About Indexes

What exactly is indexing?: Start here if you’ve got basic questions about book indexing.

Does your document need an index?: Here’s proof that indexes are valuable book features that lead to better reviews and increased sales: a sampling of book reviews mentioningÂ indexes – good, bad, and indexes omitted.

Shouldn’t authors index their own books? (by Martha Osgood of Back Words Indexing): Indexes act as bridges between authors and their readers, so people as subjective as authors are advised against writing their own indexes. Martha Osgood of Back Words Indexing (a colleague, friend, and darned-good indexer) explains in this article the ways in which author-prepared indexes are detrimental to useability.

Contracting With Indexers: Here are tips for finding indexers, choosing among several indexers, and a few questions you might want to ask before contracting with an indexer.

Working With Freelance Indexers (by American Society of Indexers): This online version of a print brochure includes the following sections: why you need an indexer, finding an indexer, working with an indexer (size and length of job and negotiating fee and contract), receiving the index (quick checks, shortening the index, unsatisfactory indexes, mark up, last-minute changes), a note about indexing software, and wrapping up the job.

Indexing Evaluation Checklist (by American Society of Indexers): Does your text have an index, and you’re wondering if it’s useful? Use this checklist to begin your evaluation.

Choosing Index Styles: This page explains some index styles for people who are new to working with indexers.

Indexing the WWW (from University of British Columbia’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies): Links to resources on the web about web site indexing are organized in the following categories: WWW Indexing; Web Site Indexes; Indexes to Books, Journals & Other Documents; Metadata Links on the WWW; and SGML, XML, EAD & TEI.