American Society for Indexing — 2015 Conference

Seattle, Washington, April 29–May 1

The Indexers’ Café

Special discount through April 8, 2015

The state of the art of indexing and the publishing world is in constant flux, and keeping up with the evolution of the field requires lifelong learning. Where can you find what you need?

The primary source for information and education about indexing is the American Society for Indexing (ASI). At our annual conferences we present sessions on the best and most up-to-date advances in indexing as an information organization and retrieval resource. In 2015 we will host the conference at Motif Seattle in the heart of Seattle, Washington, just five minutes from Pike Place Market.

Now, a good conference should be like a good neighborhood café. The shot of caffeine it provides should stimulate you without making you a nervous wreck or upsetting your digestion. The menu should cater to a wide range of tastes and requirements. You should get a chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones; enjoy a change of scene; and have some stimulating conversations. You can even bring along your laptop and get some work done!

Whether you want a soothing cup of tea or a strong shot of espresso, the ASI 2015 Conference has what you need. Trying to bone up on your technical skills? Wednesday’s half-day session offers a cornucopia of software programs, and on Thursday and Friday there will be presentations on Macrex, KPS plugins, embedding, XML indexing, and taxonomies. Interested in improving your more traditional indexing practices? Janet Perlman will show you how to approach the text, Do Mi Stauber will let you observe her indexing process, and Scott Smiley will talk about patterns. There are sessions for people at the beginning of their careers (Madge Walls on Getting Started), and for those nearing the end (Fran Lennie on Planning Your Indexing Legacy.) Everyone will leave this café comfortably satiated.

And there’s room to have some fun, as well! While there won’t be a singer with a guitar in the corner, we’ve planned some fun events: a culinary tour of Pike Place Market, an evening at the theater, and a visit to “Underground Seattle,” a fascinating, historic tour of the city’s original first floor, now far below our feet. Plus, you’ll get a chance to meet local publishers at our opening reception.

We also have an exceptional keynote speaker: Karen E. Fisher, professor at the University of Washington Information School. Her research has looked at ethnic minorities and information access, algorithmic human relationships as an information problem, and the multiplex value of public libraries. Her unique approach to information retrieval will be of great relevance to us as indexers in the modern world.

So join us at the Indexers’ Café in Seattle! Pull up a chair, order a latté (vegetarian or gluten-free if you need it), and jump into the conversation.

Click the link to visit the 2015 Conference Page, where you'll find the program, speaker biographies, registration information, and details on our rates.