Author: Sanet le Roux

Society of Indexers Annual Conference 2011, Keele

Posted on by Sanet le Roux

I was fortunate enough to attend the Society of Indexers (SI) Annual Conference from 2-4 September 2011. Organised by the British and Irish professional body for indexing, it was held at the beautiful Keele University in Staffordshire. And that is why, on 31 August, I found myself on an Emirates flight leaving South Africa behind. The thing I’ll remember most about the flights is how long it took. 22 hours did not sound like a long time to me, until I actually experienced it. On the upside, there were many movies and TV episodes to watch on my very own little screen.

After landing in Manchester Airport I enjoyed a ride in a taxi arranged for me through the travel agent. It was the one ‘luxury’ that I gave myself, not wanting to figure out the public transport in a strange country right after a long flight. It was definitely worth it. The driver pointed out landmarks and interesting places, and at the end of it, it felt like I’ve had a tour of the city. Later that day I walked around Manchester city, trying to look like a local.

After a good night’s rest and a healthy (read: HUGE) breakfast in Manchester, I went in search of Piccadilly station and my train to Stoke-on-Trent. A train and bus ride later and a little bit of walking saw me at the registration desk of the conference. The venue of the conference was a building on the huge Keele University campus. The accommodation was a few minutes walk from the conference facilities in a pretty building complete with grassy courtyard.

Then followed a jam-packed program, with informative talks and workshops and interesting conversations with other indexers in between. Those conversations were such a treat for me. Having the opportunity to be able to talk to indexers, not only from England, but also from America, Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands was amazing. The two sessions that stood out for me were the “Indexing bibliographies and other life writings” and the “Experienced indexers’ discussion” workshops. Both were informal and a lot of questions were asked. For reports on the conference, have a look at http://www.indexers.org.uk/index.php?id=403 and http://adelef.wordpress.com/. Of course reading the conference reports is not the same as actually being there. It’s an excellent learning experience and one I’ll definitely recommend.

After the official close of the conference and a last lunch together, I was fortunate enough to hitch a ride to the train station and managed to take the correct trains to Manchester airport. After checking in and going through security, I was met with an oasis of shops. My only regret was that I did not have enough time to explore England more. I suppose that will have to wait for next time…

ASAIB Western Cape talk on indexing cookbooks, 17 September 2011

Posted on by Sanet le Roux

This talk was arranged by the Western Cape branch of the Association of Southern African Indexers and Bibliographers (ASAIB). The venue was that treasure trove of books, the Book Lounge in Cape Town. Situated in the heart of Cape Town, the stairs to the lower level leads to a cosy sitting area ideal for informal talks. The speaker was Joy Clack, a writer and editor, and owner of Bushbaby Editorial Services.

Joy started by saying that the main points to remember when creating an index for a cookbook are: logic and user-friendliness. She urged us to put ourselves in the position of the reader: what would you look up? The other important point to consider early on, is how much space is available for the index. This might have a big impact on how you approach and compile the index. The three main ways of creating an index for a cookbook are: 1) by grouping (e.g. pastas, desserts); 2) by ingredient (e.g. apples, spinach); 3) by grouping and ingredient (e.g. cakes, chocolate cake). Other questions Joy discussed were: should people’s names be left in the entry to a recipe? (mostly not, unless it is a well-known person); should photos and illustrations be indicated? (only if the photo or illustration is on a different page than the recipe); should cross-references be included for the different names of ingredients? (yes, include terms that will be used by the audience of the book).

The talk ended with an opportunity to ask Joy questions and some interesting discussions followed. Thank you to Joy for presenting an informative and interesting talk.

The Indexer: The international journal of indexing

Posted on by Sanet le Roux

Excerpt from”NINieuws” the newsletter of the Netherlands Indexers Network, October 2011:

“The Indexer” began life in 1958, modest in size but ambitious in intent, and has gradually grown from its initial 28 pages twice a year to the current 48-page quarterly publication, available in both print and online versions: and costs indexing society members (rates frozen for 2012) just £28 per annum. To subscribe (and for all sorts of other useful information) visit www.theindexer.org.
The journal falls into two sections: regular features and articles. The regular features include book reviews, „Indexes reviewed‟ (a collection of extracts from book reviews which comment on the index or the lack of an index) and Around the World (ATW). ATW carries news about the societies including conference reports and indexing awards, takes a transnational look at how indexers approach their task and, increasingly, reports on what is going on at the international liaison (ICRIS) level. „Regular‟ features also include the Browser Bar, where Pierke Bosschieter keeps us in touch with useful web-based information.
The journal has a dual remit, to meet the needs and interests of both the practitioner and the scholar, so every issue is likely to have at least one very practical „how to‟ article, and at least one strongly theoretical with a balance between „must read instantly‟ articles and those to be turned to at greater leisure. Falling into this latter category are the popular, supplementary, Centrepieces, focusing on indexing „teases‟ (so far mainly the handling of place and personal names). As a look at the classified contents or index on the website will demonstrate, the coverage over the years has been astonishingly broad with not many indexing-related issues left unexplored.
The journal, published by the British Society of Indexers (somebody has to be legally responsible for paying the bills!), is very much an ICRIS organ, with all the indexing societies represented on the editorial advisory board. And all the societies, including NIN and DNI (October 2006), have taken a turn at guest-editing an issue. More than 70% of the contributions come from outside the UK. Nor, with at least one article in each issue from a non-indexer, is it just indexers talking to indexers.
So something for everybody, including you!