Why does ASI have SIGs?
ASI SIGS, which are organized by indexing specialty, serve as networking sources and marketing tools for their members. They do this by means of email lists, newsletters, brochures, and ASI meetings. SIGS can market their members' services in specific subject areas to targeted clients. In May, 2000, the ASI Board of Directors approved guidelines for SIGs which desire to formally affiliate with ASI. These guidelines are posted in the Members Area of this site. SIGs now affiliated with ASI are distinguished below; some SIGs are still discussing this option. 

NOTE: for information on indexing SIGs in other organizations, take a look through our Publishing Industry Organizations pages.

For information on forming SIGs see the Members Area of this site.

Behavioral and Social Sciences (affiliated)

Contact: Jeannine McAllister jmcallister@indexingprofessional.com
URL: http://bssig.com/
Fees: $30.00 per year

ASI members interested in indexing in the fields covered by the behavioral and social sciences are encouraged to join our SIG. The areas of interest include psychology, sociology, psychiatry, anthropology, counseling, social work, school psychology, educational psychology, and neuropsychiatry. Our mission is to provide members with a networking forum for information exchange, peer review and professional development.

Business (affiliated)

Contact: Stephanie Bush at stephanie@wisewordsolutions.com
URL: http://www.businessindexing.org
Fees: $20/year

The Business SIG began in July 2000 as a resource for indexers of business-related books. The SIG's mission is to provide members with publicity, information exchange, publisher/author information, professional development, and job referrals, and to advance awareness of quality indexes for business-related publications. Professional indexers and others interested in the indexing of business subjects such as (but not limited to) accounting, marketing, management, supervision, business law, finance, banking, or investing may be interested in joining this SIG.

Culinary (affiliated)

Contact: Heather Dubnick at hdubnick@gmail.com
URL: www.culinaryindexing.org
Fees: $25/year 

The Culinary Indexing SIG is an educational forum and a network for experienced and novice indexers interested in culinary indexing in various media, such as books, periodicals, CD-ROMs, and web sites. The SIG serves several functions. As an educational forum, it provides opportunities for members to ask questions and brainstorm about technical culinary indexing problems. It may make available actual instruction by experienced culinary indexers. As a network, it gives members access to information about publishers, authors, editors, and others who need culinary indexes in various media, such as books, periodicals, CD-ROMs, and web sites. Members also can use the network to find other culinary indexers to whom they refer projects. Network outreach to potential clients seeks to promote awareness of SIG members' competence, experience, and availability.

One of the members of the Culinary Indexing SIG, Therese Shere, presented a three-hour workshop on "Cookbook Indexing" at the ASI Boston Conference in June 2001; her workshop notes are available on the SIG listserv. In addition, the SIG has prepared marketing postcards mailed out by members in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. These postcards mailed to culinary publishers and editors note that the SIG's listserv at yahoogroups.com accepts job postings, as well as pointing publishers and editors to the SIG's website at www.culinaryindexing.org. This website includes an extensive selection of articles about culinary indexing, as well as the SIG Members Directory. The SIG has also placed a display ad in the Publishers Weekly cookbook edition for two years and we are always looking for other ways to amplify our marketing efforts.

The two criteria for SIG membership include

1. belonging to one of the six affiliated national indexing societies, and
2. paying US $25 annual dues

The dues pay for group marketing efforts undertaken through postal mail and the SIG website. The SIG treasurer's account at www.paypal.com accepts credit card payments and checking account debits from anywhere in the world for a small fee (thus avoiding the currency conversion expense). If you are interested in joining the SIG, please contact Heather Dubnick, SIG manager, at hdubnick@gmail.com, or see the information about joining on the SIG website at http://www.culinaryindexing.org/join.htm.

Gardening/Environmental Studies (affiliated)

Contact: Hannah Huse at huse@aol.com
URL: http://www.bioindexing.org/
Directory: online at SIG web site
Fees: $15 annual, due January of each year 

The Gardening/Environmental Studies SIG is an alliance of trained, skilled indexers with education, background, and experience in numerous subject specialties, including botany, gardening, horticulture, landscape design, agriculture, biogeography, ecology, environmental topics, geography, homesteading, natural history, natural resources, wildlife conservation and more. SIG activities include marketing, member networking, referrals, and continuing education. The SIG maintains a listserv (Bioindexers) for member networking and information exchange.

The G/ES SIG maintains an online membership directory on its web site listing indexers' contact information, subject specialties, format capabilities, and language expertise.

Genealogy Indexing and Transcription (affiliated)

Contact: Katrina Everhart at KEverhart@resourceful.com

ASI GIT members uphold current professional standards in genealogy indexing and transcription as well as enhance the knowledge of other indexers, professional and amateur genealogists, librarians, and publishers regarding the special needs of genealogists and historians utilizing genealogical works. Anyone is welcome to join in helping promote GIT; we have occasional notices and announcements sent through the Yahoo Newsletter function.

History/Archaeology (affiliated)

Contact: Sandra L. Marshall at sand-marsh@hotmail.com
  or: historySIG@asindexing.org
URL: http://www.historyindexers.org
Directory available. 
Fees: $25/year 

The History-Archaeology SIG is an alliance of professional indexers with backgrounds in history, archaeology, and biography. We also index related subjects including anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, and literary criticism. Trade books, textbooks, children’s books, and scholarly books all fall into our purview.

Networking and marketing are the two primary goals of the SIG.

We market our expertise and services in several ways:

• We maintain a website at www.historyindexers.org that provides a list of professional indexers by their indexing specialties, names, and language competences.
• We provide members with an online list of annual large conferences in history- and archaeology-related fields, their dates, locations, and websites, so that members can market themselves and/or the SIGs in person if the conferences are held near their homes.
• We have a marketing flyer about the SIG on our website in PDF, which can be printed off to take to conferences or send to publishers or authors.
• An article on the website explains why scholarly authors need professional indexers.
• We have targeted publishers by postcards and flyers in the past and are considering other ways of reaching publishers in the future.

A YahooGroups email list enables us to figure out ways to achieve our goals, recognize volunteers or superlative indexers in our field, network, and publicize our services throughout the year.

Annual dues are $25 per year. Membership forms and contact information are available at the SIG’s website. We welcome all ASI members and members of international indexing societies who index in history- and archaeology-related fields.

Legal (affiliated)

Contact: Mary Harper at info@legalindexing.org
URL: http://www.legalindexing.org

The Legal Indexing SIG has been established and is for indexers who are interested in legal indexing.  The SIG is open to any member of ASI and the other indexing societies worldwide.  The dues for this SIG are $20.00 per year. Members are invited to join the Legal Indexing SIG discussion group.

Periodical/Database Indexing (affiliation pending)

Contact: Linda Dunn at linda47dunn@yahoo.com
Fees: None for now (subject to change)

The Periodical/Database Indexing Group is intended for both current periodical and database indexers, freelance and in-house, who are interested in networking and sharing information. Some of our goals are

• Provide a discussion space where members can communicate with others who are interested in periodical and database indexing
• Help make database companies and periodical publishers aware of our qualified members when they are looking for indexers
• Share our knowledge and expertise with new indexers who are interested in periodical and database indexing
• Help to make periodical and database indexing more visible in the indexing world
  

There is also a discussion group open to both members and nonmembers: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/periodical_indexing/

Politics/International Relations

Contact: Breffni Whelan at penguins@wave.net
URL: http://www.wave.net/upg/pisig/index.htm

Our YahooGroups email list is called "indexingpolitics." Interested folks can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indexingpolitics. Anyone interested in joining the email list, or being listed in the "Find an Indexer" page on the website, can contact Breffni Whelan.

Scholarly Indexing (affiliated)

Contact: Carol Roberts at indexer@execpc.com
Directory not available. 
No fees 

This SIG's goals include indexers' sharing information about, and techniques for, indexing academic books; referrals; and other marketing. We also maintain a networking list for members of this SIG, so that indexers can consult with each other.  

Science/Medicine (affiliated)

Manager: Janyne Ste Marie, JSteMarie@new.rr.com
Membership Coordinator: Sheila Ryan, ryanindexing@gmail.com
Treasurer: Caryl Wenzel, carylwenzel@comcast.net
Webmaster: Linda Mamassian, indexing@mamassian.com
URL: http://www.scimedindexers.org/
Directory is posted at the web site.
Fees: Expenses are shared. At this time, new members pay $25.00 when joining. Currently there are no annual dues. 

The Science and Medicine SIG is an alliance of skilled indexing professionals with professional and academic credentials in numerous subject specialties, including technology, clinical medicine, engineering, physics, veterinary medicine and more. The SIG's focus is to market the services of its members to those who hire indexers for medical and scientific materials, including databases, books, and other media.

Our web site contains various information and features of interest to many involved in the publishing industry:

• A directory of our members, containing descriptions of the types of materials we index and our contact information. The directory is searchable by subject specialization, languages indexed, location (U.S. state), and name
• An online resource guide with links to helpful Web sites for editors, indexers, and anyone else in the publishing industry. The resource guide focuses primarily on scientific and medical topics but also contains links of more general interest.
• Sci/Med SIG news and events, as well as other information about the SIG.

All current SIG members have email capability and new members are encouraged to acquire it as soon as possible. The members communicate through an email list that is also used to post occasional job listings; announcements and news are posted on the website.

Sports/Fitness (affiliated)

Contact: Jessica McCurdy Crooks at jessica@nextindexservices.com
   or sports-fitness@asindexing.org
URL: http://www.sports-fitnessindexing.org
Fees: $15.00 per year

The Sports/Fitness Indexing Special Interest Group of the American Society for Indexing (Sports/Fitness Indexing SIG) has been formed to serve as a network for indexers who work in the areas of sports, fitness, and related materials. The SIG serves several functions, including education and networking.

Through meetings, publications, and Internet resources, the SIG offers its members a forum for education, an opportunity to discuss and solve problems that occur in indexing these materials, as well as a chance to learn about potential indexing opportunities by communicating with each other through an e-mail discussion list.

The SIG also exists to promote a positive dialog between publishers and indexers who seek to provide our audience, the readers, with quality, user-friendly indexes. This dialog will be accomplished by the creation of marketing materials by the members of the SIG. A directory of available indexers will be maintained online and available to potential clients. To join this group, one must be a member of ASI or a similar organization such as the Society of Indexers, ANZSI, or IASC/SCAD.

Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies (affiliation pending)

Contact: Heather Hedden at heather@hedden.net
URL: www.taxonomies-sig.org
Webmaster: Rebeca Linford at rl@rebeccalinford.co.uk.
Directory available.
Fees: None for now (subject to change)

The Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies Special Interest Group (SIG) is a networking and educational forum for individuals with both a professional interest or background in indexing and involvement, or intentions to get involved, in creating or editing taxonomies, thesauri, or controlled vocabularies used for indexing. They may either be freelancers, contractors, or consultants, or work as in-house developers of taxonomies, thesauri, or controlled vocabularies, such as for publishers, database vendors, search software developers, etc.

Its objectives are to:

• Act as a forum for discussion of techniques, tools, standards and practices relevant to creating or maintaining taxonomies, thesauri, or controlled vocabularies.
• Provide information to indexers who want to expand their field and apply their skills to work in taxonomies and controlled vocabularies.
• Make taxonomy owners and consultants aware that there exist skilled indexing professionals available who are qualified to take on taxonomy projects.
• Serve Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies SIG members as a centralized source for referring contract projects and jobs.
  

There is also a discussion group associated with the SIG: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taxonomies

Web Indexing (affiliated)

Contact: Jessica McCurdy Crooks at jmccrooks@cwjamaica.com
  or: webindexing@asindexing.org
URL: http://www.web-indexing.org
Directory available.
Fees: $5/year

The Web Indexing SIG serves indexers interested in:

• creating hyperlinked back-of-the book style indexes on web sites
• converting indexes to HTML
• indexing online periodicals
• performing HTML metadata keyword indexing

The Web Indexing SIG offers:

• A web site full of resources on web indexing, including articles and presentations, a page of "Best Practices," and a list of links to web site index examples
• A searchable database of members offering freelance services (in addition to its directory of all members)
• A printed brochure targeted at potential clients
• A PowerPoint presentation on web indexing that any member may use to present to local groups of web developers or information professionals.
• A Web Site Indexing Award.

Web Site Indexing Award:

To encourage high quality web site indexes and to promote the web indexing work of professional indexers, the Web Indexing Special Interest Group of the American Society for Indexing will begin awarding a deserving indexer the annual Web Indexing SIG Award for excellence in web site indexing.

The award will be announced at the Honors & Awards session of the American Society for Indexing Annual conference each spring.  The first award will be announced at the ASI Conference’s Awards dinner to be held at the Warwick Hotel in Denver, Colorado, on Friday, May 2, 2008. NB:  You do not have to be present if you win. (As soon as it is available, a link to conference information will be posted on the Web Indexing SIG web site, see above) 

    Eligibility Requirements:

• The Web site index should be a browsable hyperlinked A-to-Z index, i.e., similar to a back-of-the-book index.
• Web site indexes should be created by humans, either an individual or a team.
• Web site indexes must be publicly accessible on the Web at the time of submission, but could have been created at any time in the past.
• There is no minimum size requirement. However, a web site index that is too small cannot adequately demonstrate its quality. A larger web site index is likely to be more highly rated than a small one all other factors being equal.
• Entries are open to members of the Web Indexing SIG or members of indexing societies eligible to join the Web Indexing SIG (ASI, ISC, SI, ANZSI, DNI, NIN, ASAIB, and China Society of Indexers).
• Up to two web site indexes per indexer are allowed.
• Nominations are open from November 26, 2007, to March 29, 2008.  
  

    Evaluation Criteria for the Award: The selection criteria for the Web Indexing SIG Award will be based on best practices for web site indexes. Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• The Web site index should be a browsable hyperlinked A-to-Z index, i.e., similar to a back-of-the-book index.
• Usability/ease of use in navigating within the index and finding information
• Sufficient coverage of web site content, i.e. indexing depth and completeness
• The wording of entries and subentries
• Correct use of cross-references
• Sufficient and appropriate use of double posting
• No broken or incorrect links
• Special features used, e.g., the use of a special method to indicate a page that is particularly important
• Attractive design
  

    Submission Guidelines:

• Please submit completed form via email to the Award Coordinator, dorthea.atwater@gmail.com
• Submissions are free for Web Indexing SIG members
• Members of ASI and affiliated indexing societies who are not yet Web Indexing SIG members should pay US$5.00 with their submission, which also includes one year's membership to SIG
• Make checks payable to: Web Indexing SIG, ASI  and mail to the Award Coordinator (for other payment options, please contact the Award Coordinator):  Dorthea Atwater, 2706 W. Avenue 32, Los Angeles, CA 90065-2116   

    Submission Form:

Site index URL:

Site Home Page URL:

Name of the site:

Purpose/audience of the web site:

Indexer’s name:

Indexer’s email address:

Indexer’s mailing address:

Indexer’s indexing society affiliation:

Indexing software used (optional):

Please submit completed form via email to: dorthea.atwater@gmail.com

There is also a Web Indexing discussion group open to both members and nonmembers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/web-indexing/.

Note that other professional organizations also have indexing specialty focus. For more detail, see our Professional Organizations page. 

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