Looks like we’ve been taking a spring tonic, because there’s a lot to report here. Spring is here and the annual conference is almost upon us!
Introduction to Indexing class at Indexers Rock!
ASI’s 2018 Conference, “Indexers Rock!” comes to Cleveland this month
ASI Announces 2018 Hines Award Winner
Election Results Announced
Publishers Outreach Committee Connects with Publishers
Congratulations to New Indexers
Chapter News
Indexes in Ebooks and Embedded Indexing
Chicago/Great Lakes Chapter Introduces The Wedge
More Indexer News
Four Indexers Walk into a Book Fair…
Index in an Awards Finalist Book
Spotlight
Introduction to Indexing class at Indexers Rock!
Feels Like the First Time: An Introduction to Indexing
with Fred Leise
Thursday, April 26
9 am to 4 pm
This all-day workshop is designed for those who are considering a career in indexing and those who are looking for a refresher. The workshop provides an introduction to and overview of the basics of indexing, the indexing process, and the indexing business. Join Fred on this magical mystery tour of indexing to understand what an index is and how it is structured, and the business context for creating indexes. Find details and registration here.
ASI’s 2018 Conference, “Indexers Rock!” is coming to Cleveland
April 26–28, 2018
Just weeks away! Whether you’ve been indexing for only months or for many years, we’ve got a great program for you. Join us in Cleveland for the annual conference!
Friday, April 27
9:00 am Keynote Address, Maureen Mullin
Former Acting Librarian for the Cleveland Public Library
BREAKOUT SESSIONS ALL DAY
Hines Award presentation at lunchtime
6:30 pm Reception Honoring Dave Ream
ASI celebrates the life of long-time Cleveland resident Dave Ream.
Saturday, April 28
BREAKOUT SESSIONS ALL DAY
Annual meeting at lunchtime
5:30 pm Closing reception
Sunday, April 29
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Tour, Sign up here
ASI Announces 2018 Hines Award Winner
Diana Witt will receive the 2018 Theodore C. Hines Award for exceptional service to ASI at the Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, April 27.
Diana joined ASI in 1969, the year after it was founded, and has been actively involved with the Society ever since. She has served three terms as ASI President (in three different decades), and two terms as a Board member-at-large. Diana has also chaired or served on many other ASI committees. Read more here.
Election Results Announced
Jennifer Spanier is the new ASI president-elect. Amron Gravett and Bonnie Taylor are new board members. The three will take their office at the Annual Meeting at the on April 28, 2018.
Publishers Outreach Committee connects with publishers
Last year ASI formed a Publishers Outreach Committee to proactively connect with publishers and potential indexing clients. Committee members Stephen Ingle and Joan Shapiro attended a meeting of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) in New York City on March 15. Publishing company executives held a panel discussion “How to Make Publishing Workflows REALLY Work!” and Steve and Joan raised the issue of where indexes fit into the rapidly changing world of book publishing. An article will be forthcoming in Key Words with details about the event. See the related Four Indexers Walk into a Book Fair below.
Congratulations to two New Indexers
Congratulations to Rita Bates and Sanjiv Kumar Sinha, who recently completed the ASI Indexing Training Course.
Chapter News
Indexes in Ebooks and Embedded Indexing
Thursday, April 5
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cengage Learning, 10 Channel Center, 3rd floor, Boston, MA
This event is co-organized by Bookbuilders of Boston, the New England Chapter of ASI, and the Digital Publications Indexing SIG of ASI, and hosted by Bookbuilders member Cengage Learning, we will learn and discuss issues in incorporating the book index into digital publications.
After a brief introduction on how book indexes are managed for print and digital publications of the publisher Cengage, indexing industry expert Stephen Ingle will present “Indexes for Digital Publications: The Battle of the Books.” Followed by Q&A, there will also be networking time, and food will be available.
Visit Bookbuilders of Boston for details and registration.
Chicago/Great Lakes Chapter Introduces “The Wedge!”
The Chicago/Great Lakes Chapter is happy to introduce you to the latest item in our collection. The Wedge is designed to hold your cell phone UP so you can view the screen easily and more efficiently. It remains in your line of sight while working and is perfect for conference calls and webinars. ASI Great Lakes is imprinted on the front, and on the back is a microfiber cloth to clean your electronic devices. It’s handy to clean that screen that always seems to be smudged.
The Wedge is available from the chapter for US $13 each. To get one (or more!), please make checks payable to ASI, indicate "Chicago Great Lakes Chapter" on the memo line and mail to: Denise Alberts / P.O. Box 10514 / Chicago IL 60610
We will ship it (them!) out to you immediately.
More Indexer News
Four Indexers Walk into a Book Fair…
wearing T-shirts that read “I’m a freelance book indexer” on the front, and “Ask me about INDEXING” and their own business logo on the back. There is no longer a Southwest Chapter, but that doesn’t stop indexers in Arizona from meeting up. ASI members Nan Badgett, Cindy Coan, Ina Gravitz, and Amron Gravett attended the 10th annual Tucson Festival of Books on March 10–11, 2018. With 150,000 other book-lovers and 350+ authors and presenters, it’s the third-largest book festival in the US.
The four indexers mingled around the University of Arizona campus event chatting up with publishers, editors, writers, and readers. The shirts were great conversation starters, and they picked up several new clients and reconnected with former indexers.
The four are considering putting on a production workshop with a publisher-editor-indexer-writer panel at the festival next year. Because the ASI Publishers Outreach Committee is exploring new ways to connect within the industry, they asked the four to share their experience.
You can learn more at the Tuscon Festival of Books website.
Member Index in an Awards Finalist Book
Connie Binder indexed Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler’s Companion to the National Park, one of the finalists in the Travel category of the 2018 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards. Great job, Connie!
Spotlight
Sanjiv Kumar Sinha recently completed the ASI indexing course and received this comment on his final exam: “Definitely the best student exam I’ve ever graded! This student really paid attention to the feedback on the first exam, and extrapolated to identify and correct similar errors to those pointed out in the embedded comments. Wish all students were that observant!”
If you would like to be in the Spotlight or nominate someone for it, contact the editor, Ælfwine Mischler.
Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?
I live with my wife and two sons in Puducherry, an Indian union territory. It lies in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula, approximately 90 miles from Chennai. I am originally from Kujju, a small town in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
What is your educational background?
I have a postgraduate diploma in management with a major in operations management, and I have a bachelor of science in physics.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
I am very fond of gardening and I ensure that I take out time for this hobby. At the moment, I have four varieties of hibiscus and roses in my garden. Besides the flowers, I grow vegetables like tomatoes, okra, beans, spinach, and bitter gourds and I also have a mango, a papaya, and two banana trees. It gives me immense satisfaction to see them grow and bloom. I have personally gained a lot from this hobby as it teaches me to be patient, observant, and nurturing.
I also enjoy reading as a hobby. The latest in my nonfiction collection is Robert T. Kiyosaki’s Why the Rich Are Getting Richer.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
After completing my degree in physics, I started my career as a database indexer and abstractor (I&A) and then moved to the profile of a back-of-the-book indexer. After that, I got into operations management.
I have been involved in indexing all my career so far, and now I just do it more scientifically thanks to the exposure that I have received till now.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
I started indexing in 2003 immediately after I got my degree in physics. I joined ASI in 2016.
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
Though I am quite new to ASI and have just passed module D, what I can confidently say about ASI membership is that the feedback and suggestion mechanism for all the modules is one of the best things I have experienced till now.
My course coordinator, Meghan Miller Brawley, has been supportive constantly and that has helped me to think about the concepts differently. The ASI indexing course is remarkable.
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