The Future of Indexing: A Mix of Art and Technology

The Future of Indexing: A Mix of Art and Technology

April 29–30, 2022


Open your calendar now and enter “The Future of Indexing: A Mix of Art and Technology,” ASI’s 2022 Conference, on Friday, April 29, and Saturday, April 30. Keynote presenter Joshua Tallent will share "Where Do You Fit? The Art of Indexing in the Age of Automation." The publishing industry is constantly changing, and with those changes comes the fear that certain elements of the publication process, like indexing, will be sidelined, relegated to automatic processes, or even disappear. Joshua will discuss industry changes, the challenges indexers will face in light of those changes, and highlight opportunities that are likely to present themselves as the publishing industry evolves. Joshua Tallent is the Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies, where he helps publishing companies of all sizes learn about, and find solutions to, workflow obstacles and metadata challenges.

Paula Clarke Bain the indexer of the popular new Dennis Duncan book, Index, A History of the, will tickle us with tales of her experience including the hidden humor she included.

Our second keynote presenter, Bill Kasdorf, returns to the ASI platform with an enlightening session on why EPUB is essential. Knowing EPUB 3 is considered the proper format for interchange of accessible publications, what role will indexers play in creating these publications? Active in the W3C Publishing@W3C activity and serving as the W3C Global Publishing Evangelist, Bill is an expert on editorial and production workflows, XML/HTML/EPUB modeling, and accessibility.

Melanie Gee shares, “Indexing the metatopic—bridging the gap across the pond.” The metatopic can be a tricky thing to index and will give even the most experienced indexers pause for thought. Practices in the US and the UK are often caricatured as downright contradictory: always index the metatopic comprehensively or never index the metatopic. Who is right? There is no “one size fits all” approach. Drawing from published literature and surveys of indexing practices, Melanie will explore some alternative approaches to indexing different types of metatopic to create something that we can all agree is important: indexes that are user-friendly.

Find additional conference details (including more presenters) on our conference page. Save these dates in your calendar now!

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New Indexers
Titian and Turing: An Introduction to the Artistry and Technology of Indexing

April 28, 2022

Designed for individuals new to or considering a career in indexing, this workshop provides an introduction to and overview of the basic art and science of indexing, including the indexing process (art) and the indexing business (technology).

During this enjoyable workshop with a master indexer, you'll learn more about what makes an ideal indexer. Fred Leise will introduce you to indexes and how they are structured, with emphasis on the index creation process. You'll gain understanding of indexable concepts, metatopics, term selection for headings and subheadings, locators and index editing. Further, Fred will discuss the administration of indexing projects and the business of indexing, keystones for every new indexer.

Fred will teach the new indexers workshop on Thursday, April 28. This course sold out last year, so you’ll want to register early. Click here for details.

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