ASI News
—ASI Conference—“Get Your Indexing Shot in the Arm”
—Annual Meeting, Awards, New Board Welcoming
—Software Meetup Happening May 6th
Associated Industry News
—ISC/SCI Annual (Virtual) Conference Happens this month!
Chapters and SIGS
—Ongoing Survey Tracks Pandemic Impact
Shop Talk
Spotlight on Eileen Allen
ASI News
ASI Conference
See Also is being published just as indexers from around the world are meeting virtually for ASI’s 2021 conference, “Get Your Indexing Shot in the Arm.” Speakers include Connie Binder, Peter and Julia Rooney, Daniel Heila, Michele Combs, Heather Pendley, Devon Thomas, Nan Badgett, and Fred Leise teaching the new indexers workshop. Look to next month’s See Also for insights from the event.
Annual Meeting, Awards, New Board Welcoming
Please join fellow ASI members at the Annual Meeting on May 22, 2021. The agenda includes results of the ASI Excellence in Indexing Award and the Hines Award; announcement of Kohlrabi award recipients; induction and welcoming of new board members; and reports from 2020 board members. This is a great time to check in on the health of our organization, recognize outstanding members, and connect with our community. We look forward to seeing you there.
Software Meetup Happening May 6th
On Thursday, May 6, experts in the indexing software field will discuss updates, share tips, and respond to your questions about five different indexing software applications.
If you're interested in the latest developments in the software you use or are curious about other applications, here's the perfect opportunity to explore.
Come for one session of your choice or learn more by joining us for the full day. Registration for the ASI 2021 Conference includes free attendance for Software Segments. If you did not attend the conference, there is a small registration fee.
Software sessions will include:
- Index Manager with Katharina Munk & Pilar Wyman
- IndexExploit with Barry Campbell
- SKY Software with Kamm Schreiner
- CINDEX with Fran Lennie & Maria Sullivan
- Macrex with Do Mi Stauber
For more information and to view the schedule, visit this page.
Associated Industry News
ISC/SCI Annual (Virtual) Conference Happens this month!
The Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce that this year’s annual conference is taking place from the comfort of home, May 27–29, 2021. The theme is “Indexing Unlimited.”
The conference sessions will cover a variety of topics to help indexers improve their indexing practice and make their businesses thrive. Please visit their site for more information.
Chapters and SIGS
Ongoing Survey Tracks Pandemic Impact
If you have not had a chance yet to view the Chicago Great Lakes Chapter’s pandemic survey, head over to their website and dive in. The survey has been running since April 2020 and results are compiled in a PDF that is available on the website.
Shop Talk
Have you visited or are you a member of these discussion groups? They are a great place to pose questions, offer answers, gain knowledge, and meet other professionals:
Indexers’ Discussion Group (IDG)
- A group discussion list for professional indexers and anyone interested in indexing books, journals, and other print and electronic media; the freelance life; and the business of indexing.
- Recent topics include an informative discussion of indexing fictional characters and effective use of glosses (this first topic illustrates the positive impact of this forum as some opinions were changed), and an information-packed printer recommendation discussion.
- Scholarly Indexing is an open forum for professional indexers who specialize in indexing materials published by academic presses, or publications intended for scholars, researchers, and students of specific academic disciplines. The list welcomes discussions of techniques, standards, client-indexer relations, and marketing specific to scholarly indexing, including participation by editors and publishers who care about excellence in scholarly indexing.
Spotlight on Eileen Allen
If you would like to be in the Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone for it, please contact Daniel Heila.
Eileen Allen is one of two new ASI member/volunteer webmasters. Look for DeAnna Burghart’s spotlight next month.
Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?
I am a happy resident of the hills south of Syracuse, NY. I love the abundance of state forests, trails, countryside views, waterfalls, fresh food, peace and quiet! Born in Montreal, and raised on Long Island (across the street from an amazing Vanderbilt mansion), I relish the space and the seasons of Central New York. Currently, my only companion is a cat, who also loves the outdoors.
What is your educational background?
Although a career in music and possibly musicology was my first interest, I ended up with a Bachelor of Elementary Education degree, and then much later, earned a Master of Library Science degree. I passed on the invitation to join the doctoral program.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
My interests are multiple, and they all end up getting short shrift! I’ve had vegetable and flower gardens as well as a small orchard and berry bushes for many years and have spent many hours planting, weeding, harvesting, freezing, and canning. I am forever trying new recipes that reflect the traditions of diverse people. This pandemic year I decided to recover my clarinet-playing skills, in addition to the recorder, and have achieved some success despite the layoff of fifty years! In addition to my website work for ASI, I help maintain the Onondaga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club website.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
I started out as a school music teacher but soon found I hated being a disciplinarian, so I stayed home for ten years raising children, sewing for people on the side. Once I had my MLS, I held a number of different information-based positions in academia: librarian, archivist, researcher, research administrator. I am currently retired from hired positions and only work as a freelancer.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
In my MLS program at Syracuse University, I took a class in Indexing and Abstracting in 1989, which led to indexing a couple of books before my first job as a librarian and then a smattering of other indexing projects over the next fifteen years. I also joined ASI at that time. When considering retirement in 2014, I decided to return to indexing to have a flexible and stimulating source of income, then also rejoining ASI.
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
ASI has provided a community of experience that has been invaluable for my indexing skill and my business.
Finally, what is your best coping strategy for the pandemic?
I like solitude, and I am used to limited social engagement, so the pandemic hasn’t hit me as hard as it has hit many others. That said, I have tried to keep carrying on working, reading, playing, getting outside, and being smart about interactions with people.
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