ASI News
—Be in the know: Legal indexing
—National Indexing Day is coming
—Another chance to gather: November Playground
—Video games and indexing, plus a lot more in Key Words
—Ask a question
—Know the value of publisher-indexer communication
Chapters and SIGS
—Gardening/Enviro SIG to meet
Associated Industry News
—BISG releases AI survey results
To Your Health
—Navigate health care enrollment
Spotlight on James Woodham
ASI News
Be in the know: Legal indexing
Learn about legal indexing at ASI’s newest webinar on October 22, 2025.
Jennifer Allison will present “Legal Indexing: A Brief Introduction.” The hourlong webinar, which starts at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern time, will introduce attendees to foundational information about the U.S. legal system and provide strategies and tips for creating indexes for law-related books. Attendees will also gain insight into how lawyers and legal academics use legal terms of art to think, read, and write about law.
Jennifer worked as an academic law librarian for 15 years, including at the Harvard Law Library, before starting her freelance indexing and editing business in 2023.
Full details about the webinar and registration are here.
National Indexing Day is coming
ASI will celebrate its second annual National Indexing Day on November 18, to honor the creation and use of indexes. This year’s event will focus on the exceptional quality of indexes created by professional indexers compared to those generated by artificial intelligence’s large language models.
ASI, whose founding was inspired by the British Society of Indexers, held its first formal board meeting on November 18, 1968, in New York City.
Watch for more information about how you can get involved on National Indexing Day to spread the word about the value of indexes—and those who create them.
Another chance to gather: November Playground
Save the date for the next Indexing Playground: November 19 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The Playgrounds are an opportunity for ASI members to informally gather online with peers and chat about indexing and running a business.
The breakout room topics will be:
Back of the Book, Back in the Day: Tell stories of and recollect indexing when AI stood for “AOL Incoming” and Amazon was just a jungle in South America.
Cross-References Gone Wild: Show your wild side and confess to indexing’s best and most freeing “rules” to break.
Indexed & Reviewed: Share interesting books you’ve recently indexed—either because the job itself proved particularly atypical, or because the book was a joy (or nightmare) to read.
Watch for more information, and a Zoom link will be sent to all ASI members shortly before the event.
Video games and indexing, plus a lot more in Key Words
The upcoming autumn issue of Key Words is packed! It features the results of the business practices survey and a primer on the white paper prepared by the AI Committee of ASI, outlining the results of the committee’s work. There is also an article by Amron Lehte on ways to find clients. In Index Zero, Elizabeth Bartmess looks at how video games can have some of the same mechanics that indexing does, and Amy Hall returns to the Business Bookshelf with a review of The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn.
The Ask Kate column is also back, with two questions answered by veteran indexers.
If you have an idea for a Key Words article, contact editor Sarahh Scher.
Ask a question
A reminder that you can Ask Kate by filling out this Google Form. All questions are anonymous.
Know the value of publisher-indexer communication
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) published a blog post recently by ASI Executive Director Gwen Henson. “From Style Sheets to Space Limits” focuses on the importance of publishers’ communication with indexers, to benefit both parties.
The guidelines include:
- Sharing your updated house style sheet and general style preferences, such as which edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is to be referenced.
- Acknowledging at the start if an embedded index will be needed.
- Clarifying if there are any space constraints for the index, which is helpful for indexers to know from the start. And if an index needs to be cut after submission, asking for the indexer’s input.
Read the full blog here.
Gwen is a member of BISG’s Workflow Committee.
Chapters and SIGS
Gardening/Enviro SIG to meet
The Gardening/Environmental Studies SIG will meet online on Thursday, October 16, at 10 a.m. Pacific time / 1 p.m. Eastern time. This is an opportunity for members to connect and network, while sharing ideas about the field. A Zoom link will be sent out to members.
Associated Industry News
BISG releases AI survey results
There is widespread concern throughout the book industry about the use of artificial intelligence, especially regarding the use of copyrighted material. This is according to results from Book Industry Study Group’s recent survey on AI and the publishing supply chain.
According to a report in Publishers Weekly, the survey found nearly half of the individuals and organizations surveyed reported using AI tools—but with concern and reservations.
“The overwhelming majority reported multiple pain points with AI, including serious ethical concerns,” Brooke Horn, BISG’s membership and operations manager, said during a webinar on the findings.
Indexers, according to Horn, are among the groups using AI tools the least.
She said only two percent of the 559 respondents reported having no concerns about AI use in publishing.
See the autumn issue of ASI’s Key Words for a column by Thad McIlroy on the BISG survey. McIlroy is the author of The AI Revolution in Book Publishing.
To Your Health
Navigate health care enrollment
Gallagher is the new name for LIG Solutions, a benefit of ASI membership that offers help evaluating health insurance options to find the best coverage for your needs.
The open enrollment period for the federal health insurance marketplace and for Medicare starts November 1 and runs through December 15, 2025, in most states.
ASI members can visit Gallagher online or call 866-735-2841 for assistance in navigating the choices.
Spotlight on James Woodham
This month’s Spotlight is on James Woodham, an indexer with the Florida Legislature.
If you would like to be in the Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone for it, please contact Laurie Hlavaty.
Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?
I live in Tallahassee, Florida, with my wife and three children.
What is your educational background?
A bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Florida State University.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
I love backcountry camping throughout the Southeast, and take my kids when possible (sometimes they take me). Some highlights include Georgia’s Kolomoki Mounds, North Carolina’s Cold Mountain (same as the book and movie), Florida’s own eponymous trail. Hobbies include amateur tree farming and learning the in-depth history of almost anything.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
For lack of a better term, I was a research professional working with investigative journalists and startups, especially in infrastructure and construction coatings. Practically, this meant diving headfirst into corporate and public records material, filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for instance, which many people understandably would find no more interesting than what’s in their toothpaste. When you find some patterns that matter, it’s rewarding. In one case, I helped someone successfully vet a good investor for a business that was going to pass from one generation to the next. I still work on these projects from time to time.
What is one of your favorite strategies to help motivate or inspire when you are feeling stuck during a work project?
My go-to strategy to punch through otherwise drab or dense subject matter is to try and find or imagine something of its history, though this presents an ever-present danger of distraction.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
I didn’t start indexing until the winter of 2023, and our little section here at the Florida Legislature joined ASI last year.
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
I’d say it’s getting a bird’s eye perspective on the breadth of indexing that people do.
You won’t find indexing in the abstract, just as biology is always biology of a species or system and a beekeeper’s hive reflects what’s blooming. Rather, my sense from reading ASI publications and using ASI resources is that indexers relate to their publications in a similar way. You can index anything from art collections to newspaper collections to cookbooks. This makes the work more interesting.
Items to be considered for the See Also newsletter should be submitted by the 15th of the month before publication. For November 2025 issue, please email SeeAlsoEditor@asindexing.org by October 15. Thank you.