2026 ASI Conference—Indexing in Interesting Times
June 10–11, 2026, Online
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SESSION
Indexing in the Era of AI. Elizabeth Bartmess and Michele Combs.
Indexing in the era of AI requires that professional indexers have a clear understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations so that we can advocate effectively for our value. This presentation provides data-grounded suggestions for how indexers can respond if asked what they offer over AI and if asked to edit an AI-generated index. It will include discussion of research carried out by the American Society for Indexing’s AI Committee, as well as discussion of implications for the future.
SESSION
Meditation Practices for Care of the Body, Spirit, and Mind. Mary Stevens.
Wuwei is a Chinese word translating as “non-doing.” As indexers, we engage in focused mental activity and decision-making, and alternate between the pressures of deadlines and having more downtime than perhaps we’d like. Checking in with ourselves can give us a sense of wellbeing amidst these pressures and the ability to return to our projects with new energy. In this workshop, we will sample a few meditative practices focusing on the body, the emotions, and our thinking.
You will
- learn some tools for relaxing your body and refreshing and sharpening your mind
- practice paying attention to your physical and emotional needs in the moment
- discover which types of meditations you might want to incorporate into your work day
SESSION
Disasters, Indexing through Them. Pilar Wyman.
Earlier this year Pilar Wyman was waylaid in Abu Dhabi, UAE for a week when the current US-Iran war broke out. Her 3-hour layover turned into 6 nights. In this session she will share how she was able to keep indexing and meet all her deadlines while displaced in a foreign country, under a closed airspace and with ongoing missile and drone strikes. Pilar will also share what hardware and software she uses, as well as her preferred adapters and adaptations for indexing while traveling.
KEYNOTE SESSION
The Current State of Scholarly Publishing. Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director at Society For Scholarly Publishing, and Rebecca McLeod, Managing Director for the Harvard Data Science Review (HDSR).
Scholarly publishing and the research community are navigating significant disruption, reshaping both how publishers operate today and how the research ecosystem may evolve in the years ahead. Over the past six months, the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) has conducted a series of pulse-check polls exploring key topics including artificial intelligence, the economic outlook, and community advocacy priorities. The findings reveal a landscape marked by uncertainty, uneven impact, and emerging opportunity.
This session will examine the key themes emerging from SSP’s research, alongside insights from The Scholarly Kitchen and consider how external forces are influencing the industry. Particular attention will be given to the growing role of artificial intelligence, including where AI may render existing practices less central while also creating opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance quality and accelerate time to publication.
SESSION
Government Contracting. Vickie Jacobs.
Are you interested in pursuing contracts with U.S. government agencies? Knowing where to begin and what is required for registration can be a daunting task! This presentation will help indexers to show up prepared, by focusing on three common places where an indexer seeking to be a government contractor may be required to register: the System for Award Management—also known as SAM.gov, Dun & Bradstreet, and GPO Publish.
SESSION
Mastering the Marketing Game in 2026. Gina Guilinger and Amron Lehte.
Gina and Amron will guide indexers with using LinkedIn in the most effective and efficient way for their indexing business marketing in 2026. Learn how to develop a strong profile, network, and manage your activities with the most time-saving and energy-efficient methods.
SESSION
Cautionary Considerations on So Many Levels: Vigilance, Mitigation, Prevention, and Recovery for Indexers. Maria Sullivan.
What every indexer needs to be doing well in advance of disasters, both small and large.
Life happens. Eventually it’s going to throw a curveball your way, and you might as well pave the way to make recovery easier. As freelancers and small business owners, we can’t be prepared for everything that could possibly happen, but we can take some simple steps to make the aftermath easier. We all worry about the big precautions (insurance and surge protectors), but equally important, what small, simple every day precautions can an indexer take to make recovery after unanticipated losses (small or large) easier? Not every problem will be large scale—but with a little planning, even a catastrophe can be that much easier. Not all losses are financial—equally important are time and heartache. Maria will talk about some things that we should all think about and take into consideration on a regular basis—small steps that we can easily incorporate into our routine to help ease our way through tough times.
SESSION (Part 1)
Developing Macros and Regular Expressions with AI. Elizabeth Bartmess.
While generative AIs such as ChatGPT and Claude cannot create an adequate index, they can help with some programming-adjacent tasks that indexers do, such as developing macros and regular expressions. This short presentation will cover ethical issues, pitfalls and how to work with them, prompt generation, and testing and debugging. It will be most useful for indexers who have used macros or regular expressions before and are looking to boost their abilities. Resource suggestions will be provided for indexers who are not familiar with macros or regular expressions and are looking to get started.
AND
SESSION (Part 2)
The Potential of Macros for Indexers. Lisa Fedorak.
Macros are a valuable tool for increasing efficiency by improving accuracy, speeding up indexing, and reducing repetitive actions that can contribute to physical strain or mental fatigue. This session will explain what macros are, how to identify tasks that are good candidates for automation, and an overview of resources that are available to help participants create their own macros for either Windows or Mac platforms. Demonstrations will illustrate tasks related both to indexing from PDFs and running an indexing business. The demonstrations will use Macro Express for Windows and Keyboard Maestro for Mac.
SESSION
Cindex: Be Prepared and Double Check that Index. Maria Sullivan.
Knowing how to use Cindex tools well enables you to prevent, discover, and recover—from minor bloopers to major messes. Maria will take a tour of some Cindex functions that can be used to review your index when preparing and submitting your index—helping you catch mistakes and oversights. She’ll also talk about some strategies that will help you prevent errors and ease recovery when you discover a problem that needs resolving (small or large). Then, combining review and prevention processes, she’ll show you how to work your way through a few common disaster scenarios.
BONUS SESSION
Demonstration of ASI’s New Principles of Indexing Course. Shana Milkie.
This session will demonstrate how the new Principles of Indexing course works in Moodle. It will give potentially interested students a chance to see what the course platform looks like and to ask any questions they might have. The session is expected to take about half an hour.
Program is subject to change without notice.
Registration Information
Your conference registration includes all sessions, plus our bonus session. The event will include breaks and networking time. To ensure you receive the meeting link, please register no later than 5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, June 3.
Please note: This virtual event will be presented live via Zoom, and the sessions will 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 June 3, 2026.
Early registration rates
Early registration: ASI Members: $159 | Non-members: $209
After May 30
Registration: ASI Members: $179 | Non-members: $229
ASI members, please log in to the website for member pricing.
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Non-members. If you are a returning customer, please purchase using your email address on file: Guest
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Cancellation Policy for Conference
There is a $25 processing fee for cancellation by May 27, 2026. There is a $50 processing fee per registration for cancellation May 28–June 3, 2026. No refunds can be given after June 3, 2026.
Best Practices for Optimal Viewing
Here are 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.