2009 Annual Conference

Scaling the Heights

Pre-Conference Workshops
(separate registration required)

THURSDAY, April 23, 2009

7:00am–2:00pm
Workshop Registration

7:00am–8:00am
Full Breakfast Buffet
(for workshop attendees only)

ALL-DAY WORKSHOPS

8:00am–5:30pm

WORKSHOP 1: Principles of Indexing
Level of Climbing Difficulty: Ben Nevis
Presenter: Seth Maislin

Learn the foundational principles of indexing and how to apply them effectively and profitably in this highly informational and dynamic workshop. Whether you’re starting your indexing career or just looking for formal instruction, this workshop will fortify you as an indexer and (even more important) an index-thinker. Starting with the Three Easy Steps of Indexing, Seth leads participants to understand the logic and challenges behind all indexing decisions: topic inclusion, subheading construction, page numbers and cross references, language selection, sorting, and usability concerns. Lively in-class discussion is encouraged, and additional topics (tools, careers, deadlines) will be introduced upon request. Hands-on examples are provided, with discussion extending into the indexing of non-print content. Participants will learn how to find balance between the needs of client, indexer, and readers.

WORKSHOP 2: Building Taxonomies from the Group Up
Level of Climbing Difficulty: Aconcagua
Presenter: Alice Redmond-Neal

A well-built taxonomy is part of the foundation of the information architecture underlying websites and corporate intranets, connecting search queries to relevant content in databases. This session covers the rules for taxonomy construction, explores terms and source materials, and explains each part of the term record. We look at the internal relationships between terms in a taxonomy and learn established standards for taxonomy and thesaurus construction. We will work on multiple hands-on exercises demonstrating various aspects of taxonomy construction and then build a mini-taxonomy. We will also look briefly at taxonomy management software.

HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

8:00am–12:00 noon

WORKSHOP 3: Indexing Elegant Subheadings
Level of Climbing Difficulty: K2
Presenter: Margie Towery

As any indexer knows, construction of elegant subheadings calls for careful consideration of wording and format. Two experts, one from a library background and one from a history and publishing background, will discuss several aspects of the process, such as choosing terms, gathering, flipping, double-posting, sorting, reanalyzing, and so on. They will share many illustrative specimens and provide some hands-on exercises. The focus is on back-of-the-book indexing.

WORKSHOP 4: Cooking the Book
Level of Climbing Difficulty: Aconcagua
Presenter: Suzanne Fass

At their simplest, cookbooks are technical manuals: step-by-step instructions for the manufacture of things. Cookbooks can also be biographies, travelogues, treatises on history or philosophy, or works of fantasy. How the indexer approaches a cookbook depends on how the reader-cook sees it, as any or all of these. This workshop will put participants in the reader-cook’s clogs: Which type of book is this? How might the reader use it? What matters—just the recipes, or more? Participants will be asked to share examples of cookbook indexes they love (and/or hate), and complete an in-class exercise.

10:15am–10:30am
Morning Refreshment Break
(for workshop attendees only)

12:00 noon–1:30pm
Lunch Break
(on your own)

HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

1:30pm–5:30pm

WORKSHOP 5: Using PDFs in Indexing
Level of Climbing Difficulty: Aconcagua
Presenter: Cheryl Landes

To save shipping costs and paper, more publishers are delivering files in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). During this half-day workshop, learn how you can take advantage of the PDF environment to make the indexing process more efficient.

WORKSHOP 6: The Naked Indexer
Level of Climbing Difficulty: K2
Presenter: Fred Leise

This workshop offers an unusual opportunity to observe and explore the techniques used by an experienced indexer. During the course of the workshop, Fred will bare all, as it were, as he indexes a selection of a scholarly work he has never before seen. You will be able to watch the process of indexing happening in real time and see the resulting index change and grow during the course of the session. Over the course of the workshop, we will join in a wide-ranging discussion of everything from general techniques for both indexing and editing to specific indexing decisions.

3:00pm–3:15pm
Afternoon Refreshment Break
(for workshop attendees only)

To provide information or make a suggestion, send email to webmaster@asindexing.org
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