer Review
Six weeks, using the free downloads from MACREX, CINDEX or SKY indexing software, or on MS Word
Dates of challenge: Saturday 10 September to Sunday 23 October
If you are keen to gain indexing skills, then join us for some online indexing practice on the biography of a
flamboyant Australian political figure. Peer review training organised by Queensland Branch mentors Jean Dartnall
and Mei Yen Chua.
What do you have to do?
You are asked to index the book within six weeks. You may use the free downloads from MACREX, CINDEX or SKY
indexing software, or use MS Word. The book has 198 pages, including 17 pages of photographs.
Who can participate?
Indexing Challenge ONE: Biography is open to all ANZSI members (and non-members).
Please ask for assistance via email, if any queries arise. You will receive written feedback on your index. At the end,
there will be suggestions for improvement and a general overall assessment; this is not a formal fail/pass type of
assessment.
Cost A$75.00
How to Register?
To register for Challenge ONE, complete the application form details on the website at
and return to Queensland Branch Secretary Beryl Macdonald <[email protected]>.
Please email details of payment also. The ebook will be sent to you by the starting date.
Where can I get help?
Email Jean Dartnall <[email protected]>
Where do I submit my index?
Submit your completed index to Jean Dartnall <[email protected]>
Happy Online indexing experience with ANZSI Queensland Branch!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: If the advertised dates do not suit you, contact the Secretary Beryl Macdonald for alternative starting dates.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Sat 10 Sept to
Sun 23 Oct
Qld Branch
Indexing Challenge
ONE – Biography
Online
Details at
Mon to Wed
12–14 Sept
ANZSI
ANZSI Conference
Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Vic
Details at
Tues 27 Sept
6.00 for 7.00 pm
Qld Branch
Experiences of the
ANZSI Conference
The Salisbury Hotel
Brisbane
Details above and at
Wed 5 Oct
Vic Branch
AGM
Elsternwick Club
Details at
Thurs 27 Oct
6.30 pm
NSW
Branch
AGM
Golden Cinnamon
Restaurant, Broadway
Details on page 2 and at
Sat 29 Oct
NZ Branch
AGM
Wellington
Details at
E
books are still subject to a wide
range of opinions. At one extreme
are those who wallow in the romance
of paper and ink, to whom a book is an
affair of the heart. These people open
pages to bury a nose into a book’s private
parts to inhale that heady scent. Others
take a cold view and treat a book solely
as a container of information or entertainment. In the
middle are readers who love books but see that the ebook
has its place in their lives. Then there is the economic
aspect which is of concern to students and university
libraries. Here I take a look at two aspects, the romantic
and economic/practical.
Brought to book
There are always one or two journalists whose pieces are
seized upon with pleasure and one of these is Michael
Shmith who writes for The Age. He writes with wit and
perspicacity and his article on August 20 entitled Brought
to book: why Kindle has failed to light my literary fire is no
exception.
Michael Shmith felt bound to buy a Kindle after his
eighty-five year old mother started using one, an act to be
compared with ‘Beethoven taking up the electric guitar’.
He was about to travel so he bought a Kindle and loaded
it up with a variety of books. He made a pact with himself
that he would read nothing but the Kindle while he
was away, nor would he buy more than newspapers and
magazines. It all went well for a couple of weeks until he
happened upon an out-of-print book on fish cookery in
a charity shop. As he said, that was the thin edge of the
paperback. Within a week he had bought a dozen more
and the Kindle languished at the bottom of the pile. Then
he began an experiment. He obtained a copy of Christine
Falls by Benjamin Black in both hard and Kindle copy
and read alternate chapters in each on the flight home.
And the outcome? The book won easily, for as he said,
‘the seedy damp darkness of 1950s Dublin seemed more
gloomily atmospheric’ on the page than on the screen.
He agrees that while ‘Kindleism’ has many advantages;
speed, portability and capacity etc., he thinks there is
something ‘not quite right’ about reading from the screen.
He says that he is of ‘the generation that, while embracing
technology, doesn’t have to sleep with it to qualify the
relationship.’ He writes his articles on the computer but
always prints them first for correction with a pencil before
handing them in.
The trade-off with electronic readers, he writes, is to
‘sacrifice literary tactility’ for something without charm
or feeling. Part of the joy of reading a book is contained
within its weight and bulk, the smell and sound of turning
the page. A book rekindles memories; its provenance,
whether bought or a gift, where it was read etc. A book is
a thing of the senses which cannot be said of a Kindle.
The Age August 20, 2011. Page 25.
E-textbooks for students
Anyone who has been a higher education student knows
how much a list of textbooks costs. One can either bite
the bullet and purchase them all or join the bunfight in
the library and miss out on vital texts. But there is another
option, the e-textbook. In July, Amazon announced that
textbooks would be available for rent to students in the
US, saving them up to 80 per cent of the cost of a hard
copy.
Students would be allowed to make notes and mark
pages in the e-textbooks. However, the costs of the ereaders, the usefulness of the soft copy and the problems
raised by using the texts in university examinations are
matters of concern and have slowed down the adoption
of the ebooks by students.
La Trobe University law student Andrew Smith says
printed textbooks usually cost him about $1200 a year,
and are quickly superseded. However, he says he isn’t
sure ebooks and rental schemes are the answer. The idea
seemed viable but would probably be impractical.
‘You have the additional cost of having to purchase a
Kindle or some kind of ebook reader, which I don’t have and
I don’t have the money to purchase either.’
‘A lot of my subjects have open book exams where a
textbook is needed for reference to cases and legislation and
under exam conditions electronic devices are not permitted.’
‘I’d still need to have a hard copy to have the relevant
sections available to reference in exams so I’d have to double
up.’
Amazon has not said if the rental scheme would be
exported, but Australian universities are taking a close
interest in the technology. Universities, however, would
need to ensure that e-texts could be used in the way hard
copy is. which means they would have to be allowed into
exams. A policy would need to be developed in order
to deny access to the internet whilst in the examination
halls.
Professor David Spencer of La Trobe University
says e-textbooks have many advantages, and already
publishers are offering authors the choice of publishing
electronically. And he says universities are bound to
adopt new technologies to reflect students’ interest.
Course materials need to be presented in new ways to
retain a student’s attention.
As yet, most students do not own iPads and Kindles
and the majority are struggling with the cost of the old
technology.
Jesse Marshall, national president of the National
Union of Students, says that the cost of e-readers could
cancel out the benefit of cheaper ebooks and that they
should not be a substitute for hard copy which most
students preferred.
(Indexing degustation, continued from previous page)
Monash University librarian Cathrine Harboe-Ree
says ebooks make up a large part of university collections,
but that e-textbooks are far less common.
‘In the library now we have about 366,000 ebooks [but]
the move into e-textbooks has been a lot slower than the
move into making other books available electronically.’
Ten years ago, the Monash library was buying 15,000
print journals and 60,000 books a year. It now subscribes
to 100,000 e-journals and 6000 print subscriptions, and
buys 40,000 books.
Ms Harboe-Ree says e-publishing offers many benefits
for universities and students, and key to the widespread
uptake of e-textbooks would be the possibility of accessing
them across various platforms. These include the etextbook rental schemes if they are cheaper and able to be
used on devices they have.
Ms Harboe-Ree says the local e-textbook market is
marred by a lack of consistency in the way publishers
choose to distribute them. Some e-textbooks may be
licensed only for use online and not for download;
others may allow students a temporary download, or a
permanent download. In some cases publishers allow the
ebook to be downloaded to another device, sometimes
they allow no more than 10 per cent. Students are able to
look at the e-textbooks at home but not download while
others allow downloading but the material self-destructs
after a few days.
Ms Harboe-Ree says most students still prefer to
borrow a traditional book.
‘[Ebooks are] a very common part of our environment
now but I’m not sure that its exactly the same thing [as
having a hard copy] . . . if you’ve got to read the book cover to
cover some of our users say they’d rather read it in print,” she
says. “Not everybody wants to spend all day on the computer
and then all night on the computer as well.’
La Trobe student Andrew Smith agrees.
‘Call me old-fashioned, but I really like having a hard
copy of my textbook so that I can put post-it notes in there
and write and scribble notes on pages. So I think it’s good to
have the original form.’
<www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/
a-textbook-case-for-digital-learning-20110815-1iujw.
html#ixzz1VAPIb223>
Jane Purton
Society of Indexers Conference 2012
‘An Indexing Olympiad: International Perspectives’
11 to 13 July 2012
Ramada Hotel, 149 Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2PP
Call for Papers
Abstract submission deadline: 30 November 2011
Final paper submission deadline: 15 June 2012
The Society of Indexers was founded in 1957 and works to promote indexing, the quality of indexes
and the profession of indexing. Further details are here <www.indexers.org.uk/index.php?id=1>.
Following our successful conferences in Middelburg, The Netherlands (2010), and in Keele (2011),
we invite papers for our 2012 conference in Brighton.
Papers are invited for presentation to a plenary (full conference) session. The theme of the
conference is international perspectives on indexing and we would welcome papers on this theme or
other relevant topics. For example, we would be interested in papers on the impact of globalisation,
the internet, publishers’ outsourcing, working transnationally or social networks and indexing.
Please submit your abstract to the Secretary of the 2012 Brighton Conference Committee at
<[email protected]> by 30 November 2011.
Great book, pity about the index
M
embers and guests at the meeting of The VIC in August
swapped observations about the frustrations of poorly
or unindexed books, and speculated on their effects on the
usefulness of a book to its readers, and also sales of the book.
A tome, J. A. Lyons — The ‘Tame Tasmanian’ : Appeasement
and Rearmament in Australia, 1932–39, by David S. Bird,
was published in 2008 by Australian Scholarly Publishing
Pty Ltd, with a RRP of $39.95.
It happened that Ian Forster and I had selected the
same book, and we both spoke to the meeting about the
perfunctory index to an important book. The author’s
painstaking scholarship and labours over many years had
resulted in a book structured like this –
Preface
Introduction
Chapters 1 to 7
Epilogue
Appendices
Select Bibliography
Notes
Index
xi-xii
1–35
37-331
332-347
349-353
354-368
369-424
425-431
The run-on index comprises six and a half pages in two
columns, with 11 to 14 page numbers across each column,
The number of lines per column is 54 to 57.
Dr Bird observes that he focused largely on the biographical
form for his account as a means of throwing light on the
Far East and Pacific regions during these turbulent years.
Accordingly, names of persons claim very many of the entries
in the index. Disconcertingly, undifferentiated strings of
page numbers following a heading are, in many instances,
very long. For example, estimates are:
Appeasement, Australia, 320 page references, with seven subheadings;
Neville Chamberlain, 550; Department of External Affairs, 60;
W M Hughes, 95; Benito Mussolini, 55; R G Menzies, 80, with two
subheadings; Japan, 550, with one subheading.
Surprisingly, passim occurs in about half a dozen places,
referring either to all of Chapter 5 (Chapter 5: annus
mirabilis – The Imperial Conference and its Aftermath, May
1936 – December 1937), or all of Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6:
annus horribilis – The Climax of Appeasement, January
– September 1938).
The absence of page ranges in this index points to use of
word processor concordance software. The dearth of page
ranges suggests no input from an experienced indexer. The
entries for an official of the Foreign Office are:
Cadogan, Sir Alexander, 180,184,185,186,197
A reading of these pages reveals that these could be
replaced with 180,184-6,197.
Again the tally in the following string could be halved:
Dodds, James, 74,75,76,77,80,81,84,186,74-5,76-7,80-1,186
The Department of External Affairs is treated thus:
External Affairs, Department of, 23,34,42,44,46,48,64,71,76,86,95,
107,111,112,113,114,120,125,129,131,133,134,135,136,139,141,144,
151,165,168,169,170,171,172,182,184,185,197,217,221,225,228,235,
236,241,246,257,275,276,283,284,308,320,328,329,331.
By plodding through these page numbers, one comes up
with a tentative list of subheadings which might be useful if
one were interested in rescuing the published index:
Department of External Affairs
appeasement of Germany 217-18,221,234-5
commercial policies
165
diplomatic inoffensiveness supported 49
excluded from policymaking 64,76,86,113,131,135-6
German colonies
144-45
Imperial Conference of 1937:171
Italy, sanctions proposed
129,133
Japan, trade relations
120,228
League of Nations Covenant 168-9
Manchukuo (Manchuria) 45-6,48
press opinion surveyed
182
Singapore strategy
225
standing with Lyons
34,86,94-5,111,172,241
status as department
23,44,125,134,151
Yampi iron-ore warning
228
But, comparing these subheadings with various entries in
the published index one quickly gains a feeling of wading,
uninvited, in a weedy swamp, shortly before sunset.
Lesson: do not spend time patching an unserviceable
index. Scrap it, and start afresh with clear ideas of the needs
of the expected readership. Australian Book Review said in
a note on the book in October 2008, ‘Readers, however,
should be warned of its unsatisfactory index’. We may well
sigh for an author whose expectations for a usable index
were, perhaps, thwarted by a publisher’s accountant or an
editor who was not seized with the importance of a good
index to a major work of scholarship.
Alan Eddy
Sor�ng in CINDEX™
Tips and techniques from Indexing Research
There are two basic sorting conventions employed in indexing:
word-by-word and letter-by-letter. Different authorities (e.g.
International Standards Organization and Chicago Manual
of Style) as well as individual publisher style guidelines, place
varying spins on these two conventions. CINDEX provides
a selection of protocols as well as customizable “Exceptions.”
The default setting for sorting is a “Simple” sort in which
each character is sorted according to its computer (ASCII)
value. This means that any main heading that begins with
a quotation mark will float to the top of the index. Other
characters that have a special significance, such as < > and { },
for hiding and forcing placement during sorting will also be
evaluated according to their character value – in this case at
the end of the index. All other headings beginning with alpha
characters will file where you expect to see them.
So, to have entries beginning with quotation marks or
special characters (as mentioned above) file in their correct
places, you need to select one of the sort protocols at:
Tools Menu/Sort/Alphabetizing Rule
(Sorting in CINDEX, continued from previous page)
Sorting the index entries by their locators is often
necessary as well as useful – use the A→Z and 1→9 icons
on the index tool bar to switch easily between the basic
alphabetic sort and the page sort. Uses for a page order sort
include checking entries against page proof, revising an
existing index, providing the client with an easy way to locate
entries if there will be last-minute movement of text and they
need to make page corrections in your finished index.
Remember that when sorting by locator CINDEX will
only sort by the first locator entered in the page field of any
record. For example, a page field containing the locators “12,
45, 78” will only appear among the other entries sorted at
12, so you will need to expand the index (see Tools Menu/
Expand). This will then show the entry in three positions: at
12, 45, and 78.
The opposite of sorted is unsorted and CINDEX can
display the index in this manner too. In most cases this will
reflect the order in which you write and add entries to the
index. If you are importing an index from another compiled
source (e.g. conversion of a previously published index) the
unsorted order will mimic the order of the original. To
change to unsorted order go to the View Menu and click on
“Sorted.” This removes the check mark and “unsorts” the
index. The word “Unsorted” will appear in the status bar at
the bottom of the index. To further confirm that the index
is indeed unsorted vs. sorted, you can choose to display the
number assigned to each record by going to View Menu and
selecting “Show Numbers”*. Please note you will only see the
numbers when you are in Draft View.
An unsorted view of the index can be useful for reviewing
your thought processes during the compilation of the index,
and finding aberrant records (disconnected or broken entries)
after importing an index from an outside source.
CINDEX also sorts subheadings under any heading term
by ignoring leading prepositions or conjunctions. The list of
the default subheading prefixes is at:
Sort Menu/Ignore Subheading Prefixes
This list can be edited as you wish. For example, if you
want CINDEX to sort on (rather than ignore) the subheading
prefixes then simply highlight the whole list and press the
delete key to remove them.
And, did you know that CINDEX is able to arrange the
whole index according to the content of any subheading
level? Useful when you want to ensure complete consistency
of wording of subheadings.
Lastly, when you make a group (temporary or otherwise)
as the result of a Find, you can sort the group quite differently
from the sort in effect for the index as a whole. Just use the
tool bar icons.
* All menu selections on the Windows® version of the program
have keyboard shortcuts (the Mac® version of the program has
fewer). If you find yourself using the mouse repeatedly for the
same function, stop, look, and learn its keyboard equivalent. It
will save you time and energy.
Frances Lennie
IN
ANZSI Newsletter
THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
About the Newsletter
NSW Branch: Annual General Meeting
The future of ebook indexing
Qld Branch – Indexing Challenge ONE
SI Conference call for papers
Great book, pity about the index
Sorting in CINDEX
The ANZSI Newsletter and its schedule
1
2
2
2
3
3
4
5
6
7
8
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Newsletter schedule
The next Newsletter will appear in October 2011.
The submission deadline is Wednesday, 28 September.
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 9 | October 2011
ANZSI News
2011 Conference
udging by the comments I am
receiving, the 2011 Conference was
a great success. My thanks go to the
Conference Committee Nikki Davis,
Alan Eddy, Margaret Findlay, Terri
Mackenzie, Max McMaster, and Jane
Purton. Thanks also to Ray Price who
looked after the Conference desk.
There are various reports on the Conference in this
newsletter so I will not go into details. Papers and links
to the slide presentations will be added to the website at
<www.anzsi.org/site/2011-Conf-Papers.asp> as
they become available.
J
American Society for Indexing; I am standing on the
right with Max McMaster.
AGMs for Branches
During October the ACT Region, New South Wales,
New Zealand and Victorian Branches are holding their
AGMs . Don’t be put off by the term ‘Annual General
Meeting’. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet other
indexers, so I strongly recommend you make an effort to
attend.
Mary Russell
2013 Conference
I suggest you mark your diaries straight away
to join your fellow indexers at the next ANZSI
Conference, 13–15 March 2013 in Wellington,
New Zealand. The 2013 Conference committee
already has the planning well underway and
details will be added as available to:
<www.anzsi.org/site/2013Conf.asp>.
ICRIS
On the Sunday before the Conference the
representatives and guests of International
Committee of Representatives of Indexing
Societies (ICRIS) met. The international
committee has always existed, but this year they finally
confirmed their name as ICRIS. The main aim is to oversee
the International Agreement of Indexing Societies
<www.anzsi.org/site/international.asp>.
This is reviewed at a Triennial meeting, the next being at
the Society of Index Conference in Brighton, UK in July
2012.
The Committee tries to meet before each international
conference and at the ANZSI Conference we were
fortunate to have (seen in the picture, from the left):
Maureen MacGlashan, Society of Indexers representative
and editor of The Indexer, Ruth Pincoe, ICRIS Coordinator,
from Indexing Society of Canada, and Pilar Wyman from
Australian and New Zealand Society
of Indexers, Inc.
Election of Officers and Council for 2011–12
President
Mary Russell
Vice President
Max McMaster
Secretary
Michael Ramsden
Treasurer
vacant
Committee Members
Alan Eddy
Karen Gillen
NSW Branch: AGM
Thursday 27 October 2011
6.30 pm (meeting); 7.00 pm (dinner)
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
<www.anzsi.org>.
Advertising rates
Full page: $200.00
Half page $100.00
available on the ANZSI website
at
<www.anzsi.org>.
Golden Cinnamon restaurant, first floor, above Cafe Kasturi,
767–69 George Street, Broadway
(about a block downhill from Central Station).
Cost: $30 per head banquet menu. Drinks supplied.
RSVP by Thursday 20 October to Frances Paterson at
We will be electing President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer
and Committee members for the year.
Minor changes to the NSW Constitution are also proposed for
adoption at the AGM.
Online versions of the nomination and proxy voting forms are
available at the ANZSI website:
The NSW Branch Committee meets by teleconference once a month
so if you would like to join the Committee from wherever you live,
all you need is a telephone to overcome the tyranny of distance. New
members will be very welcome.
ACT Region Branch AGM
6.30 pm, Tuesday 18 October 2011 at
The Brassey of Canberra, Barton
Join your colleagues for dinner
($45 for choice of two courses, complimentary wine)
Enjoy a convivial evening and catch up with your colleagues
Details at: <www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=221>
Or contact Eleanor Whelan at:
<[email protected]> or ph
NZ Branch AGM
Saturday, 29 October, 1.00 pm
Elder Family Matters rooms,
Level 1, 60 Ghuznee Street, Wellington
(close to Cuba Street and to bus services)
An indexing workshop using SkyIndex will be held from 10.00 am to
noon. Users of other programs may find it useful and will be welcome.
The lunch break, from 12.00 to 1.00 pm, will give time for informal
networking – members attending only the AGM are invited to join the
gathering at mid-day.
The AGM agenda and workshop information are being emailed to
Branch members.
Details at: <www.anzsi.org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=226>
Robin Briggs, President
Indexing see Change – ANZSI 2011 Conference (1)
B
righton’s Savoy Hotel buzzed in September with
indexers learning and sharing on a wide range of
topics, from emerging trends in publishing to subject
indexing how-to. Novice through to experienced indexers
attended, forming and renewing acquaintances in a
friendly, encouraging atmosphere. Visiting Canadian,
American and Scottish indexers added their international
perspectives and experiences, in both their presentations
and general discussions.
For those who couldn’t make it to Melbourne, think
two whole-group keynote speakers, several smaller parallel
sessions and some even smaller round-table discussions,
each introduced by Victorian Branch members.
Dr Susan Hawthorne set the scene with her Publishing
change see Digital see Bibliodiversity presentation.
As well as discussing the rise of digital publishing,
about 20% currently, Susan introduced the concept of
diminishing bibliodiversity and endorsed the conceptual/
subject analysis work of indexers. BISAC headings,
new opportunities for marginal publishers with digital
publishing were also discussed.
Anna Gifford, in her presentation Shifting
keys – how words matter in 21st century
discoverability, quoted Mitchell Kapor’s analogy
of getting information off the Internet being
like taking a drink from a fire hydrant, so
highlighting the value of controlled vocabularies
as discoverability tools, even with Web 3.0. Anna
discussed aspects of the Australian Thesaurus
of Education Descriptors, Alcohol and Other
Drugs thesaurus, Somazone tag cloud and the
pros and cons of folksonomies. del.ic.ious, flikr
and Faviki are web sites to explore on this topic,
as well as Anna’s conference presentation.
Matt Moore, You’ve come a long way, Baby,
concentrated mainly on emerging folksonomies
and his Australian Taxonomy Survey, conducted recently.
Matt profiled some of the online tools available, such
as Delicious, Curls and Calais, and explained what
Australian Taxonomy Survey respondents said about
their taxonomy use, software and potential taxonomy
skill improvement. Using a sales analogy, Matt advised
conference attendees to promote the business benefits
of having and using a taxonomy, to ensure it’s value is
clear to managers and staff: ‘maximising findability of a
product online can maximise sales’.
Glenda Browne and Mary Coe ran the very interactive
Marketing, networking and the web workshop, including a
networking icebreaker and comments by Pilar Wyman
and Matt Moore about their use of social media for
networking. Glenda’s list of individual marketing ideas,
expanded by Sarah Anderson’s experience as an ‘indexing
newbie’, Mary’s focus on what companies can do and
further ideas on marketing by ANZSI gave attendees
plenty of follow-up ideas.
Amanda Everton, of
Volunteering Australia,
introduced the Pro Bono work and volunteering sessions.
At least 34% of Australians over 18 years volunteer but
fewer commit long term to single organizations. Rather,
recent trends include project based, spontaneous and
corporate volunteering, with more young people and
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups
involved.
Jane Purton covered much in her presentation
Volunteering at Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, about the
history of mechanics’ institutes, the Ballaarat Mechanics’
Institute (BMI) in particular, volunteers at the BMI, and
her experience there. The project of scanning The Ballarat
Star for all references to any events held in the BMI since
1859 has revealed much of the life and language of that
early community. Discussion about the formalisation
of aspects of volunteering at BMI is common, and
controversial, in many volunteer organisations with
insurance and Occupational Health and Safety concerns
a priority.
The Wellington room was transformed for the
Conference Dinner on Monday night. The Windjammer
Brass Quartet, including ANZSI member Don Jordan on
trombone, welcomed and entertained diners during the
evening of celebration and conversation. Mary Russell
is seen in the photo above surprising John Simkin
with a special thankyou gift, honouring his 35+ year
contribution to AusSI and ANZSI.
In his presentation, Indexing political memoirs, Alan
Walker involved us in a case study of the indexes to four
major political memoirs, all published in 2010. Beginning
with a recommendation of Hazel Bell’s Indexing biographies
and other stories of human lives, Alan highlighted some
features of political memoirs, including the Washington
read, misleading or absent indexes and spoofs. We looked
at how author’s attitudes and biased indexers can influence
texts and learnt that an autobiography and memoir are
differentiated by the amount of character analysis. Alan
(Indexing see Change – ANZSI 2011 Conference, continued from previous page)
distributed a detailed analysis of the Howard, GW Bush,
Blair (British ed.) and Blair (North American ed.) indexes
and explained the ‘encyclopaedic index’ brief behind his
6,711 line long index to Howard’s memoir. Look out for
the published version of Alan’s conference paper in The
Indexer.
Ann Philpott joined us to discuss Indexing names in
French and German languages, which included Icelandic,
due to its close relationship to German. From Ann’s
studies and experience we learnt to recognise prefixes,
contractions and how to file them. When some of those
French and German names become heavily used and
familiar, such as in English translations or when the
person lived and earned their fame in an English-speaking
country, the filing element changes. So it is
La Fontaine, Jean de
But
De la Mare, Walter.
Creating double references in an index is ideal, if there
is space, otherwise see references are recommended. For
Icelandic names, Ann referred us to Nancy Mulvany’s
book Indexing books, and recommends cross-referencing
from the patronymic to proper entry under first name,
such as
Olafsdottir, Freya see Freya Olafsdottir.
Animated discussions across the room indicated much
learning was also happening amongst the Chinese and
Islamic languages small groups with Lai Lam and Pilar
Wyman respectively. Both leaders provided notes for
attendees that may be available after the conference.
It was great to see Fiona Swee-Lin Price’s session,
Asian names, in the programme as they seem mysterious,
unfamiliar and so open to misuse in indexes and databases
designed for Anglo-Saxon names. Fiona explained some
cultural differences behind attitudes to names in Asian
versus Western countries, how Asian names have been
variously Romanised and how names are structured in
China and Vietnam. Fortunately Fiona had copies of
her book Success with Asian names for sale, covering the
naming conventions of 14 Asian languages in detail.
Mary Russell tuned our discussion group into many
aspects of Indexing family histories. Genealogy software
may be a helpful starting point as such programmes often
generate indexes of names and places, but further indexing
of major themes and events is also recommended. Double
posts are recommended for married women, under both a
woman’s birth and married names, as a good selling point
and very useful and democratic feature that can minimise
friction where family relationships are strained. Look on
the ANZSI website for references to helpful books and
articles and look out for Indexing your family history by
Mary Russell and Max McMaster, to be published by
ANZSI (hopefully in 2012).
Max McMaster’s workshop Preparing the indexing
quote was an excellent exercise in estimating either time
involved, pages to be indexed, lines of index, number of
entries or locators needed to index the upper primary/
lower secondary Oxford atlas. Estimates varied widely,
with or without an allowance for editing, and prompted
discussion about indexing speed and Australia/American
practices. Embedded indexes are infrequently requested,
though often for computer and software manuals, and
usually attract a substantial extra charge.
Di Reidie, President of the Brighton Historical Society,
guided us through the fascinating local history collection
that is housed upstairs in Brighton’s old town hall.
Di explained the on-going cataloguing projects for the
Society’s costumes, maps, photos, artworks, street and
house files, that are used by visiting researchers. Among
numerous exhibits, the exhibition set up for primary
school children of a typical school-child’s bedroom and
gear from years ago was a highlight, sparking much
discussion. Brighton Historical Society’s website,
<home.vicnet.net.au/~vbhs/>, is a good place to start, but
you really need to visit to appreciate their collection.
Tim Sherratt, Every story has a beginning: entering the
web of data, wowed us with his scrapbook-style story
building using information drawn from primary sources
in Australia’s National Archives and National Library.
His study of when The Great War became The First
World War introduced data harvesting and new ways of
visualizing and interpreting data. Tim talked us through
data capture, text analysis tools, text mining and the
linked data movement while revealing a sequence of
service records, photographs, newspaper articles, maps
and more. One compelling story that unfolded was of
Chinese-Australian Charlie Allen. You can read Charlie’s
story in full on Tim’s website <www.discontents.com.au>.
Four very experienced indexers, Maureen MacGlashan,
Max McMaster, Ruth Pincoe and Pilar Wyman, gave us
a photographic tour of their home offices during the
Indexer’s office environment session, explaining the layout,
equipment and reference documents they use day-by-day
and pointing out especially useful items.
Ruth’s use of library book trolleys and furniture on
wheels enables her great flexibility in office design to
suit various projects. Maureen’s salvage of a microfiche/
microfilm reader assists her newspaper research work and
she has invested in uninterruptible power supply due to
being in a power-outage-prone area. Pilar highlighted her
large wall calendar as an important planning tool and
the greatly reduced amount of paper in her new office
compared with the old. All panellists have dedicated work
spaces with pleasant aspects, some using two computer
screens, others a single large one. We would all like a
view from our office window as inspiring as Maureen
MacGlashan’s view over the River Clyde in Largs,
(Indexing see Change – ANZSI 2011 Conference, continued from previous page)
Scotland, and will investigate Drop box (file hosting
service) and Carbonite (online backup service) if not
already familiar with them.
In Max McMaster’s Children’s book indexing small
group discussion we pored over several non-fiction books
and their indexes. While perusing the text and index we
considered the junior primary audience of a book about
bugs, the depth of indexing and number of locators after
headings/subheadings. Similarly, we studied a middle
primary book about musical instruments with a classified
style of index, discussing the pros and cons of such an
approach. Max’s notes in the set of conference papers
make a very useful reference.
The Art books small group discussion attracted a
large group of enthusiastic indexers, with Nikki Davis
and Max McMaster questioning and commenting on
several non, partly and well-indexed art books. The
experienced art indexers agreed that untitled artworks
can be indexed by description of the main feature, with
the year of completion included. A book of graffiti art
promoted much discussion about location descriptions
that can be used in an index, and how such locations are
recorded, when some graffiti can only be seen only when
approaching from a certain direction.
Maureen MacGlashan set the going-home tone in
her presentation about Emerging trends in publishing:
keeping up to speed. Maureen’s extensive conference
notes make important reading for indexers, especially
her report of the Emerging Technologies: Panel Discussion,
Saturday 3 September 2011 at the Society of Indexers
Conference and an Emerging Publishing Technologies
glossary. Maureen’s comment in that report is wise advice
for ANZSI members too ‘We need as individuals and as a
Society to make sure we develop the technical skills, and
the technology, to offer what the future market requires’.
Maureen is part of SI’s Working Group established to
dialogue with publishers and to advise organizers of SI’s
next conference on relevant presentations, aiming for
a 50:50 split in coverage of traditional and emerging
indexing applications. Pilar encouraged ANZSI members
to join the American Society of Indexers’ Task Force re
Digital Trends in Publishing, similarly working towards
liaison with publishers and stakeholders.
The experienced indexers of ANZSI, SI, ASI and ISC
deserve a special vote of thanks for being so generous
with their time in giving presentations and hosting
discussions. Their enthusiasm was contagious and their
ideas overflowing for follow-up back home. And many
thanks also to the Victorian Branch for sponsoring my
attendance at the Conference.
Judy Richter
Indexing see Change – ANZSI 2011 Conference (2)
A
welcome and introduction to the theme of the
conference by Mary Russell kicked off the 2011
ANZSI Conference at the Brighton Savoy, in Brighton
Victoria. Changes in indexing and our adaptability to
these changes was the underlying theme and as Mary
Russell pointed out we should be thinking of indexes
as a ‘beginning’. In the context of the information age,
this was a fitting theme for what we will see in the future
for the work of an indexer. Some examples were given
of the usefulness of access to data with the Mapping our
Anzacs project, Marinetraffic.com and the Atlas of Living
Australia. The contribution of indexers’ skills to these
projects could be very valuable.
Susan Hawthorne spoke about bibliodiversity and the
changes in publishing ecology. That successful publishing
embraced a bibliodiverse culture, especially with the
short run style of digital publications. The importance
of networks to avoid information overload cannot be
overlooked and the high value that is placed on content
which engages and has an individual reach within a global
society. Inspiring content has the ability to nest ideas
within ideas and cross-pollinates into cultural knowledge,
creating awareness of less dominant cultures. Indexes are
vital to opening up enlightening content and that this
new wave of bio-diversity in publishing provides and
supports the greater accessibility and understanding of
local, regional and global levels of cultural diversity.
Anna Gifford was a wealth of knowledge on thesaurus
and taxonomy, stressing the importance language plays
in discoverability and the interesting nature of shifts in
the meanings and usage of words. Her work with the
thesaurus for the Australian Drug Foundation provided
many examples of how changes in language can affect
discoverability and how accuracy, consistency and creator
based usage statistics can increase usability and ultimately
the worth of the thesaurus.
Matt Moore’s dynamic presentation on taxonomies
and folksonomies indicated the extent and the trend of
usage of these knowledge systems within organisations.
Discussion of folksonomies focused on the power of
the collaborative nature and the usability of tools such
as Delicious, Curls and Onomi. The question of how
to manage the ‘data exhaust’ society now provides
motivation to develop and use data management tools
such as taxonomies. A survey of various information
professionals was presented and showed that of the
72% of respondents, taxonomies are mainly used for
classification yet there was broader organisational usage
shown. It was noted that in the development and
maintenance of these tools we should be concerned with
user outcomes and not just information outcomes, which
highlighted the purpose and function of knowledge
(ANZSI 2011 Conference (2), continued from previous page)
organisation systems.
The Marketing workshop by Glenda Bowne and Mary
Coe, gave us a chance to stretch our legs and mingle
with other guests. This workshop was a hands on look at
effective networking and marketing in social situations
and on the web. Guest speakers included Pilar Wyman
who discussed examples of marketing through Twitter,
Facebook and blogging and using her website to draw
internet-based marketing in one place. Matt Moore
discussed online social networking platforms as tools
to ‘find me’, also noting the importance of interaction
through contributing content and conversation. Sarah
Anderson presented an insight into initiating an indexing
business through pro bono work and the importance
of building relationships with clients from a beginner’s
perspective.
Amanda Everton was our guest speaker from
Volunteering Australia and talked about the benefits to
individuals of volunteer work such as regaining confidence,
increased job skills and satisfaction. The community
benefits also include greater social cohesion, increased
national identity and shared values and opportunities for
learning and development. This was useful information
for indexers to realise the opportunities and benefits out
there for volunteer work.
Jane Purton then followed on with her example of
volunteer work for the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute.
Jane shared the rich history and personal stories about
the institute, the benefits to her and her work as a
volunteer indexer at the institute. The National Standards
for involving volunteers in Not for Profit Organisations was
discussed and it can be seen that it takes meticulous efforts
to organise and manage both the volunteers and the work.
Volunteering for organisations such as the Mechanics
Institute has contributed to the preservation of local
history and culture and its accessibility and usability.
Indexing political memoirs by Alan Walker provided
insight into the production of the Howard autobiography
‘Lazarus Rising: a personal and political autobiography’.
Covered in this presentation was the nature of political
memoirs, the importance of partiality and also the
essential subject and culture knowledge required. It was
seen that index of political memoirs can be varied in
structure, coverage, arrangement and presentation which
was illustrated by the comparison of the indexes of major
political leaders memoirs. Particularly interesting was
the difference between the British and North American
editions of the Blair memoirs. The presenter discussed
issues such as dealing with long entries, and the importance
of names and places.
Frances Lennie’s presentation on The visual appeal of
indexes provided some invaluable tips on presentation
for the new indexer and provided some interesting
discussions. Frances covered the different styles and
formats of an index and various alternatives. ‘It all
depends’ was the stand out phrase from this session
which supported the fact that some things in an index are
beyond the indexer’s control.
Ruth Pincoe’s workshop on Indexing music provided
some insight into the complexities and pitfalls of indexing
musical works. One discovered that indexing musical
compositions was an art in itself; however Ruth was
able to provide some useful reference material and
demonstrated online music reference resources such
as the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
available online through most libraries.
Max McMaster led the group discussion on Indexing
gardening works, covering common and botanical names.
How to treat genus, species, varieties and cultivars were
topics of discussion, along with hybrids and subspecies.
It was interesting to see examples of gardening indexes
and compare the style and treatment of the above
classifications. How to treat pests, weeds and fertilizers
were also intriguing topics to contemplate and discuss
within the group.
Max McMaster also led the workshop on Preparing
the index quote, which included practice run quoting
on an extract of the Oxford Atlas. There were a range of
quotes using a variety of methods such as the per page
rate method, per locator rate method and the hourly rate
method – some indexes use a combination of methods.
Useful information such as a rough estimate for speed of
indexing depending on text type and a reminder to add a
percentage for editing will be useful reference material.
The conference was an invaluable experience for the new
indexer, not only providing formal training but opportunities
to learn and network with other more experienced indexers.
The setting provided an inspiring and refreshing experience.
I would like to thank the Victorian Branch of ANZSI for
the subsidy to attend the conference.
From the Indexing school archives session: Judith Gibson, archivist
from Caulfield Grammar School, Terri Mackenzie, who chaired the
session, and Jane Dyer, archivist at Presbyterian Ladies College.
Further reflections on the ANZSI Conference
T
he one thing that the recent
ANZSI Conference in Brighton,
Melbourne, Australia taught me was
that I’m an oddity—but oh! how joyous
it is. ‘Why odd?’ you might ask. Well,
because I’m an indexer (four months
ago I didn’t even know there was such
a thing), and most of my generation—
I’m 24 years old—don’t seem to know or care about
indexes and indexers. But if ever I had a doubt that my
interest was misplaced, the ANZSI Conference, like an
illuminated manuscript in the Enlightenment, opened its
pages to show me the truth. The words ‘I am an indexer’
might have glowed up at me.
As you may have deduced, I am new to indexing.
The conference certainly reminded me of that. So much
information. Let me correct that—so much glorious
information. And not just that, but the people! You
couldn’t ask for a finer bunch. I met editors, writers,
cataloguers, librarians, and even a fellow Patrick White
aficionado. I felt extremely welcomed, so I must say a
heartfelt thank you to everyone I met, talked to, and
learned from.
And learn I did. What surprised me was the depth
that indexing contains. I felt like a thirsty boy at his
village well, fervently pulling up as many buckets of
water as I could manage. There was bibliodiversity. There
was networking. There was political biography indexing
(one of my favourites). And law indexing. And cookbook
indexing (the discussion of which seemed to prominently
revolve around eggs—it was informative and hilarious).
There was even indexing décor!
Don’t let my pithy attempts at humour give the
impression of derision: I learnt something new in every
talk or workshop, such as whether eggs were dairy or
not; the uses of run-on and indented style (and their
drawbacks); the vast differences between two columns or
three; even when it’s a good idea to use footnotes. And all
the while I was remembering Max McMaster’s teaching:
‘There isn’t one way to index’. Truer words have never
been said. Still, we indexers are the semantic gatekeepers
of the world: one ‘accidental’ slip will send someone
to hags instead of bags. With great power comes great
responsibility, and so I was pleased that the discussions
held were all so passionate, rational, and informative.
Ne’er let a naysayer accuse us of dastardly tendencies.
One prominent theme of the conference I picked up
on was technology. Mary Russell made a point to mention
future indexing possibilities in her opening address,
and many of the presentations focused on technology.
Indexers, importantly, are concerned with accessing
information, and this means we have far more uses than
creating a back-of-book index. One I found particularly
interesting was how an index can become a graphic
display – à la The Atlas of Living Australia. Indexers, I feel,
will increasingly offer more to readers and users across
a wide variety of platforms; we will bring skills earlier
in the project cycle that will help shape the form of the
information that others access, not just provide a pointer
to it. Personally, I am eager to develop my indexing skills
in this direction as well as in more traditional forms (one
day I might have the indexing confidence to create a
thesaurus).
And, if I may return lastly to the social front, one
of the highlights was the Monday night dinner that we
all attended. I felt – just a little – as though I might
have attended the Olympics because Mr John Simkin
passed the ANZSI presidential torch onto Mary Russell
for another year with a heartfelt message and gift. Me?
I didn’t even know who he was. I quickly learned,
however. Later, I helped draw out the names of recipients
for various mugs that had been donated for the occasion
– a kind of ‘lucky draw’. All our names in a hat. You’ll
never guess who I drew out first: John Simkin. And Mary
Russell and Max McMaster, among others. I didn’t rig it,
I swear. I was pleased, though, that some of those who
put such work into the Society of Indexers called ANZSI
were rewarded, even if it was just with a mug.
I had best stop lest I take up too much space. All in all,
a great trip, and a great conference. The next conference
in New Zealand in 2013 can’t come soon enough. Thank
you everyone.
Adam LeBrocq (Queensland Branch)
No ANZSI Medal in 2011
T
he Australian and New Zealand Society of
Indexers’ Medal is offered annually for an
outstanding index to a book or periodical compiled
in Australia or New Zealand.
This year two entries for the Medal were
received, both of which were competent professional
indexes. However, the judges were unanimous in
their assessment that neither of the entries was
sufficiently outstanding to warrant the award of
the Medal.
The panel of judges this year again consisted of
Alan Walker, indexer (convener); Garry Cousins,
indexer and librarian; and Dr Jeremy Fisher, of
the University of New England, an experienced
compiler, editor and user of indexes. All three
judges are previous winners of the Medal.
The judges encourage Australian and New
Zealand indexers who are working on significant
indexes to submit their work for the Medal next
year.
Alan Walker
Indexing Indaba
INDEX appreciation
little section of ASI’s call for papers
for the 2012 ‘Index Appreciation’
Conference caught my eye recently. It
says: ‘We see appreciation in our delight
in the discovery of all the towns named
Index, which, this year, will be part of
our poster presentations. Would you
enjoy researching one of the Index towns
for a poster session? Come explore!’
All the towns named Index? I was only aware of one
in Washington State, but after consulting placenames.
com I was astonished to discover that Alabama, Arkansas,
Kentucky, Missouri, New York State, North Carolina,
Virginia and West Virginia all have towns named Index.
In addition, there are several rivers, bridges, mines and
mountain summits that carry the name.
The idea of an Index poster presentation at ASI’s
Conference is not only instantly appealing to me but also
very comforting. It means I’m not the only one out there
who gets excited by this kind of stuff, who experiences a
small moment of joy when I serendipitously come across an
‘index’. It’s happened to me twice recently, the first time when
I pulled up at the traffic lights behind a motorcycle rider,
upon whose helmet the word ‘INDEX’ was emblazoned,
and the second time in the National Gallery of Victoria’s
shop which of all things, sells Index chopping boards. I
have since discovered that INDEX is a leading brand of
motorcycle helmet. Index chopping boards, if you are
trying to picture them, are your usual colour-coded variety
packaged into an upright storage container that makes them
take on the appearance of being filed.
To some ‘index spotting’ probably screams ‘geek’ but
I suspect that it has ties to those theories on the traits
that indexers are likely to have, including the often
mentioned tendency to place spice jars into alphabetical
order. I’ll hazard a guess that if you get excited by towns
named Index, you’re also likely to be a fan of the Where’s
Wally? series, and to have taken up the ‘hidden Mickey’
challenge if you’ve ever visited a Disney theme park.
A
What the Dickens?
As we head towards 2012, millions of Charles Dickens
fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the Dickens
bicentenary celebrations.
Among the many events planned is the launch of the
Dickens Journal Online website. A small team at the
University of Buckingham has scanned all 1,101 editions
of Household Words and All the Year Round which it later
became known as. For twenty years this highly respected
weekly magazine was run and edited by Dickens and
contained poetry, investigative journalism, travel writing,
popular science, history and political comment. It also
carried instalments of Great Expectations, Hard Times,
North and South and The Woman in White.
More than 30,000 pages have been scanned but
not without a few headaches. Firstly, the quality of the
original journal pages varied with some containing paper
folds, smudge marks and so on, which resulted in the text
files containing a number of errors. Secondly, the text files
contain unwanted information and styling, which need
correcting.
Enter the Online Text Correction Project (OTC) which
is calling on volunteers to help with the proofreading so
that the team can meet their March deadline. If you are
a Dickens fan with a bent for proofreading you can find
details about how to get involved at their beta website:
<http://www.djo.org.uk/online-text-correction.html>
And although not yet active, indexers will be interested
to see the indexes that are currently under development.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/07/
charles-dickens-household-words-project>
Cindex on YouTube
Move over Cindex Manual and Help function
because Indexing Research has recently started putting
instructional videos onto YouTube. So far three videos
have been made available and will be updated to reflect
changes to version 3.0, which is due for release shortly.
Another four videos are currently under development. At
the time of writing, the videos were yet to be put up onto
the Cindex website:
Cindex Basics/Tutorial 1 – Getting Started with Cindex:
<www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8ABQD9G6fI>
Cindex Basics/Tutorial 2 – Efficient and Accurate Entry
of Records:
<www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwUnCoM5S_I>
Cindex Specifics 1 – Specifying Record Structure:
<www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdvj8PdAreg>
eBooks 101 webinar
It’s not just the traditional publishers that are taking note
of eBooks being one of the primary growth areas in the
publishing industry. Scott Abel from The Content Wrangler,
a repository for enterprise content management, recently
held a one hour webinar with Ann Rockley and Charles
Cooper, authors of the forthcoming eBook entitled eBooks
101: The Digital Content Strategy for Reaching Customers
Anywhere, Anytime on Any Device.
The three content professionals discussed why a
content strategy is needed when moving to a digital
publishing workflow that supports the creation of eBooks
and apps. They also covered the difference between
eBooks, enhanced eBooks, and apps, as well as the
standards supported (or not) by popular eBook readers,
including the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad. You’ll
find the recording at: <http://dlvr.it/n14ym>
Nikki Davis
A gourmet lunch at Manly for NSW Branch
E
leven ANZSI members enjoyed a (huge) gourmet lunch at the Hugo’s restaurant
in Manly. Every half an hour a ferry landed and left. The sun was shining and the
atmosphere summery on this open porch at the water. Two international guests, Pilar
Wyman, ASI President elect, and Maureen MacGlashan, Editor of The Indexer joined
in, having attended the conference in Melbourne a few days earlier.
At first $50 for the meal and get-together might have seemed a bit steep, but when
we were there, enjoying the conversation, entangled in networking and entertaining
ourselves, it was certainly worth it. There was so much food that a doggy-bag for the
‘warm chocolate tart with raspberry caramel’ was needed.
The next indexers’ conference will be held in the USA in San Diego on the West
Coast in April 2012 and some of these members might get together again then and
there.
Sonja Goernitz
From left to right around the table: Graham Clayton, Elisabeth Thomas, Pilar Wyman,
Carolyn Kearney, Maureen MacGlashan, Mary Coe, Glenda Browne, Christine Roberts,
Madeleine Davis, Mark Southwell (photo: Sonja Goernitz)
Sorting in CINDEX™
More tips and techniques from Indexing Research
Foreign languages
f you prepare indexes in a language other than English,
CINDEX version 3.0 (due late-September) will greatly
ease your task. CINDEX v. 3 uses Unicode to represent
text, and can accommodate all languages and scripts.
Index entries can contain any characters that your
computer can display, and Cindex can sort index entries
by the collation rules appropriate to the language in
which you are working.
I
Ensuring page reference accuracy
Spotting and correcting mistyped words is relatively
easy, but less so the proofing of page references, where
an unnoticed transposition or miskeying can produce
embarrassing results. Cindex provides several features to
ensure that you enter the correct page number.
If the material requires you to make many entries from
the same page you may wish to have Cindex automatically
populate the page field with the last entered (or altered)
page reference or locator. This can speed up data entry
enormously. Enable the setting at:
Windows version – Edit Menu/Preferences/Editing
tab/Adding/Carry Locators Forward
Mac version – Cindex Menu/Preferences/Editing tab/
Adding/Carry Locators Forward
Using a new single-keystroke feature (Ctrl ]) in
Cindex v.3 you can now increment the page number as
you begin entering material from the next text page. You
can also decrement the page number by using Ctrl [. This
operation affects only the last component of the last page
number in the page (locator) field. If the last recognized
component is not a number in Arabic numerals (e.g. it
consists of Roman numerals or is an alphabetic suffix),
the operation does nothing.
Also at the Preferences location under Missing/
Malformed Locator (renamed ‘Bad Locator’ in Cindex
v.3) are options to allow or disallow records with an empty
page field or incorrectly formed locator. For example, if
you key in 74-67, depending on what you have selected,
Cindex will act accordingly: ‘Accept’ will allow you to
save (leave) the record, ‘Warn’ will alert you to a problem
with a beep and a message but will allow you to save the
record on a second attempt, and ‘Forbid’ will not allow
you save the record without changing the number value
within acceptable bounds.
Two other helpful settings that can prevent you from
entering ‘out-of-range’ page numbers are found at:
Tools Menu/Reference Syntax/Page References
Set the ‘Maximum Value’ to the last text page in the
text or chapter you are indexing and if you exceed that
value Cindex will alert you. For example, if the current
chapter you are working on ends on page 102 and you
accidentally key 202, 192, 103 or any other ‘out-of-range’
number the program will alert you. You will need to
change this setting when beginning a new chapter.
Set ‘Greatest Range’ to be the largest acceptable
page range for your project. If you set it to 10 and
then key in 25-45 it will likewise alert you.
Should you decide not to make any of these
settings you can still find some aberrant numbers
after you have finished entering material. If you place
the index into a page order sort (click the 19 icon on
the index toolbar) any records into which you failed
to place a page number will float to the top of the
index, and those that exceed the number of pages in
the book will be positioned at the end of the records
containing page references (and before the cross
references).
Of course, just as spell-check will not catch
‘experiences in’ miskeyed as ‘experience sin’, this
method will not catch miskeyed items that parse
a real number. So, if you are prone to transposing
numbers as you key them, enabling some of the
settings described above will provide some protection
against potential embarrassment.
Reminder: If you find yourself using the mouse
repeatedly for the same function, stop, look, and learn its
keyboard equivalent. It will save you time and energy.
Frances Lennie
A prize challenge!
M
ax McMaster was recently in Singapore to
run a 2-day book indexing course for their
National Book Development Council. Across the
wall of the computer lab he used for training at the
Management Development Institute of Singapore
was the following quotation:
‘The books that help you the most are those that
make you think the most.’ (Theodore Parker).
As an ANZSI member, how would you reply if
you were asked for an equivalent entry for indexing:
‘The indexes that help you the most are those
that ... ?’
Send your suggested endings to Max at
The most perceptive/imaginative/wittiest will be
published in next month’s Newsletter. A prize of a
book token is offered for the overall ‘best’ (by any of
these criteria!)
Indexing for Editors
Sonja Goernitz attended the ‘Indexing for Editors’ seminar
on 7 September, which was part of the National Editors
Conference at Sydney’s Darling Harbour, organised by the
Society of Editors (NSW).
Y
ou can tell that Glenda Browne has indexed and
taught a lot. For her full-day seminar Glenda
provided a neat, 31-page and spiral-bound handout
(‘Introduction to indexing: Planning, commissioning,
creating and evaluating indexes’), she offered copies of
her co-authored book for sale (The Indexing Companion,
Cambridge University Press, 2007) and she engaged us
ten participants with a clear, friendly and informative
PowerPoint presentation, exercises as well as Q&A
in-between.
From the three main indexing software options,
CINDEX, Macrex and SKY Index, Glenda prefers the
latter. The software costs around US$550 (standard ed.),
and the Australian Dollar is strong at the moment, she
said.
Contrary to editors, for whom consistency is so
important, indexers vary in their ways of organising
information. For them logic is crucial – using two levels
with only the exceptional sub-sub-heading – so readers
can find keywords easily and quickly.
However, if you have foreign names, such as Vincent
van Gogh, Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Osama bin
Laden, indexers look up the countries’ rules for allocating
the van, von, bin etc; so the entries might appear under
‘v’ for ‘Van Gogh’, ‘R’ for ‘Richthofen, Manfred von
(Baron)’ … You may also use ‘see references’, i.e. placing
the name under letters where the reader might look for it
and guiding them to the main entry, e.g. to say under ‘O’:
‘Osama bin Laden, see Bin Laden’ under ‘B’.
‘Editors are pedantic, but indexers are even more so’,
Glenda laughed. Currently the top four, slightly different
styles to reference page numbers are: 1. conflation: none,
2. Hart’s rules, 3. Hart’s rules modified and 4. The
Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.). Note: all use an
unspaced en-rule for page ranges.
In the seminar I mentioned, ‘We must be doing pretty
well in our lives to worry about this.’ Glenda loves making
sense of information and putting it into an order. She
added, ‘There is more work for indexers than for editors.’
Sonja Goernitz
Style Council Symposium
C
arole Dent attended the Style Council Symposium,
sponsored by NSW Branch. Her report on that
important meeting has been unavoidably held over
for lack of space, but will appear in the next issue.
Branch events
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Sat 10 Sept to
Sun 23 Oct
Qld Branch
Indexing Challenge
ONE – Biography
Online
Details at
Sun 16 Oct
Vic Branch
Portarlington Art
and Garden Trail
Tue 18 Oct
ACT Region
Branch
AGM
Brassey Hotel,
Barton
Thurs 27 Oct
6.30 pm
NSW Branch
AGM
Golden Cinnamon
Restaurant, Broadway
Sat 29 Oct
NZ Branch
AGM
Wellington
Mon 14 Nov
Vic Branch
Basic Book
Indexing pt 1
Holmesglen TAFE
Details at
Tue 15 Nov
Vic Branch
Basic Book
Indexing pt 2
Holmesglen TAFE
Details at
IN
THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
NSW Branch AGM
ACT Region Branch AGM
NZ Branch AGM
ANZSI 2011 Conference report (1)
ANZSI 2011 Conference report (2)
Further reflections on the ANZSI Conference
No ANZSI Medal in 2011
Indexing Indaba
Gourmet lunch at Manly for NSW Branch
Sorting in CINDEX
A prize challenge!
Indexing for Editors
Branch events
Details at
1
2
2
2
2
3
5
7
7
8
9
10
10
11
11
12
12
ANZSI Newsletter
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Newsletter schedule
The next Newsletter will appear in November 2011.
The submission deadline is Friday, 28 October.
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 10 | November 2011
ANZSI News
ANZSI Annual report
A full annual report was presented
at the Annual General Meeting of
ANZSI on 14 September, during the
2011 ANZSI Conference Indexing
see Change at the Brighton Savoy,
Brighton, Victoria; it is available on
the website at <www.anzsi.org/site/
council_mins.asp>. To try to ensure
that the complete range of activities of the Society is
covered in this report I sought and obtained input from
all Council Officials, Committee Chairs and Branch
Presidents. This is the first time that ANZSI has prepared
an annual report and it will be a useful historical
document for the future.
2010–11
This year marked the 35th year for ANZSI and the year
we became incorporated. Both significant events for
a professional organisation and cause for celebration.
Becoming incorporated now means officers and members
are legally protected. There have been other key events
during 2010–2011 and I will highlight just a few:
• Branches held a wide variety of events for members that
included:
• NSW and ACT Region Branch joint conference on ‘Cooks
who index; indexers who cook’.
• Victorian and Queensland Branches visited their respective
MBS Classical Radio Stations.
• The VIC, run by Victorian Branch, talked about indexing
anything from nursery rhymes to art books and even wine.
• Branches continued to run training at both the basic level
and in more specialised areas. These were often attended by
members travelling from interstate and even overseas.
• The benefit of peer review type training is being recognised
with opportunities for members to participate, no matter
where they live. Courses were run by both NSW and
Victorian Branches.
• New Zealand Branch published their first book indexes
completed as part of their mentoring program.
• ANZSI Newsletter developed a new look and is now
available in full colour via email.
• Promoting indexing and indexers has been done in a number
of ways:
• ACT Region Branch held a joint meeting with the Canberra
Society of Editors and has plans for this to become a regular
event.
• New Zealand Branch conducted a workshop at the annual
conference of the Archives and Records Association of New
Zealand.
• Advocacy for indexes in ebooks took a positive turn with
submissions by both Council and NSW Branch to the
federal government’s Book Industry Strategy Group.
• The distribution of ANZSI bookmarks continues. They
have been being included in satchels at various editors’ and
writers’ events and ten have been sent to each member for
distribution.
• Indexing your annual report was published.
• ANZSI was represented at meetings and conferences run by
overseas indexing societies in Shanghai, China; Middleburg,
The Netherlands; Frankfurt, Germany; Providence, USA;
and Vancouver, Canada.
• The full Council meeting in March was such a success it will
become an annual event.
2011–12
Early in 2012 Council will send out a survey to members.
This is a great opportunity for members to tell Council
what they would like from ANZSI in the future.
Thank you
Thank you to all Council members, Council Officials,
Council Committee members, Branch Committee
members, State/Territory Representatives, members and
non-members who volunteer their time to the Society
and without whose help the Society would not exist.
Your details on ANZSI database
When was the last time you checked your entry in the
ANZSI database? Are they up to date? If you are on
Indexers Available does that need to be updated? Why not
take a moment to check your details?
(continued at foot of page 2)
Queensland Branch
CHRISTMAS PARTY
Invitation
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
<www.anzsi.org>.
Advertising rates
Full page: $200.00
Half page $100.00
available on the ANZSI website
at <www.anzsi.org>.
Apology
The report ‘Indexing see Change
– ANZSI 2011 Conference (2)’
in the October newsletter was
written by Sarah Anderson, one
of the participants sponsored by
Victorian Branch. Sarah’s name
was inadvertently dropped from
the end of the report, which was
therefore distributed without
acknowledgement. The Editor
offers his unreserved apologies
to Sarah for this unfortunate
omission.
You and your partner are cordially invited to attend our
2011 Christmas dinner party
Tuesday 22 November
6.00 pm – till late
The Salisbury Hotel Restaurant
668 Toohey Road, Salisbury, Brisbane
Dress: smart casual ~ Lucky door prizes
RSVP by Friday 18 November
Hon. Secretary – Beryl Macdonald
Tel: 3821 6276 or <[email protected]>
NSW Branch social lunch
Bowral, Sunday 11 December, 12.30 pm
NSW Branch is holding an end of year informal get-together.
Everyone (and their spouses or partners) is welcome to lunch
at Sue Flaxman’s house in Bowral.
RSVP to Sue at <suefl[email protected]>
or
by Friday 2 December.
Lunch provided but please BYO drinks.
Spouses/partners are also welcome.
Bowral is accessible by train, but we will need to pick you up
from the station so please let us know if you are coming by train.
If you are coming by car, the journey should take about an hour
and a half from the CBD – Sue will provide directions when you
RSVP.
This will be a great opportunity to network and generally catch
up with each other and what has been happening in our indexing
world.
We hope to see you there!
Mary Coe
((ANZSI
ANZSI News
News,, continued from page 1)
How to check your details:
1. Go to the Member Log-in area and log in. If you have forgotten your password
send an email to the Membership Secretary, Karen Gillen, using the link provided
on the log-in webpage.
2. Select ‘Update Your Details’.
3. Check your details and update them as required. You can change your password.
4. Consider receiving the Newsletter via email and tick the box.
5. Advertising on Indexers Available is FREE so click the box and fill in the
appropriate fields.
6. When you are happy with your entry, scroll down and click Save Changes.
If you have any grumbles about Indexers Available or suggestions for
improvement, please let me know, so that I can pass them on to the team
that is working on improving it.
Mary Russell
ACT Region Branch – President’s report 2010-11
Committee meetings
wish to record my sincere thanks to committee
members Eleanor Whelan (Secretary), Sherrey Quinn
(Treasurer), Barry Howarth (Past President), Edyth
Binkowski, Helen Frame and Tracy Harwood for their
work and commitment over the past year on behalf of
ACT members. Thank you particularly to Edyth for her
hospitality in offering her home as the venue for our
meetings.
In 2010 Geraldine Triffitt retired as a committee
member after sixteen years of meritorious service to the
Branch. Geraldine was instrumental in establishing the
ACT Region Branch. ANZSI was established as the
Australian Society of Indexers (AusSI) in Melbourne on
27 April 1976. In 1989 the NSW Branch was formed and
on 22 October 1992 Geraldine organised the inaugural
meeting of the ACT Branch. She was the first president
from 1993 to 1998, with a second term as president from
2002 to 2006. She served as a committee member until
2010. I would like to record out thanks to Geraldine for
the outstanding contribution she has made to the ACT
Region Branch.
I
Membership
The Branch currently has 37 members.
Branch activities
The first activity for the 2010–11 year was the Christmas
barbecue on 5 December. Usually this function is held at
Lennox Gardens but following consistent rain the venue
was changed to Edyth’s house and an enjoyable time was
had by all who attended.
On 5 April eight members enjoyed a visit to the
Parliament House Library. The Information Access and
Research Section employs 12 indexers. The management
of newspaper clippings is an urgent first job of the day
for indexers who are responsible for quality control.
ParlInfo Search was demonstrated to us. This is a major
resource for Senators, Members and their staff - based
in Parliament House or in electorate offices throughout
Australia - parliamentary staff, and the general public.
It enables everyone to search and obtain Australian
Parliamentary information resources.
A joint meeting with the Canberra Society of Editors
was held on 29 June 2011. This meeting brought
together editors, indexers and technical writers and
offered an insight into the editing and indexing role in
the publishing process. Following a brief introduction by
the presidents of each association a lively and interesting
Q&A session followed. This revealed that holding this
meeting annually would be beneficial to both editors and
indexers.
Training
The committee again decided that running training
sessions in Canberra was not feasible when excellent
courses were offered by the NSW Branch in Sydney.
The ACT Region Branch offers individual members a
$50 subsidy if they fund their own attendance at a course
in Sydney and as well the NSW Branch offers a 40%
discount for attendees requiring an overnight stay. Three
new members were subsidised to attend beginner and
intermediate back-of-book courses.
Member Survey
Six responses to a survey of members were received
covering areas such as training, topics for general meetings
and visits. These responses provide valuable feedback to
the committee and assist with future planning. It was
gratifying to receive expressions of appreciation and
encouragement.
ANZSI Council
The dates of committee meetings are set to precede
Council meetings so that the committee can discuss
items on the agenda with their accompanying papers for
the forthcoming Council meeting. The committee has
actively considered and responded to Council papers.
Council decided to publish an ANZSI Annual Report
and canvassed Branches for suggested content. The first
annual report was presented at the AGM held at the
ANZSI Conference on 14 September 2011. The report
includes reports from the President, Council, Treasurer
and Membership Secretary; Branch and Committee
reports (Awards Committee, Registration Committee,
Education Committee, Promotions and Publicity
Committee); website report and Newsletter report.
The highlights of the Council report are incorporation
of the Society, a full Council meeting in Melbourne
in March 2011 (including all ex-officio members),
investigation of the feasibility of using the SI Course
to prepare students to meet ANZSI’s educational
requirements, redevelopment of Indexers Available,
revision of the aims of the Society, and a review of the
process and procedures for Registration.
Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge the outstanding contribution
Sherrey Quinn has made to the Branch and to the Society
this past year, particularly in her role as Chairperson of
the Board of Assessors. In this role she has been the prime
mover in reviewing Registration process and procedures.
Eleanor Whelan is stepping down from the committee
after serving five years as Secretary, a role she has carried
out efficiently and with good humour. Tracy Harwood
is also stepping down as a committee member due to
her demanding role as Treasurer of the Canberra Society
of Editors. We offer our warmest thanks to both these
members and look forward to seeing them at Branch
activities in the future.
Shirley Campbell, President
Victorian Branch office-bearers
President:
Nikki Davis
Vice-President: Terri Mackenzie
Treasurer:
Max McMaster
Secretary:
Ray Price
Committee members: Iris Bergmann,
Jane Purton, Mary Russell, Bernadette
Vaughan
In the photo, left to right: Iris Bergmann,
Nikki Davis, Max McMaster, Bernadette
Vaughan, Mary Russell and Ray Price.
Absent Jane Purton and Terri Mackenzie
NSW Branch President’s report 2010–11
Presented at the NSW AGM on 27 October.
Meetings
hank you to every hard-working member of the NSW
Branch Committee for their many contributions
during the year: Glenda Browne, Vice-President; Mary
Coe, Secretary; Sue Flaxman, Treasurer; and Madeleine
Davis, Lorraine Doyle, Elisabeth Thomas and Helen
Enright, Committee members.
The committee has met monthly by teleconference
throughout 2010–11 and we thank Lorraine Doyle and
Thomson Reuters for providing their teleconferencing
system, which makes our meetings both efficient and also
provides the possibility for rural or isolated members to
participate.
This year the committee has used Yahoo Discussion
Groups for email messages; and a DropBox site for
storing correspondence.
At September 2011 our Branch had 51 members.
T
Branch activities
24 July 2010. (Also included in last year’s Annual Report).
NSW and ACT Branches held a one-day conference at
Craigieburn, Bowral in the Southern Highlands. ‘Recipes for
Success’ was presented by Lynn Farkas and Sherrey Quinn.
Participants combined to produce an index to a cookbook
of recipes submitted by attendees. This was followed by
a panel discussion on indexing aids indexers cannot do
without, chaired by Madeleine Davis. The conference
dinner, at Montfort’s, was attended by the 22 participants,
with partners and friends. Special thanks to Sue Flaxman for
organising the venue and to Elisabeth Thomas for organising
a small cooking utensils exhibition and competition.
27 November 2010. We held our end-of-year social function
at Frances’ house in Lake Heights, Wollongong, catered for
and attended by ten members and friends.
10 March 2011. Frances together with State and national
Presidents attended the full ANZSI Council meeting in
Melbourne.
12 & 13 March. Glenda Browne presented an Introductory
Book Indexing workshop at Thomson Reuters, Pyrmont,
hosted by Lorraine Doyle. The course was fully booked and
attended by ten students, mostly from interstate.
7 & 8 April. On 7 April, Frances Lennie conducted a CINDEX
software training workshop at NSW Writers’ Centre, hosted
by Helen Enright, with five participants. On 8 April,
again at NSW Writers’ Centre, Jon Jermey conducted
introductory and advanced SKY Index training courses,
again hosted by Helen Enright. Many thanks to the trainers
and to Helen especially for her generous contribution and
the two celebratory cakes for CINDEX’s 25th birthday and
the release of Version 7 of SKY.
18 May–18 June. Glenda Browne, with the assistance of Mary
Coe as backup and co-moderator, ran her Intermediate
Practical Book Indexing course, which she introduced in
2010. Students were asked to index a short book alone for
a month, with support from a Yahoo discussion forum and
feedback along the way. This was followed by a 3-hour faceto-face session at Thomson Reuters on 18 June. Nine people
took part in the online component, and most attended the
face-to-face session and the lunch which followed.
16 September 2011. NSW hosted a gourmet lunch at Hugo’s
in Manly for members to meet international guests to
the ANZSI conference. Many thanks to Mary Coe for
organising the venue and lunch, attended by nine ANZSI
members with guests, Maureen MacGlashan from the UK,
editor of The Indexer, and Pilar Wyman, from the USA,
president-elect of ASI.
(NSW President’s report, continued from previous page)
NSW offers sponsorship for branch members to attend
meetings or events run by related professional groups.
Sonja Goernitz was sponsored to attend Glenda Browne’s
‘Indexing for Editors’ seminar on 7 September at the
National Editors Conference at Darling Harbour,
organised by the Society of Editors. Carole Dent was
sponsored to attend the Style Council Symposium in
September.
Indexers Available
A NSW Committee, led by Madeleine Davis, has formed
to consider possible changes to the Indexers Available
pages on the ANZSI website, and begun to canvas ideas
from all branch members.
NSW Webpage
NSW Branch minutes and end-of-year financial reports
are posted to NSW webpage on the ANZSI website. The
NSW Constitution has also been posted to the webpage
and can be viewed by members.
International Conferences
Mary Coe represented ANZSI at American Society of
Indexing Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, 28–30
April, 2011.
Alan Walker represented ANZSI at Indexing Society
of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI)
Conference in Vancouver, 17–18 May, 2011. Alan
presented a paper at the conference on indexing politicians’
memoirs.
Book Industry Strategy Group
NSW Branch made a submission to the Book Industry
Strategy Group in January.
ANZSI Conference
A number of NSW members attended the ANZSI
Conference in Brighton, Victoria, 12–14 September,
2011. Glenda Browne and Mary Coe hosted a Marketing,
Networking and the Web workshop; Alan Walker presented
his talk on Indexing Political Memoirs, an international
comparison of three recent political biographies; and led
a discussion on indexing Legal Material. Madeleine Davis
gave a session on indexing Biographies.
ANZSI Council
NSW Branch responded to numerous issues raised by
Council during the period and members were involved in
Council committees: Glenda Browne on the Education
Committee, Alan Walker, convenor of the ANZSI Medal
panel; and Frances Paterson on the Registration Panel,
now called the Board of Assessors.
Frances Paterson
The prize competition
You were asked to complete the sentence
‘The indexes that help you the most are those that ... ?’
We received only a small number of entries, which
was disappointing. However our winner is Bernadette
Vaughan for her entry:
‘The indexes that help you the most are those that
quickly get you where you need to be’.
Bernadette will receive a book voucher.
Queensland Branch News
Indexing Challenge ONE : Biography
ueensland Branch started an online Peer Review
indexing experience with an ebook on 10th
September 2011. It was to be a 6 week course. Participants
have access to either Jean Dartnall or Mei Yen Chua for
any online queries or help.
Jean and Mei Yen are Queensland Branch members,
who have considerable indexing training experience
and substantial indexing expertise between them. Both
Jean & Mei Yen are enjoying the new online training
experience. We are heartened to announce that we have
eight participants from all over Australia apply for the
online indexing course.
Queensland Branch is running the peer review indexing
experience to encourage new and older indexers, with a
chance to gain confidence by indexing with less pressure
attached to the situation. The aim is to build faith in
one’s own indexing abilities, so that one might feel one’s
professional edge.
Q
Thanks to all who are taking part in the indexing
challenge. We hope that it will give you the confidence in
yourself that you deserve.
Please note: this online peer review Challenge ONE:
Biography is to be continued in 2012, with more to
follow. We are still taking applicants in the remainder
of 2011 if you wish to apply for a 6 week indexing
experience. And if the dates don’t suit you, we may be
able to change them. Link to more details <www.anzsi.
org/site/calendar_details.asp?id=223>
Contacts:
Branch Secretary: Beryl Macdonald <bayorst@bigpond.
net.au> phone
Mei Yen Chua <[email protected]>
Jean Dartnall [email protected].
We have our own Branch in Queensland now, so keep
in touch!
Moira Brown, President
T
here is no denying that the book is in a
state of flux. Hard copy or e-book? Buy
online or in the bookshop? Booksellers and
publishers are in a tizz and ignore the trends
at their peril. Indexers, too, need to jump
on the bandwagon, so it is good to see that
societies are exploring the digital arena.
Sleeping with the enemy
The editor of Readings Monthly, Jo Case, remarked in
the October issue that 2011 is a grim year for publishing
due to the decline of print and its effect on the future
of the book. One victim of the decline of print is the
soon to be discontinued Australian Literary Review,
The Australian’s monthly literary supplement. Another
is Island, Tasmania’s only literary journal, which will
fold because the Tasmanian government will no longer
fund its operation. Lara Giddings, the premier and arts
minister said the decision was ‘based on a “trend” towards
online rather than hard-copy publications for literature’.
Readings, however, is embracing the new technologies.
During October, Readings Carlton bookshop held an
e-books information evening to talk about Readings
e-books and how e-books could develop in the future.
People were invited to bring any device with a browser so
that the new medium could be demonstrated.
Readings Monthly, October 2011.
In Britain too the news is grim for the book industry.
The Booksellers Association relates that in the past six
years the number of bookshops has dropped by 20 per
cent and independent bookshops by 26 per cent. The BA
is lobbying the government for help with external costs
such as rates because the issue affected not only the book
industry but the retail diversity in towns. Perhaps the
vendors should take a leaf out of Readings’ book.
The Saturday Age, October 8 2011. Life&Style, 35
Digital Trends Task Force
In Britain the Society of Indexers has set up a working
group to look at all aspects of computer indexing with an
emphasis on e-books. The American Society for Indexing
(ASI), has created a Digital Trends Task Force with the
aim of educating and updating its members and others on
the emerging e-book industry and e-content and the role
of indexing therein. The ASI has developed a LinkedIn
site to list resources and start discussions on the subject.
There are articles, presentations, and news. If you have a
LinkedIn account, you can search for the group by name,
ASI Digital Trends Task Force, and ask to join. You can
also try the link to see if you can get to the page to join:
<www.linkedin.com/groups/ASI-Digital-Trends-TaskForce-4005509>.
I had a go and I can assure you it works. There is a
lot of discussion and there are free webinars announced
regularly. You may be able to contribute a gem which
will set fire to some relevant issue. There are discussions
on research, news, education and training, textbooks,
volunteers needed, Cindex, Macrex, the digital book
world, specifications, PDF issues, tools development,
NISO, handhelds, and webinars.
Key Words, 19(4):111
Espresso
Angus & Robertson was the first book seller to install
an Espresso printing machine in its shops, back in
September 2008. The goal was to have 50 Espressos in
its shops but it all went pear-shaped when A&R folded.
However, the machine, which was developed by Jacob
Epstein in America, is getting a boost in the US due to
HarperCollins using it to make its backlist available. Brian
Murray, head of HarperCollins, said he wanted more of
its books available in traditional bookshops which may
help local stores compete with online outlets.
The Saturday Age, October 1, 2011. Life&Style, 31.
Chicago Manual of Style
The 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has
been released, both hard copy and online. A few of the
rules have changed, including titles that end in question
marks or exclamation points, dividing URLs over a line,
capitalisation of ‘web’ and ‘Internet’, names like iPod,
abbreviation for ‘United States’, punctuation of foreign
languages in an English context, quotation marks in
poems, ellipsis points, note numbers with subheads.
<www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/about16_rules.html>
Elizabethan indexer
It was news to me that Abraham Fleming indexed
eleven tomes between 1576 and 1587 and produced
many books, and translations of Latin classics. Clare
Painting-Stubbs has written a most interesting account
of Fleming’s career which started when he was a poor
student at Peterhouse, Cambridge, translating books into
English. His first surviving work was a translation of
Virgil’s Bucoliks in 1575. His first index was created for
Barnabe Googe’s Zodiake of life in 1576 and in 1579 he
indexed the intriguingly titled The beehive of the Romish
church. This was a satire written by Isaac Rabbotenu
(given an alternative title from 1580, The beehiue of the
Romish church) which could have been incompatible
with Fleming’s Protestant faith (he was a clergyman).
It was a popular book and the five editions printed by
the Dawson family between 1579 and 1636 included
Fleming’s two signed indexes. The first index was an
alphabetical finding list of authors cited in Beehiue while
the second was an alphabetical list of keywords. An index
for Certaine sermons in defense of the Gospell (Thomas
Cooper) begins thus:
Acknowledge
The way to acknowledge God in man. 192.
Meanes to make those acknowledge a God, which do
not altogether deny him. 191.
(Indexing degustation, continnued from previous page)
According to Clare Painting-Stubbs, Fleming took
pains to furnish readers with instructions for using his
‘tables’. The ‘table’ he created for A Godly and learned
exposition vppon the Prouverbes of Solomon was 40 pages
long and included clear guidance on his sophisticated
approach to locators:
An ample and large Index or Table, comprising al the
principal points of Doctrines, and circumstances, as
wel Moral as Diuine, conteined in this Booke, very
necessarie and beneficial for all estates, euen from the
highest to the lowest. The number noteth the leafe.
A, standeth for the first side, and B, for the second
side of the leafe.
One of Fleming’s most comprehensive indexes was for
The common places of the most famous and renowned diuine
doctor Peter Martyr (Marten and Simler). Fleming’s tables
are similar to modern indexes. The indexes have their
own titles and in surviving copies of the book the indexes
have been bound into the back of the book as they are
today. A buyer in Fleming’s time would have bought the
book unbound and would then be able to choose whether
to bind it into the book or as a separate item. Fleming
provided easily followed instructions for new users of
indexes; in this case to the page, side, column and line
they were looking for.
Painting-Stubbs, C. (2011) Abraham Fleming:
Elizabethan maker of indexes and ‘tables’. The Indexer,
29(3):109–13.
Jane Purton
ACT Region Branch
AGM and dinner
O
n Tuesday 25 October 2011 ten members met at
The Brassey in Barton for the ACT Region Branch
Annual General Meeting. The business of the meeting
concluded with the election of the committee for 20112012. Shirley Campbell was re-elected President and
Sherrey Quinn was re-elected Treasurer. Committee
members are Edyth Binkowski, Helen Frame, Barry
Howarth and Denise Sutherland.
Joan Merrell, a founding member of the Branch,
and her husband Rob joined us as our guests at dinner
following the meeting. Conversation flowed as we all
enjoyed the opportunity to share one another’s company
over a beautiful meal in delightful surroundings.
Shirley Campbell
Missing, lost or strayed ...
Did you post an item to ANZSI ACT in September?
If you did and have not received a reply, please contact
Eleanor Whelan on
or email <eleanor.
[email protected]>. Australia Post seems to have lost
something for us, which is recorded as having been received
on 25 September.
Branch events
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Mon 14 Nov
Vic Branch
Basic Book
Indexing pt 1
Holmesglen
TAFE
Details at
Tue 15 Nov
Vic Branch
Basic Book
Indexing pt 2
Holmesglen
TAFE
Details at
Tue 22 Nov
6.00 pm ....
Qld Branch
Xmas dinner
The Salisbury
Hotel
See page 2. Details at
Sun 4 Dec
9.30 am – 12.00
ACT Region
Branch
Xmas BBQ lunch
Lennox Gardens,
by the lake
Contact Eleanor Whelan <[email protected]>
or 6257 7749 by Thursday 1 December. Details at
Wed 7 Dec
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
The VIC
Festive recipes
Sun 11 Dec
NSW Branch
Social lunch
Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Hall, Kew
Sue Flaxman’s
house, Bowral
IN
ANZSI Newsletter
THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
Apology
Queensland Branch Xmas dinner
ACT Region Branch President’s report
Victorian Branch office-bearers
NSW Branch President’s report
The prize competition
ACT Region Branch AGM and dinner
Missing, lost or strayed
Branch events
Details at
1
2
2
2
2
3
4
4
5
5
6
7
7
8
8
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Newsletter schedule
The next Newsletter will appear in December 2011.
The submission deadline is Wednesday, 30 November.
Postage
paid
Volume 7 | number 11 | December 2011
ANZSI News
Book Industry Strategy Group
his time last year ANZSI and
NSW Branch wrote submissions
to the Federal Government Book
Industry Strategy Group. Their
final report, while dated September
2011, was released mid-November:
<www.innovation.gov.au/INDUSTRY/
BOOKSANDPRINTING/BOOKIN
DUSTRYSTRATEGYGROUP/Pages/default.aspx>. Of
course I checked the report for an index – none. Then
I searched the PDF for use of the word ‘index’. The only
relevant reference is:
There has been much more widespread use of XML
tagging to facilitate the indexing and repurposing
of content in educational publishing (page 33 and
similarly on page 94).
I don’t know why I am surprised there are not many
references to indexes or indexers. They see the book
industry as involving authors, publishers, printers and
booksellers, with passing mentions to designers and
editors. Still the mention of XML tagging is a big plus
for indexing as at least there is recognition that this area
is important and growing. Whether this translates into
work for indexers is more debateable.
T
I
The report makes 21 recommendations that are
grouped under the headings:
• Integrating the book supply chain
• Competing effectively in the global book market
• Improving supply chain efficiencies
• Rewarding and protecting creativity
• Supporting the business environment
• Supporting Australian culture
The GST and cost of postage are highlighted. As an
example … the hardcover edition of Stephanie Alexander's
The Cook’s Companion cost $130 in Australia, but could be
bought for $92.83 from the Book Depository in Britain,
including postage. The disadvantage is compounded
by different postage rates. It costs $42.60 to post a
10-kilogram parcel of books from Britain to Australia,
but it would cost $237.50 to post them back. (Sydney
Morning Herald 10/11/11)
This is a key Government report in our area and I urge
members to look at it.
ANZSI Contacts
There have been several changes as a result of the various
AGMs so an updated ANZSI contact list has been
included in this issue on pages 2 and 3.
Wishing you all a happy and restful Festive Season and
healthy 2012.
Mary Russell
Renewal of annual membership subscriptions
f your ANZSI annual subscription covers the period January – December, your membership subscription is
due for renewal by 1 January 2012.
Online Renewal
If your subscription is due for renewal, you will receive an email in mid-December which will include a link for
making a secure online payment. To ensure that you receive your personalised email, please make sure that the
email address you have recorded on the ANZSI website is correct.
Mail Renewal
If you prefer not to make an online payment, you may download a subscription renewal form from the ANZSI
Website, and mail it with payment details/cheque/money order to the address on the form.
Queries
Please contact me if you have any queries, or if you do not receive an email requesting payment.
Karen Gillen, Membership Secretary
<[email protected]>
ANZSI Contacts December 2011
ANZSI Inc
ABN 38 610 719 006
Address: PO Box 5062, Glenferrie South VIC 3122, Australia
Email: General enquiries <[email protected]>
ANZSI Newsletter
ISSN 1832-3855
Editor: Peter Judge
<[email protected]>
<www.anzsi.org>.
Advertising rates
Full page: $200.00
Half page $100.00
ANZSI’s general email address is:
Further contact details in PDF
format are available on the ANZSI
website at <www.anzsi.org>.
ANZSI Council 2011/12
President: Mary Russell <[email protected]>
Vice-president: Max McMaster <[email protected]>
Secretary: Michael Ramsden <[email protected]>
Treasurer: Margaret Findlay <mafi[email protected]>
Council members: Alan Eddy, Karen Gillen,
Branch Presidents (ex officio): Frances Paterson, Julie Daymond-King,
Shirley Campbell, Nikki Davis, Moira Brown.
ANZSI Officials
Awards Committee
Chairperson: Alan Walker <[email protected]>
Education Committee
Chairperson: Mary Russell <[email protected]>
Members: Robin Briggs, Glenda Browne, Max McMaster, Michael Ramsden,
Sherrey Quinn
Promotions and Publicity Committee
Chairperson: Max McMaster <[email protected]>
Members: Nikki Davis and Mary Russell
Registration Committee
Chairperson: Sherrey Quinn <[email protected]>
Contact - Shirley Campbell <[email protected]>
Members: Jean Norman, Tricia Waters, Tordis Flath and Frances Paterson
Web Manager
Contact - Mary Russell <[email protected]>
Newsletter Editor
Contact - Peter Judge <[email protected]>
Membership Secretary
Contact: Karen Gillen <[email protected]>
ACT Region Branch
Address: GPO Box 2069 Canberra ACT 2601
President: Shirley Campbell <[email protected]>
Secretary: vacant
Treasurer: Sherrey Quinn <[email protected]>
Committee members: Edyth Binkowski, Helen Frame, Barry Howarth and
Denise Sutherland
New South Wales Branch
Address: PO Box 307, Blaxland, NSW 2774
President: Frances Paterson <[email protected]>
Vice President: Glenda Browne <[email protected]>
Secretary: Mary Coe <[email protected]>
Treasurer: Sue Flaxman <suefl[email protected]>
Committee members: Graham Clayton, Madeleine Davis, Lorraine Doyle,
Helen Enright, Carolyn Kearney, Elisabeth Thomas.
New Zealand Branch
Address: 614 Inland Rd, RD2, Helensville, New Zealand 0875
President: Julie Daymond-King <[email protected]>
Vice President: Tordis Flath <[email protected]>
Secretary: Vacant - Robin Briggs acting <[email protected]>
Treasurer: Jill Gallop <[email protected]>
Committee members: Nelly Bess, Robin Briggs, Susan Brookes, Pam Strike,
and Meredith Thatcher
Mentoring coordinator: Susan Brookes <[email protected]>
(continued from previous page)
Northern Territory
Contact: Frieda Evans <[email protected]>
Queensland Branch
ABN 54 687 901 656
Address: PO Box 458, Moorooka Qld 4105
Email: <[email protected]>
Committee members 2011/12
President: Moira Brown <[email protected]>
Vice President: vacant
Secretary: Beryl Macdonald <[email protected]>
Treasurer: Franz Pinz <[email protected]>
Committee Members: Mei Yen Chua, Jean Dartnall, Vicki Law, Jan Rees and Deirdre Kesteven.
North Queensland
Jean Dartnall (Townsville) <[email protected]>
South Australia
Contact: Jane Oliver <[email protected].
Tasmania
Contact: None at present
Victorian Branch
ABN 58 867 106 986
Address: PO Box 1006, Caulfield North, VIC 3161
President: Nikki Davis <[email protected]>
Vice President: Terri Mackenzie <[email protected]>
Secretary: Ray Price <[email protected]>
Treasurer: Max McMaster <[email protected]>
Committee members: Iris Bergmann, Jane Purton, Mary Russell and Bernadette Vaughan
Western Australia
Contact: Linda McNamara <[email protected]>
Bowral, Sunday 11 December, 12.30 pm
NSW Branch is holding an end of year informal get-together.
Everyone (and their spouses or partners) is welcome to lunch
at Sue Flaxman’s house in Bowral.
RSVP to Sue at <suefl[email protected]>
or
by Friday 2 December.
Lunch provided but please BYO drinks.
Spouses/partners are also welcome.
Bowral is accessible by train, but we will need to pick you up
from the station so please let us know if you are coming by train.
If you are coming by car, the journey should take about an hour
and a half from the CBD – Sue will provide directions when you
RSVP.
This will be a great opportunity to network and generally catch
up with each other and what has been happening in our indexing
world.
We hope to see you there!
Mary Coe
Indexing Indaba
Relying on the Cloud: A
rogue archivist’s warning
ilmmaker and self-described
‘rogue archivist’ Jason Scott says
that he has ‘learned, over time, that
there’s places you call yourself an
‘archivist’ and places not to, and a
room full of archivists who spent a
lot of time and money on degrees
and training is not one of those
places.’ Scott is the founder of Archive Team, ‘a loose
collective of rogue archivists, programmers, writers and
loudmouths dedicated to saving our digital heritage.’
In mid 2009, Yahoo! announced the impending
shutdown of its web hosting service GeoCities, which
prompted Time writer Dan Fletcher to make this
comment: ‘[Yahoo!] found the way to destroy the most
massive amount of history in the shortest amount of time
with absolutely no recourse.’ While the early personal web
pages on GeoCities might appear amateurish by today’s
standards, Scott believed emphatically in saving them.
The service captured the very early days of the world wide
web, when design was still hampered by the limitations
of dial up connections, when users created online homes
in themed ‘neighbourhoods’ with quaint names such as
EnchantedForest, and when spam was yet to raise its ugly
head, meaning that guestbooks and email addresses were
freely published.
It was not only the loss of the internet’s early history
that Scott was concerned about, but also, what happened
to the digital legacies of the people that used GeoCities.
He was particularly moved by one user who had created
a memorial site for her son who had died fifteen years
before. So he and his supporters set about ‘scraping’ as
many GeoCities pages as they could, and created a 641gigabyte archive that initially circulated on file-sharing
networks before it was reposted at reocities.com.
GeoCities was only the start and Scott’s burning
passion for preservation continues today in several other
projects. His efforts have not gone unnoticed, including
undoubtedly by a few ‘real’ archivists. Among those
keeping an eye on him is Sumit Paul-Choudhury, editor
of New Scientist, who has a particular interest in digital
legacy and what it means for sociologists and archaeologists
of the future. Paul-Choudhury points out that in 2010,
two thirds of the American population stored personal
data about themselves on a remote server in the Cloud
and about half engaged in social networking.
In his words: ‘The fate of GeoCities is relevant
because the odds are that more sites will go the same way.
History shows that even the most prominent technology
companies can be rapidly overtaken by competitors
or deserted by customers: think of IBM or Microsoft.
Companies like Facebook provide you with free services
F
and storage on their servers. In exchange, they track your
online activities and sell advertising against the personal
information you provide. But one day they may choose or be forced - to look for new ways to make money. Those
might not involve hosting pictures of your cat.’
You can read more about Jason Scott’s activities and
concerns about the Cloud at: <http://ascii.textfiles.com/
archives/3029> (Be warned if you are easily offended
by some language.) Sumit Paul-Choudhury’s articles on
digital legacy can be found at: <www.newscientist.com/
special/digital-legacy>.
Philology fun
Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we
mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together
great inaudible feelings and purposes. ~Theodore Dreiser,
1900.
Those who read Simon Winchester’s The Surgeon of
Crowthorne and marvelled at the diligence of the earliest
contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary, will love
Google’s NGram Viewer. This tool allows you to instantly
produce graphical representations of word and phrase
usage in a corpus of books across selected years. Have fun
with it at: <http://books.google.com/ngrams/info>. Oh,
and don’t forget to spare a thought for the efforts of the
good surgeon, Dr W C Minor, and others like him who
had to painstaking read and record thousands of words in
order to establish their usage and thus ensure them a place
in the dictionary.
And a Wordle challenge…
Try as I might, Wordle will not put SI into my word
cloud! You may have better luck at <Wordle.net>.
2012 – The National Year of Reading
There’s a rather cute YouTube video doing the rounds
at the moment. Entitled ‘Baby Thinks a Magazine is
a Broken iPad!’, it shows a bewildered one-year-old
attempting to apply her touchscreen skills to a print
magazine. The parent who made this video believes that
Steve Jobs has coded part of her daughter’s OS, and while
there’s probably some truth in this, it hopefully doesn’t
mean that this little one has been missing out on some of
those great children’s boardbooks out there.
While it’s easy to marvel at the technology used for
reading these days, it’s useless without literacy skills.
It might come as a surprise to hear that 46 percent of
the Australian population does not have the most basic
literacy skills required for everyday life and work. Almost
half of the population struggles to read a newspaper;
follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand
the instructions on a medicine bottle. Concern for
this situation has led to Australian libraries and library
associations, in partnership with a number of other
organisations as well as the public, getting behind a
campaign to make 2012 the National Year of Reading.
Currently a search is underway for eight books, one
written in each of the states and territories that together
will paint a picture of the Australian people and land. An
independent panel of readers has come up with a shortlist
of six titles for each state and territory, and members of
the public are being encouraged to vote for the book they
believe best represents their part of the country. These
include both fiction and non-fiction titles. The eight
winning books will form the National Year of Reading
Collection, and will be announced at the launch of the
campaign on 14 February 2012.
You can find out more and keep up to date by going
to: <www.love2read.org.au/>.
ANZSI member honoured
Congratulations to Diana Phoenix who has been honoured
with a Merit Award from the Royal Historical Society of
Victoria. The following item appeared in the September/
October 2011 issue of the Society’s newsletter:
‘Diana Phoenix began volunteering with the RHSV in
1997. Her original assignment was with the conversion
of the library’s catalogue to electronic format. Diana’s
keen eye, attention to detail and patience ensured that
she very quickly became a key member of the team.
In the intervening years she has worked with the
Society’s images collection indexing and cataloguing
many thousands of items. Diana has a comprehensive
knowledge of Melbourne and its history and as a local
historian has been able and willing to assist with a large
range of inquiries. For the past twelve month’s Diana
has taken charge of the Society’s archives. The archives
present a number of challenges and Diana has been
meticulous in her record keeping, diligent and thorough
in her investigations of missing records and all the time
maintains an enthusiasm for the task and a willingness
to liaise with her colleagues. Diana is a team player who
generously shares her skills and knowledge to the benefit
of the Society.’
Nikki Davis
Victorian Branch Annual Report, July 2010 – June 2011
President’s address
G
ood evening fellow indexers and friends, welcome
to the 2011 Annual General Meeting. Thank you
for coming tonight to enjoy a lovely dinner and the
company of your fellow members. Membership hovers
around 80 in our branch, which includes members from
the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania.
Last year we had 87 members so it is time to mobilise the
press gang.
As you know, our branch is a very active one and
this year has been no exception. I shall now give a brief
account of the year’s activities.
Training
This year the Victorian branch conducted nine courses;
two each of Basic Book Indexing Parts 1 and 2, Basic
Book Indexing Part 3 Peer Review, a Database Indexing
Workshop, thesaurus construction, annual reports, and
embedded indexing. Thanks go to the teachers, Max
McMaster and Mary Russell who provided first class
tuition.
Max McMaster and Mary Russell compiled a booklet
entitled Indexing your annual report, the content of which
was influenced in part by the efforts of the annual report
peer review participants. The booklet was released on 1
August and is available in both print and PDF from the
ANZSI web site. It is hoped that companies, in addition
to indexers, make use of the booklet in order to improve
their often inadequate indexes.
Events and activities
We have enjoyed a wide variety of activities during the
past twelve months.
The Victorian Indexing Club (The VIC) which is
held on the first Wednesday of each month at the Trinity
Church Hall in Kew is into its second year and has
proved a great success.
A clinic wherein members may discuss indexing
problems precedes a talk on an aspect of indexing. This
year the subjects have included the Argus project, a
couple of show and tells, and the indexing of Christmas
cards, nursery rhymes, wine, and art. We also ran our
second annual report challenge and visited the Museum
of Victoria, the MCG and 3MBS. Clinics are generally
rounded off with dinner at La Q which was also the
venue for our festive get together.
I would like to thank all the speakers, both ANZSI
members and guests, for all their hard work in creating
such a range of very interesting talks.
Promotion
The Victorian branch is working hard to promote
the value of indexing to a range of associated groups
and societies. Bookmarks continue to promote the
Society from distribution points such as The Wheeler
Centre. 2011 Conference bookmarks were distributed
to CSI members in China and to delegates at the SI
conference in Middelburg, and are now at large in South
Africa and New Zealand. An additional 500 bookmarks
were printed; half went to members for circulation while
the rest were carried to the ASI and Canadian conferences
by Mary Coe and Max McMaster.
Victorian Branch Constitution
The Constitution is being updated. Amendments include
matters relating to the name of the Society, discipline
issues, disputes and mediation, tenure of office, definitions
of terms used in the Constitution, branch operations and
financial statements.
2011 ANZSI Conference
The Victorian branch committee has been busy this year
organising the ANZSI conference, Indexing see Change,
which took place recently from 12 to 14 September at the
Brighton Savoy, Brighton. Although numbers were down
it was a very enjoyable and informative three days; one
may well have termed it a ‘boutique conference’.
Victorian branch committee
I would like to thank the committee members for all their
hard work during the past year.
Alan Eddy (Vice-President), Bernadette Vaughan,
Margaret Findlay, Mary Russell, Max MacMaster
(Treasurer), Nikki Davis (Secretary), Terri Mackenzie
and Ray Price have been very generous with their time
and energy, and this has without a doubt helped to make
all our ventures such a success. With committee and
conference get-togethers we attended twice the number
of meetings this year, and everyone fronted up cheerfully.
The success of the conference was entirely due to the hard
work and dedication of the committee. I would like to
also thank Hugh McMaster for the beautiful design he
created for the conference bookmarks.
I would also like to thank Margaret Findlay, Max
McMaster and Nikki Davis for their generosity in making
their houses available for our meetings.
Thank you to all our members for without you we
would not have a branch. Thanks must also go the
partners and friends of members who attend events and
dinners, and add much gloss to our company.
We have had a great year. Thank you.
Jane Purton
Saturday 10 September, Sydney.
espite unanimity of belief in the writing and
publishing community that a seventh edition of the
Style Manual is long overdue, it is still a distant dream.
In the first session of this very stimulating day,
entitled ‘Changing Contexts for the Style Manual’,
Emeritus Professor Pam Peters outlined the societal
changes reflected in the various editions leading up to
the present: citizenship of Aborigines, decimal currency
and metrification, non-discriminatory language and
electronic communication were all present. What started
out as a house-style guide for Australian Government
Departments extended in reach to state governments,
newspapers, publishers (especially of local textbooks) and
corporate report writers. Ironically, it was later revealed,
there has been a decline in uptake by the government
departments.
As more people took to the internet, the handling
of information became routinely electronic, with
content ‘detachable’ and able to be reformed. Social
democratisation led to recognition that informality is
more appropriate in some contexts and not necessarily
non-standard. The Style Guide became, perforce, more
descriptive than proscriptive.
The challenge for the future is the internationalised
contexts for Australian publications. What is Australian
style (reference was made to the questionnaire in Australian
Style 2008-9) and how much should we conform to
international ‘norms’?
Next, Loma Snooks outlined the processes the team
of ten, in the first outsourcing of the manual after
the disbanding of the AGPS, followed in a constantly
changing environment. The initial contract was for a
short, electronic version and a lengthier printed manual.
Sadly, due to an 18 per cent expansion in content overall
and a corresponding shortfall in funds, the electronic
version was dropped.
The end product, though, was a quantum leap in
content and design. Twenty-six chapters were completed
in two years - a major achievement.
David Whitbread demonstrated how design
preparations for the online edition had paved the way
for very clear signposting now evident in the manual.
His mock-up of the ‘StyleManualWebsite’ included
hyperlinked cross-references and drop-down menus, as
well as icons for images, sound and video files. The
potential is there for the inclusion of tools, and links to
helpful YouTube videos on such topics as offset printing
and binding. The increase in the use of hand-held devices
to access the internet has implications for future image
size. It was exciting but a little sad – someone compared
it to a ghost story, or an unborn twin. The need for an
online version was understood back in 1998.
D
Audience members raised the possibility of having
only an online version, or involving a university with
its own press (e.g. UNSW) or a publishing house? But
copyright restrictions, loss of credibility and traditional
links were cited. As a new edition would be three to four
years in the pipeline, the frustration was palpable. Then
Neil James put forward a motion that a working group be
formed to approach the government with a proposal for
publication of the 7th edition. Anyone interested should
contact him.
In ‘New frontiers for communicators and educators’,
after morning tea, Judith Knighton discussed the role of
the editor as a ‘transliterate scribe’. In connecting writers
to audiences it will be more important than ever to
select, interpret and structure to deliver context to readers
– whatever it takes to get the message through. Prose
literacy is in decline – just under 50 per cent of people
in this country (and New Zealand) are functioning, or
not, at a level of literacy below the basic minimum for a
knowledge economy. Their needs will have to be met, and
the future is not only in prose form.
Jennifer Blunden clarified the role of punctuation
since the push in the 1980s to reduce its use. An informal
survey of preferences she conducted among different age
groups revealed a widespread preference for ‘less’ and
‘lower case’. However, though it is less used, whether for
reasons of OH&S, social democracy or ‘cool’, people can
still be angsty and proscriptive about it. The spontaneous
use of punctuation in social media as a rich semiotic
resource is certainly interesting and the whole area is
crying out for research.
When William Laing described the failure of polls
to predict victory for the conservatives in Britain as an
example of the ‘shy Tory syndrome’, it was understood that
polls and questionnaires can waste enormous amounts of
time and money if they are not properly edited. People
with years of experience and expertise in their fields may
not be able to construct questionnaires which elicit useful
answers, and there is always difficulty in translating a
written survey to one conducted using speech. Examples
were hilarious, if not alarming: Which of the following
corresponds to your marijuana or hashish-smoking status?
Sensitive questions need introduction, and sometimes a
de-brief, but essentially bad questions should be changed.
Associate Professor Juliet Richters was unable to attend.
Susan McKerihan took one side of the ‘Benchmarks
in Plain English’ panel and Howard Warner the other.
She convincingly argued for structure of the document
as a whole, as well as the language used, to achieve
optimal understanding in the reader’s mind. Many of the
methods described may be too generic. It is important
to examine the ‘big picture’ first: if the structure is right,
the other problems recede. The Plain English movement
has been around for a while now – how is it that people
still experience so much difficulty in conveying their
(Style Council Symposium, continued from previous page)
meaning? Howard Warner described the humble sentence
as the biggest hurdle for writers as well as readers. He
provided five basic sentence-level solutions:
• Use more full-stops
• Reduce ‘linkers’
• Use real subjects and strong verbs
• Prefer single, direct words to wordy phrases
• Simplify lists
Finally, there was the exhilarating Public Forum on
changing usage: which of the mass media has the greatest
impact on the English language – as the clearinghouse
of English language? Julian Burnside (for newspapers),
David Astle (for broadcast media, and TV in particular)
and Kate Burridge (for social media) in turn prodded the
audience with examples from which we could not run.
Standard English, we were reminded, must be departed
from in order to define each new generation. Funnily,
‘lingo’ was one of Samuel Johnson’s ‘lubricious barbarisms’.
However, social media has given non-standard varieties a
new respectability. I found myself awestruck by David
Astle’s dazzling bon mots but I will leave the readership
to view the broadcast of this part of the event on Sunday
30 October at 1.00 pm on ABC News 24 to see which
panellist the Chair, Alan Sunderland, considered won
the vote. A recording of the Forum was broadcast
on 23 October and can be found at <www.abc.net.
au/radionational/programs/bigideas/are-the-mass-mediathe-clearing-houses-of-english/3592934>.
Carole Dent
Carole’s attendance at the Style Council Symposium was
sponsored by the ANZSI NSW Branch. NSW Branch offers
sponsorship to encourage members to attend events run by
related professional groups. Please see our website for further
details: http://www.anzsi.org/site/nsw.asp.
News from New Zealand Branch
T
he New Zealand Branch has a new president, Julie
Daymond-King, who was elected at the Branch’s
AGM in Wellington on 29 October.
She has been a member
of ANZSI for five years
and was the Branch’s
secretary for the past two
years.
She
lives
near
Helensville, 50 km
north of Auckland (now
officially in the new
Auckland ‘supercity’, and
her road has just been
sealed for the first time!)
Julie has experience
as a freelancer in both
back-of-book and database indexing. Her largest project
has been indexing the New Zealand content in the
NZ Woman’s Weekly from its first issue in December 1932
through to January 1951. The index was first published
on CD-ROM and then licensed to an online database
service, The Knowledge Basket.
Julie is currently working on this again and is now well
into the 1950s. She also writes a small weekly column for
the magazine about its historical material.
Julie writes, ‘Season’s greetings to all Society members.
At the New Zealand AGM, as incoming President, I read
the poem entitled Indexing to the meeting, written by our
established poet Anna Jackson. It went down well with
the audience (who know that there are only two degrees
of separation between any people in this country) and it
was suggested we should all be able to read it, as possibly
the only poem on the subject so dear to our hearts.
‘Accordingly I have obtained permission from
Auckland University Press to reprint this piece from
Anna’s collection, Thicket 2011. Many thanks AUP.
Best wishes to all for 2012.
Julie Daymond-King
Indexing
And then it is all over, and we leave life behind
like a daytime movie, emerging dazzled –
it is so much clearer now, so much brighter!
(Not so much story, of course, but still.)
All over! Except for the indexing:
and though no one believes judgement depends on it,
still we labour to do it right.
You index achievements, I index my dreams –
bears, 3.4.1971, 21:19; 6.4.1971, 23.45; 11.10.1971,
21.38–44; 1.1.1972, 1:22 etc.
birds, 7.4.1971, 21:48–49; 13.5.1973, 23:40; 6.10.1982,
22:10; 12.6.1984, 22:11; 14.10.1995, 02:40; and
brothers, 12.12.1990, 06:40; 11.05.2010, 03:13
But perhaps it is our appearances
in others’ indexes that count.
Well, I am in your index,
and you are in mine.
Anna Jackson
For many years, when your Editor was first appointed to this newsletter, Glenda Browne wrote a regular column called ‘From
the literature and other thoughts’. When she turned her pen to other ‘other thoughts’, her place was ably filled by Nikki Davis
with ‘Indexing Indaba’ and Jane Purton with ‘Indexing degustation’. From the archives, here is an early ‘From the literature’,
first printed in the November/December 2004 issue of the newsletter and still relevant reading today. (Glenda’s photo is from
a 2008 column, the earliest I could find in my files.)
From the literature and other thoughts
The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Pam Peters.
Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press, 2004, 608 p. 575 hardback ISBN 052162181X
P
am Peters is the Director of the
Dictionary Research Centre
and of the Graduate Program
in Editing and Publishing at
Macquarie University. She wrote
six chapters of the Style Manual
(John Wiley, 2002).
Her book contains a mixture
of topics such as indexing as well
as discussions of specific words or
parts of words (e.g. ‘Croatia’, ‘cross-’, ‘crumby or crummy’,
and ‘-ctic/-xic’). The discussion is based on statistics from
databases (corpora) of written and spoken English – it is
therefore descriptive (telling us what happens) rather than
prescriptive (telling us what we should do).
There are nine appendixes including a perpetual
calendar, proofreading marks, and formats for letters,
memos and email.
#
Indexing
There is half a page on indexing, starting with the need for
an index ‘for almost any nonfiction book whose material
is not already presented in alphabetical order’.
The Guide itself is arranged alphabetically and doesn’t
have an index. This almost works, but there are not quite
enough cross-references within the text. For example,
there is no reference from ‘conjunctions and conjuncts’
to ‘zero conjunction’, and there is no direct reference
from ‘indexing’ to the entry ‘Mac or Mc’ where there is
a substantial section on ‘Indexing names with Mac and
Mc’ (there is an indirect chain via ‘alphabetical order’).
There is also no reference from ‘titles’ to ‘names’ (which
has a section ‘Titles and names’) although again there is
a circuitous route via the entry ‘forms of address’. Pam
Peters briefly mentions the location and type size of
indexes, the use of specialised indexes (eg of names) and
the selection of index terms.
She describes index entries being set ‘broken off’ or
‘run in’ (American) or ‘run on’ (British). I have never
heard the phrase ‘broken off’, and it is not in the indexes
to Mulvany’s Indexing Books (which uses ‘indented style’)
or Wellisch’s Indexing from A to Z (first edition) which
has a reference ‘indented style of subheadings see line-byline style’). The AS/NZS 999:1999 standard (based on
ISO 999:1996) has the heading ‘Set-out (indented) style
versus run-on (paragraph) style for layout’.
There is also content relevant to indexers under
‘numbers and number style’, where the content on spans
of numbers seems to be derived from style guides rather
than the database, and under ‘alphabetical order’ (or
should that be alphabetic? – see ‘-ic/-ical’).
The five page bibliography does not include the three
current standard indexing textbooks, but does include
Indexing, the art of by G Norman Knight (1979) which
is now out of print. The URL of one of the society of
indexers’ websites would have been a useful addition.
Plurals
A good example of the background given in the discussion
of language choices is the plural form of ‘thesaurus’. The
section headed ‘thesaurus’ notes that British writers prefer
‘thesauri’ while American writers prefer ‘thesauruses’.
The more general ‘-us’ section describes four categories
of words ending in ‘us’, and the different endings they
require (thesaurus is a Greek noun so both the ‘i’ and
‘uses’ endings are acceptable).
Should you buy it?
Does an indexer need this book? If you work on multiauthored works without centralised editorial control,
and need to make stylistic decisions about word forms
(particularly hyphenation), you will find this book useful.
The distinctions between usage in different countries
could also be relevant (the book is international in
scope).
There are many topics of general interest including
Australian English, report writing, and emoticons
(including Asian emoticons, which work in the vertical
plane, e.g. (^_^) as a smiley and (Y _ Y) for crying).
Most indexers will enjoy dipping into this book for its
background information on the way the English language
works, and will find it enhances their use of language
within indexes.
Glenda Browne
Thinking about words
Thoughts around Christmas
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse ...
A visit from St Nicholas, by Clement Clarke Moore
A
timely piece from your editor, but once again put
in reluctantly as a filler because you, dear readers,
haven’t sent in enough ‘indexing’ material to fill the
newsletter. However, here we are approaching another
Christmas, and looking back I am amazed to see that
I have been producing your newsletter for just over seven
years. Not a bad record, so perhaps I am entitled to a
little self-indulgence.
The essay that follows was first printed in The Canberra
Editor in November 2005.
There are still 56 nights before Christmas as I write this,
and all through the shopping malls there is a mighty
stirring – indeed, the fruit mince tarts are already on
the supermarket shelves. Religious festival or shopping
spree?
‘Christmas’ obviously means ‘Christ’s mass’, in Old
English Cristes mœsse, although the word ‘Christmas’
doesn’t seem to crop up in English with anything like its
current spelling until the 14th century. But why do we
celebrate Christmas as His birthday on the 25th day of
December?
Modern theological or historical thinking doesn’t
equate any particular day with Christ’s actual birthday,
although the year seems pretty certain.
My old bible, published in 1861, has the
dates of every event from the Creation
(BC 4004) to the Revelation (AD 96).
Christ’s birth is given in ‘The Fourth Year
before the Common Account called Anno
Domini’. Modern scholarship would agree
– the latest Encyclopaedia Britannica says
4–6 BCE (‘Before the Common Era’),
which is a little less paradoxical than
calling it 4 BC.
The early Christian community
distinguished between the (presumed?
unknown?) date of Christ’s birth and
the date on which it was celebrated. (A
modern secular parallel might be the
holiday for the Queen’s birthday that we
enjoy in mid-June, although Elizabeth II was actually
born on 12 April.) In fact, the early Christians were rather
against celebrating their saints’ and martyrs’ birthdays,
unless the true dates were known.
So why 25 December? Remember that the calendar
was originally based not just on the cosmic influences,
the phases of the moon and the solar equinoxes and
solstices, but also on the seasons of nature that detcrmine
agricultural practice: sowing and reaping. Also the early
Christian calendar inevitably had much in common with
the Jewish calendar, with Sabbath, fast and feast based on
the Old Testament. In the northem hemisphere the spring
equinox was seen as the time of creation and new growth,
and in the 3rd century, when many of the key dates in
the Christian calendar were being established, the spring
equinox was celebrated on 25 March. What was more
logical therefore than to place Christ’s conception on that
date, and His birth nine months later on 25 December?
But sometimes His birthday was celebrated on the
presumed date of His baptism, 6 January.
Another view is that the feast of Christ’s nativity was
instituted in Rome as a Christian rival to the pagan festival
of the unconquered sun at the winter solstice. Indeed,
there may be many strands of tradition involved. The
Roman festival of Saturnalia on 17 December brought
in the merry-making and exchange of presents. From old
Germanic midwinter celebrations we later find the Yule
log and decorations with evergreens. And that word Yule
comes from the Germanic Jöl or the Anglo-Saxon geöl,
again a pagan feast of the winter solstice lasting twelve
days – another possible source for the twelve days of
Christmas ...
Other languages emphasise the aspect
of the nativity: the French noel, Italian
Natale, Spanish Navidad. The German
Weihnachten means hallowed night. But
our word Nowell, as in the carol ‘The first
nowell the angel did say’, was a cry of joy
that feasters would shout in celebration of
Christ’s birth.
If we adopted the Christmas tree from
the Germans (O Tannenbaum ... ), we
took on Santa Claus from the Dutch.
Their Sint Klaas, or dialect Sante Klaas,
was enthusiastically adopted by the
Americans in the mid-19th century and
soon spread to the rest of the world.
The ‘real’ Saint Nicholas lived in Turkey
in the 4th century and is credited with
giving dowries to three poor girls to save them from
prostitution. Less probably, he also restored to life three
boys who had been chopped up by a butcher and put into
a tub of brine. His feast day is 6 December and in some
countries children receive presents then. His image, as
the jolly fellow with the white whiskers, comes from the
poem whose opening lines are quoted above:
(Thoughts around Christmas, continued from previous page)
... His eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
His droll little mouth was drawn up in a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow ...
... He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
This description inspired the cartoonist Thomas Nast
to draw and paint Santa in various situations (including
a visit to soldiers in the Civil War!) for Harpers Weekly
over a couple of decades from 1863. One of his drawings,
from towards the end of his run, is given below left. Half
a century later Haddon Sundblum immortalised Santa
in Coca Cola ads, starting in 1931 and continuing for
the next 35 years, establishing his image for all time
(and firmly cementing the link between Christmas and
consumerism ... ). It’s a pity you can’t all see the gorgeous
reds!
If you have been very good all year, you can write to
him at Santa Claus, Arctic Circle, 96930 Rovaniemi,
Finland. Each year, Santa gets hundreds of thousands of
letters from 150 countries all over the world. The children
in Great Britain, Poland and Japan are the busiest writers.
He tries to answer letters from foreign countries, if the
writer requests a reply. But even if you didn’t behave quite
well enough, you can still look at his website at <www.
santaclauslive.com/main.php?kieli=eng>.
And what better way to finish these thoughts than
with the last line of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, which
I now wish you:
‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.’
Peter Judge
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite on
DVD and the Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM. Thomas Nast’s
drawing of ‘Merry Old Santa Claus’, published in Harper’s Weekly,
1 January, 1881, was found in <stnicholas.kids.us/Brix?pageID=35>
and the Coca Cola Santa Claus from 1939, painted by Haddon
Sundblom, was in <http://coca-cola-art.com/2008/11/25/coca-colachristmas-santa-claus-haddon-sundblom/>.
And here, in full, is the poem that Clement Clarke Moore
wrote for his children and first published in 1823 ...
A visit from St Nicholas
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc’d in their heads,
And Mama in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap –
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and call’d them by name:
“Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer and Vixen,
On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Donder and Blitzen”;
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
“Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys – and St. Nicholas too:
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:
He was dress’d all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnish’d with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys was flung on his back,
And he look’d like a peddler just opening his pack:
His eyes – how they twinkled! His dimples: how merry,
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face, and a little round belly
That shook when he laugh’d, like a bowl full of jelly:
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laugh’d when I saw him in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And fill’d all the stockings; then turn’d with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight –
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Clement Clark Moore
Branch events
Date and time
Organiser
Name of activity
Venue
Contact details
Wed 7 Dec
6.00 pm
Vic Branch
The VIC
Festive recipes
Details at
Sun 11 Dec
NSW Branch
Social lunch
Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Hall, Kew
Sue Flaxman’s
house, Bowral
Wed 1 Feb
6.00 pm.
Vic Branch
The VIC
Indexing Letters
Holy Trinity
Anglican Church
Hall, Kew
Details at
IN
THIS ISSUE
ANZSI News
1
Renewal of annual membership subscriptions
1
ANZSI Newsletter
2
2
3
Indexing Indaba
4
Victorian Branch Annual Report
6
7
News from New Zealand Branch
8
The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (review) 9
Thoughts around Christmas
10
A visit from St Nicholas
11
Branch events
8
8
ANZSI Newsletter
Published by the
ISSN 1832-3855
Newsletter schedule
The next Newsletter will appear in February 2012.
The submission deadline is Friday, 27 January.
Postage
paid

2011 - Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers

Transcription

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