Members loved our 2019 annual conference in Scottsdale! Join us for an upcoming chapter meeting if you can.
Indexers "Bloom in the Desert" at ASI's 2019 Conference
Kohlrabi Awards
Upcoming Chapter Events
Western New York Chapter—Event Cancelled
Heartland Chapter
Indexing Society of Canada Conference
Spotlight
Indexers "Bloom in the Desert" at ASI's 2019 Conference
ASI members from across the United States and Canada, as well as indexers from farther afield, gathered in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the end of April for several days of learning, networking, socializing, and sightseeing during this year’s national conference, Bloom in the Desert. The conference began on Thursday, April 25, with two pre-conference workshops. This year Heather Ebbs taught the workshop for newer indexers, and Fred Leise offered a workshop on intermediate/advanced indexing techniques for indexers with a bit more experience. Also on Thursday, ASI’s board of directors held their annual full-day meeting. In the evening, all conference participants were welcomed to the conference at the opening reception.
Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, were both filled with presentations on a variety of indexing topics as well as session related to running a business. Some presentations focused on specific indexing areas, such as zoological indexing, scripture indexing, and working with heavily illustrated material. Several people spoke about process-related topics, such as marking up pages, collaborative projects, and what to do when things don’t go as planned. Business-related sessions spanned included information on working with social media, setting up a traveling office, discussion of pay rates, subcontracting, and file management. And, of course, users of each of the major software programs had the opportunity to learn more about how to get the most out of their programs. Details on many of the sessions will be published in a future issue of Key Words.
On Friday, conference attendees had a virtual tour of the collection of the Musical Instrument Museum, given by Colin Pearson, the museum’s curator for Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. Colin spoke about the classification system developed and implemented by the museum, and he provided pictures along with audio and video clips of many of the interesting instruments in the museum. On Friday evening, attendees gathered at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West for a reception and award presentation. In addition to recognizing this year’s recipients of the Kohlrabi award, the Excellence in Indexing award was presented to Sheila Ryan, and the Hines Award was presented to Fred Leise.
On Sunday, ASI arranged an optional tour at the amazingly beautiful Desert Botanical Garden. The garden offers a wonderful opportunity to visitors to see over 4,000 species of plants that thrive in the desert.
Although this year’s conference has only just ended, planning is already underway for next year. Locations and dates will be announced as soon as arrangements are finalized. We hope to see you all there!
Kohlrabi Awards
ASI depends on many volunteers for its activities. At our recent annual conference this past year’s volunteers were recognized by being inducted into the Order of the Kohlrabi. The pictured members received their kohlrabi pins at the conference. Past inductees can be found listed alphabetically or chronologically on our website.
Upcoming Chapter Events
Western New York Chapter Spring Meeting—CANCELLED
Business Strategies for Indexers
Saturday, May 11, 2019, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sergey Lobachev will discuss the main components of business strategy development and explain why strategic thinking is important for the overall success of your business.
Registration is $30 for ASI members, $45 for nonmembers. Lunch and refreshments are included. See the chapter page for details and registration information.
Heartland Chapter Spring 2019 Meeting
With Indexer and Author Larry Sweazy
Saturday, May 18, 2019, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Old Richmond Inn, 138 S. 5th Street, Richmond, IN
Larry Sweazy will be sharing his thoughts and experiences as an indexer and author, with a particular focus on time management. Larry was one of the original Heartlanders! There will be time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. We will also take advantage of this opportunity to brainstorm about future Heartland collaborations.
Also, if you have not done so yet, READ Larry’s “See Also….” Indexer mysteries! Read his other stuff too. It’s good.
The Heartland Chapter meeting is open to all ASI members and non-members who are interested in indexing. Registration is $20 for members or $25 for non-members (does not include cost of lunch). Go to our chapter page for more information and registration. Please also RSVP ASAP to the address on that page.
Indexing Society of Canada Conference
The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation will hold its annual conference, “Beyond the Page—New Platforms, New Realities,” May 24 and 25 on the University of Ottawa campus.
Special sessions include a keynote address by two distinguished librarians on film and indigenous matters; a presentation by indexers from Canada’s lower house of parliament on how the launch of information integration has replaced traditional subject indexes and how they have adapted; a panel discussion on ethics in our industry.
The full program and other information can be found on the ISC/SCI conference page.
Spotlight
If you would like to be in the Spotlight or nominate someone, please contact the editor, Ælfwine Mischler.
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