ASI News
—New ASI Webinar Sources: Evaluating for Reliability coming this month
—ASI’s Summer of ‘21 Webinar Sale Ends Soon!
—ASI Seeks Training Course Administrator in 2022
—Stay Healthy
—Key Words Seeks Champions of Quality Indexing for Volunteer Duties
Associated Industry News
—NISO Updates “Criteria for Indexes” Standards
—Workman Gets Hachetted!
Chapters and SIGS
—PNW Announces Fall Meeting Featuring Compelling Programming
Business and Marketing
—3rd Quarter Tax Payments Due This Month
Spotlight on Ina Gravitz
ASI News
New ASI Webinar Sources: Evaluating for Reliability coming this month
Kelly Delevan will discuss the rise of misinformation and disinformation on the open World Wide Web and address how it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine the credibility of information sources. Kelly, an Information Literacy Librarian at Syracuse University Libraries, will guide participants through a series of tools and techniques that can be used to evaluate the reliability of sources that can be found on the web. The live webinar will be Wednesday, September 29, 10 a.m. PST. Find more information and register here.
ASI’s Summer of ‘21 Webinar Sale Ends Soon!
The summer webinar sale will conclude on September 6, so there is still time to pick up a webinar of interest at a discount. Heck, purchase a bunch to leverage the savings!
ASI has produced 28 webinars on HOT topics for indexers. Need to increase your speed? Do you struggle with mastering the metatopic of a book? Want new tips on using your software? Wrestling with how to handle vexing problems with names? We've got a webinar for that—and for many other indexing challenges. During the summer of '21, each webinar is just $21 for ASI members. Peruse this list of webinar topics.
ASI Seeks Training Course Administrator in 2022
The American Society for Indexing is seeking a Course Administrator for the ASI Training Course. The Course Administrator will work in partnership with ASI to advance the association’s educational mission. The Course Administrator works with the ASI office to track students from enrollment through to course completion.
For a complete job description, click here. In order to apply for the position, please email your letter of interest accompanied by your current resume and statement of how you are qualified for the position and why you are interested in becoming the Course Administrator. The application deadline is October 15, 2021.
Stay Healthy
Our exclusive health coverage provider, LIG Solutions wants you and your family to stay healthy this season! Read the Fall 2021 Health and Wellness Round-Up you received via email to expand your health and wellness awareness.
Key Words Seeks Champions of Quality Indexing for Volunteer Duties
Did you know that the ASI website contains an index to Key Words, ASI’s flagship publication (available free to ASI members)? Actually, there are two indexes—one is for the early issues (1994-1999), the other for more recent issues (2000-2016). It’s easy to find a particular article, or to research articles on a specific topic. However, this valuable resource is currently incomplete. It’s time to fix that! Key Words editorial is calling for volunteers to help catch up and get the most recent issues indexed. They are looking for a few fine indexers who are willing to help work on the index. A small team will be assembled so that no one volunteer has too big a load. With a team of five volunteer indexers, each indexer will index one year’s worth of issues (four issues). So step up, show your team spirit, and help get this index across the finish line. Spots will likely fill quickly so let editor Janet Perlman know that you want to be part of this ASI team effort by dropping her an email.
Associated Industry News
NISO Updates “Criteria for Indexes” Standards
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announced on July 14 the publication of its updated ANSI/NISO Z39.4, Criteria for Indexes, incorporating feedback from the public comment period earlier this year. It replaces the original ANSI/NISO Z39.4 standard (Guidelines for Indexes and Related Information Retrieval Devices), from 1984, and is an updated and expanded version of NISO’s Guidelines for Indexes and Related Information Retrieval Devices (a technical report, TR02-1997). The new standard provides guidelines for the content, organization, and presentation of indexes used for the retrieval of information. It deals with the principles of indexing—regardless of the type of material indexed, the indexing method used, the medium of the index, or the method of presentation for searching.
Workman Gets Hachetted!
This from the New York Times:
“Hachette Book Group said on [8/16/21] that it had agreed to buy Workman Publishing, an independent company known for titles like What to Expect When You’re Expecting and the Brain Quest workbooks, the latest expected acquisition in an industry whose power is increasingly concentrated in a handful of major companies. The cost of the deal was $240 million.”
If you have one of the Times’ subscriptions you can read more here.
Chapters and SIGS
PNW Announces Fall Meeting Featuring Compelling Programming
The Pacific Northwest Chapter of ASI recently announced its Fall ’21 Virtual Meeting: Best Practices: Comparing and Contrasting Across Genres.
Ina Gravitz will present on the Best Practices for Indexing (Characteristics of Quality Indexing) during the first hour. In the second, participants will explore how these best practices are applied, using a structured guide to analyze the indexes. Following the small group analysis, participants will return to the whole group, and Ina will guide them as they compare and contrast how best practices are achieved in different genres and different ways.
Spaces are limited, so keep your eyes peeled for an invitation from PNW to register.
Business and Marketing
3rd Quarter Tax Payments Due This Month
Here's your friendly reminder that third-quarter 2021 estimated tax payments are due this month for the self-employed. Make sure your third-quarter payment is postmarked by September 15, 2021.
If you miss an estimated tax payment deadline, just make your payment as soon as you can. The IRS charges penalties and interest depending on how much you owe and how late you are. You'll help minimize the damage by making your payment as soon as possible.
Spotlight on Ina Gravitz
If you would like to be in the Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone for it, please contact Daniel Heila.
(Ina will be the featured speaker at the PNW Chapter Fall Virtual Meeting as discussed above.)
Where do you live now? Where are you originally from?
My husband and I spend about seven months in Green Valley, Arizona, and five months just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I grew up in New York City. My husband and I lived in South Carolina and on Long Island before moving to Minnesota in September 2001. Daughters and their families live in Minneapolis. (We moved here because of the grandchildren—the best part of being a parent.)
What is your educational background?
My undergrad years were split between Queens College in NYC and the University of South Carolina. I got my first masters in library and information science; the second time I went for one in liberal studies as it was the degree most useful to me as a public librarian.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
I swim a lot in the lake two blocks from my home in Minnesota, but I’m stuck with a pool in Arizona. I garden (in Minnesota), knit, and read. My favorite travels were to Antarctica, the Galapagos, Patagonia, and China. My husband and I spend lots of time on archaeology trips in the Southwest, climbing among the ruins. Hopefully we’ll be traveling again soon.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
As I noted before, I was a public librarian. I loved YA (Young Adult) work and reference. I moved into library administration before I retired. Now all I do is indexing.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
I’m not sure when I joined ASI, sometime in 1995 or 1996, when I started the old USDA indexing course. I got my first indexing job in December 1996 and went full-time in December 1999.
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
The other members! Besides having fun with them, I’ve learned and continue to learn so much from my colleagues. Then there are the workshops, conferences, webinars, etc.—all wonderful learning experiences.
Finally, what is your best coping strategy for the pandemic?
Maintaining contact with friends, exercising, reading, and indexing. I have not been bored!
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