ASI News
—Explore legal indexing in October webinar
—AI Committee releases white paper and reviews IndexStudio
—Lots to talk about on the Playground
Chapters and SIGS
—History/Archaeology SIG meets this month
Did You Know?
—Your ASI profile: Be seen
Associated Industry News
—Cindex study group forms
—Indexing classes offered in NYC
—Publishing association becomes ALA affiliate
Spotlight on Kirsten St. John
ASI News
Explore legal indexing in October webinar
Jennifer Allison will present “Legal Indexing: A Brief Introduction” at ASI’s newest webinar, to be held Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern time.
The webinar will introduce attendees to foundational information about the US 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 available here.
AI Committee releases white paper and reviews IndexStudio
ASI’s Artificial Intelligence Committee, which was formed to study, document, and respond to potential impacts of artificial intelligence on indexing, has released its white paper, “LLM-Generated Book Indexes: Can They Replace Professionally Created Indexes?” The research shows that the necessary criteria for a book index—completeness, navigability, and accuracy—fall short in indexes generated by large language models (LLMs).
The PDF of the white paper is available for download.
The AI Committee has also reviewed IndexStudio. This is an LLM-based indexing service that asserts it allows users to efficiently generate professional-level indexes with “comprehensive entries.”
To test the quality and accuracy of IndexStudio, the committee indexed a chapter from a book in the public domain and found that the chapter was “severely underindexed,” in comparison to the professional index of that chapter. Deficits include the omission of many personal names, business names, and titles.
A detailed comparison is included in the committee’s full review.
Lots to talk about on the Playground
Indexers gathered again on the Indexing Playground in late August. The virtual Playgrounds hosted by ASI give members a chance to meet and discuss indexing issues in a casual environment.
This time, breakout groups focused on indexing around children’s schedules; the retirement years; growing your business from a side hustle; and recess, an agenda-free time.
ASI members Mary Stevens and Heidi Winston shared their experiences in two of the groups:
Shelley Quattrocchi facilitated the “Recess” breakout room, with ten participants. Some interesting tidbits of conversation: using the same criteria for reviewing AI-generated indexes as we do for human-created ones; appreciation for VIAF.org and for books, including the Chicago Manual of Style, Do Mi Stauber’s Facing the Text, and Noeline Bridge’s Indexing Names; using indexing software for indicating the physical location of our music collections and for organizing financial matters (bank account numbers, household management) for our adult children; meditation chairs and cocktail tables with stools as office furniture, and indexing in alternative locations (airport lounges, hotel lobbies, during children’s extracurricular activities). Other topics included asking publishers for rate increases, how to get the contact information of people hiring indexers, our experiences of upgrading to Windows 11, specialized books we index, devices we use, and current indexing jobs. It was an enjoyable and informative time spent with peers.
—Mary Stevens
Moderator Carolyn Weaver began “Indexing into the Sunset” with her own experience of winding down her business after moving into a retirement community. Like several others, she has kept a few long-time clients, but she is more than ready to pass them on to younger colleagues. Mentoring opportunities were mentioned, including one offered by the Indexing Society of Canada. The eleven participants, ranging in age from 60 to 83, shared some common challenges, including: caretaking; adjusting to a spouse’s retirement timeline, or untimely death; and downsizing and relocation. Most described themselves as “semi-retired” and are selectively keeping only those clients with whom they have the best relationships. The balancing act of indexing while traveling was discussed, with the sensible advice to keep a regular schedule for both work and wanderlust. Among all else, some find the time for both fine arts as well as fiber arts, such as weaving and knitting.
—Heidi Winston
If you have an idea for a future playground topic, email Gwen Henson
Chapters and SIGS
History/Archaeology SIG meets this month
The History/Archaeology Special Interest Group will hold an online social gathering on Friday, September 26, at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Members will receive a Zoom link.
Visit the H/A SIG’s website for information about joining, or check out the SIG’s discussion group.
Email Vickie Jacobs with questions.
Did You Know?
Your ASI profile: Be seen
To ensure ASI colleagues can view your profile in the ASI Membership Directory—which is available only to ASI members—it’s best to uncheck the “Privacy” check box when setting up or editing your Directory Profile.
When members check the privacy box, they stop their profile from appearing in the Membership Directory. Unless you have an Indexer Locator listing, you don’t show up publicly anyway.
To update your profile, look for Edit Your Directory Profile under the Members drop-down menu on the home page or choose Edit Your Profile from the sidebar on any other page.
Associated Industry News
Cindex study group forms
The inaugural meeting of the Cindex software manual study group will be held on Thursday, September 11, at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern time.
The group will meet every other week at the same time until all of the manual’s chapters are reviewed and discussed. The initial meeting will tackle the first two chapters. Organizer Alyssa Graybeal is a member of ASI and of the Canadian indexing society.
Contact Alyssa for the Zoom link. If you are unable to attend but are interested, there is also a Discord group.
Indexing classes offered in NYC
Award-winning indexer Enid Zafran will present a series of indexing classes in New York City from October 7–24, 2025. The courses will cover subject specialties, such as biographies and art catalogues; editing and software skills; as well as the business of indexing. For newer indexers, she is offering her multi-day Indexing Boot Camp.
Through her career, Enid has trained over a hundred professional indexers. She has written numerous articles, edited ASI publications, and given conference presentations in the United States and Canada. In 2024, she won ASI’s indexing award for scholarly book indexing. More info available here.
Publishing association becomes ALA affiliate
The Independent Book Publishers Association is now an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), after an approval by the ALA Council this summer.
This relationship highlights the connection between independent publishers and library professionals. “We look forward to contributing our perspective and supporting libraries in their vital work to ensure access to diverse books and ideas,” said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, in a press release.
There are 28 ALA affiliate organizations, with IBPA being the first publishing association.
Spotlight on Kristen St. John
This month’s Spotlight is on Kristen St. John, owner of Kristen St. John Books.
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 Palo Alto, California. I’m from the Bay Area originally, but have lived in many different places. I returned to the Bay Area about ten years ago. My husband and I have a dog named Ellie.
What is your educational background?
I earned my undergraduate degree in Classics from Trinity College Dublin. I started off at UC Santa Cruz and went to Trinity for a junior year abroad. I really loved it, so I ended up staying and finishing my degree there. I later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where I earned an MLIS with a certificate in Preservation and Conservation Studies.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
My husband and I love to travel, often with long weekend trips around the state and sometimes longer trips abroad. We both love planning, so we’re always thinking about the next trip. My husband and I like different kinds of travel—I love big cities while he loves smaller/rural trips—so we try to find a good balance.
I volunteer at the Palo Alto Friends of the Library. It’s amazing to see what books people donate. I often find it very moving to see the collections coming through that people have spent lifetimes building. I appreciate that they or their families want to share these books with other people and benefit local libraries at the same time.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
I worked as a book conservator for many years. I love books both as physical objects as well as ways to share ideas and information. While I don’t actively repair books anymore, I do love bookbinding. It’s one of those crafts that is simple to get into, but just gets more fascinating and complex the more you understand the structures and materials. I recommend it to everyone who loves to read a book! Making them yourself is so rewarding, even if you just start with basic forms.
What is a favorite strategy to help motivate or inspire when you are feeling stuck during a work project?
I’m a big believer in setting a timer and just getting something going. If I tell myself I only have to invest twenty minutes in a project, it seems less daunting. And I usually end up able to do much more.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
I started indexing in January 2025, first taking Sylvia Coates’s “Indexing Books as a Career” MOOC online. Then I took the UC Berkeley course with Heather Dubnick as our instructor, and I finished it up in April. I find the intellectual challenge of writing an index very satisfying, and I love getting feedback from peers and colleagues about how to improve and sharpen my skills. I joined ASI in March when they offered the webinar on “Building a Successful Mentorship.”
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
I really think the ASI community and the broader indexing community are pretty wonderful. People have been so welcoming and generous with their time and expertise. I have enjoyed being part of the Special Interest Groups (I joined many!) and belong to the Pacific Northwest Chapter. I’ve met many other indexers through these groups, which is just the best.
I also think the resources available through ASI are amazing. I’ve learned so much through content posted online, from Key Words to SIG resources. I hope to take some of the longer courses in the coming months.
Items to be considered for the See Also newsletter should be submitted by the 15th of the month before publication. For October 2025 issue, please email SeeAlsoEditor@asindexing.org by September 15. Thank you.