The Eyes Have It: The Indexer Perspective—Past, Present & Future
April 28–29, 2023
This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom.
Sessions are followed by a 15-minute break, unless otherwise noted.
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Thursday, April 27
Pre-Conference Introduction-to-Indexing Workshop with Fred Leise
Friday, April 28
9:00 AM, Pacific / 12:00 PM, Eastern
TOWN HALL
What is it Like to Be an ASI Board Member? Board Members
9:30 AM, Pacific / 12:30 PM, Eastern
Coffee and Networking
10:00 AM, Pacific / 1:00 PM, Eastern
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Metadata at the New York Times: Organizing and Leveraging News Content from 1851-Today. Jennifer Parrucci
Senior Taxonomist Jennifer Parrucci will show how The New York Times was ahead of the curve when it comes to metadata and how that legacy has turned into a thorough process for content classification. She will also give a peek into how The Times leverages this metadata to push content to consumers, pull analytics and make sure things are easily findable in the archive.
11:00 AM, Pacific / 2:00 PM, Eastern
15-minute BREAK
11:15 AM, Pacific / 2:15 PM, Eastern
Another Set of Eyes: How and When to Hire Someone to Edit or Proofread Your Indexes. Michelle Guiliano
Do you sometimes wish you could have a fresh set of eyes to look at your index before the deadline? Let Michelle Guiliano show you the ropes and discuss the benefits and pitfalls of hiring a proofreader or editor for your indexes. This presentation isn’t just for newbies–experienced indexers might find that streamlining their indexing process is just what they need to take their indexing business to the next level.
12:00 PM, Pacific / 3:00 PM, Eastern
30-minute BREAK
12:30 PM, Pacific / 3:30 PM, Eastern
The History of Stoplists: Lists of Words Not Indexed. Bella Hass Weinberg
Stoplists (lists of words not indexed) were thought to have been developed in the 1950s in conjunction with automatic indexing. The first Hebrew concordance (word index) to the Bible, entitled Me’ir Nativ (15th century), contained a stoplist that is similar to modern ones in that it consists of function words, such as prepositions. Me’ir Nativ was modeled on the Latin Biblical concordance of Arlottus. Two manuscripts of his concordance are in the library of St. Omer, France. Neither manuscript contains a stoplist. In this presentation, Bella will also discuss theological debates over the meanings of function words, and relate the concept of stoplist to indexable matter.
1:15 PM, Pacific / 4:15 PM, Eastern
15-minute BREAK
1:30 PM, Pacific / 4:30 PM, Eastern
Mapping Words: A Writer on the Mysterious World of Indexing. June Sawyers
What does it mean to be a writer and an indexer? Indexers who are also writers or writers who are also indexers are rare breeds. The patron saint of this rarest of breeds is inarguably Virginia Woolf, even though no one would identify her as such. This talk will discuss not only Woolf but also other examples of indexer-writers from the perspective of one who combines both professions herself. She will also describe what traits writers and indexers need to have in order to be successful while briefly discussing the history of this most humble and invisible of professions.
2:30 PM, Pacific / 5:30 PM, Eastern
15-minute BREAK
2:45 PM, Pacific / 5:45 PM, Eastern
Bonus Session 1: MACREX & Index Manager (Breakout Rooms). Do Mi Stauber and Pilar Wyman, Moderators
3:15 PM, Pacific / 6:15 PM, Eastern
HAPPY HOUR
Grab your favorite libation and come chat with your fellow indexers. Make a new friend. Celebrate the wonder of indexing by sharing a fun story about a recent project. Come relax and chat!
Saturday, April 29
9:00 AM, Pacific / 12:00 PM, Eastern
Bonus Session 2: CINDEX & SKY (Breakout Rooms). Maria Sullivan and Kamm Schreiner
9:30 AM, Pacific / 12:30 PM, Eastern
Coffee and Networking
10:00 AM, Pacific / 1:00 PM, Eastern
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Changing Industries From the Inside: Learning from the HarperCollins strike. Olga Brudastova, President of Local 2110
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the labor movement has seen an increased interest in union organizing across different industries and sectors. The most recent news story comes from the Financial District of Manhattan, where over 200 employees of HarperCollins Publishers, represented by Local 2110 UAW, went on strike for more than three months to win a fair contract. What was the impact on the industry? What do we see now and what can we expect to see in the near future?
11:00 AM, Pacific / 2:00 PM, Eastern
15-minute BREAK
11:15 AM, Pacific / 2:15 PM, Eastern
Live Indexing Demo. Shannon Li
Peek through the lens of a scholarly indexer! In this session, Shannon will index several pages from a scholarly work. Get a glimpse of her thought process when indexing scholarly books as the index develops!
12:15 PM, Pacific / 3:15 PM, Eastern
30-minute BREAK
12:45 AM, Pacific / 3:45 PM, Eastern
New A.I. Tools and Indexing: Do We Welcome Our New Robot Overlords?. John Magee
Chat GPT, Dall-E, and a host of other new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools have been introduced to the public recently. What are they? What can they do? And just as importantly, what can’t they do? Cengage Gale’s Director of Metadata Services John Magee looks at some of the new generation of information tools that have been in the news lately to see how they might affect the world of indexing and metadata. Are they our new friends or harbingers of doom?
1:45 PM, Pacific / 4:45 PM, Eastern
15-minute BREAK
2:00 PM, Pacific / 5:00 PM, Eastern
E-book Indexes: More Than Meets the Eye. Mary Coe
Readers expect more from e-book indexes than just hyperlinked locators. In this session, Mary will take you into the mind’s eye of the reader as she explains her research on how people find information in e-books. She will share her recommendations for making e-book indexes better and suggest ways that you can advocate for the inclusion of indexes in e-books.
Registration Information
Your conference registration includes all eight sessions and the bonus software session. Each program session will be followed by a 15-minute break or networking time. There will be a longer break in mid-program. The program is subject to change without notice. To ensure you receive the meeting link, please register no later than 5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 26.
Please note: This virtual event will be presented live via Zoom, and the sessions will be recorded. However, in order to encourage open participation, the Q&A at the end of each session will not be recorded. Just as with an in-person event, attendees will be able to ask questions by (electronically) raising their hands or by asking questions in the chat box. Please understand that the quality of the live presentation may be lower for viewers with slower internet connections. Recordings will be available for one year following the event for those who register. No refunds can be given after April 21, 2023.
Early registration: ASI Members: $139 | Non-members: $189
After April 14
Late registration: ASI Members: $159 | Non-members: $209
No refunds can be given after April 21.
ASI members, please log in to the website for member pricing.
Please purchase using your email address on file: Guest
Best Practices for Optimal Viewing
We wanted to share a few best practices to improve your viewing experience of this presentation. Please be aware that the setup of your computer and software impacts the quality of your connection.
Streaming services may adjust the quality of your video stream from standard definition (such as 240p or 360p) to high definition (720p or 1080p) based on the speed of your Internet connection (bandwidth). For this reason, you may notice that the quality of your video changes as you watch.
For an optimum experience, we recommend that you turn off other computer applications. Ask others at your location to avoid excessive use of the internet such as video streaming. Use a wired connection, rather than wireless, if possible. Also ensure that your browser is updated. It is good practice to reboot your computer before joining the live event.
While most online events go off without a hitch, if you happen to experience connection issues, remember that you can view the replay on the ASI website following the conference.