Editing Index (publishing)

{{Short description|List of words or phrases and associated pointers}}
[[File:Novus Atlas Sinensis - First page of the index.jpg|thumb|The first page of the index of ''Novus Atlas Sinensis'' by [[Martino Martini]], an altas of China published in 1655 ]]

An '''index''' ({{plural form}}: usually '''indexes''', more rarely '''indices''') is a list of words or phrases ('headings') and associated pointers ('locators') to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document or collection of documents. Examples are an index in the [[back matter]] of a [[book]] and an index that serves as a [[library catalog]]. An index differs from a word index, or [[Concordance (publishing)|''concordance'']], in focusing on the subject of the text rather than the exact words in a text, and it differs from a [[table of contents]] because the index is ordered by subject, regardless of whether it is early or late in the book, while the listed items in a table of contents is placed in the same order as the book.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duncan |first=Dennis |title=[[Index, A History of the]] |publisher=W.W. Norton and Company |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-324-00254-3 |pages=11 |language=en}}</ref>

In a traditional ''back-of-the-book index'', the headings will include names of people, places, events, and concepts selected as being relevant and of interest to a possible reader of the book. The '''indexer''' performing the selection may be the author, the editor, or a professional indexer working as a third party. The pointers are typically page numbers, paragraph numbers or section numbers.

In a [[library catalog]] the words are authors, titles, subject headings, etc., and the pointers are [[call number]]s. Internet [[Web search engine|search engines]] (such as [[Google]]) and full-text searching help provide access to information but are not as selective as an index, as they provide non-relevant links, and may miss relevant information if it is not phrased in exactly the way they expect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ptg-indexers.org.uk/about/searchvsindex.htm |title=''Search vs Index'' |publisher=Indexers.org.uk |date=2013-04-05 |access-date=2019-02-17}}</ref>

Perhaps the most advanced investigation of problems related to book indexes is made in the development of [[topic maps]], which started as a way of representing the knowledge structures inherent in traditional back-of-the-book indexes. The [[concept]] embodied by book indexes lent its name to [[database index]]es, which similarly provide an abridged way to look up information in a larger collection, albeit one for computer use rather than human use.

== Earliest examples in English ==
In the English language, indexes have been referred to as early as 1593, as can be seen from lines in [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[Hero and Leander (poem)|Hero and Leander]]'' of that year:

''Therefore, even as an index to a book''<br />
''So to his mind was young Leander's look.''

A similar reference to indexes is in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s lines from ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'' (I.3.344), written nine years later:

''And in such indexes, although small pricks'' <br />
''To their subsequent volumes, there is seen'' <br />
''The baby figure of the giant mass'' <br />
''Of things to come at large.''

[[File:Beginning of table of contents of My Secret LIfe.png|thumb|Table of contents of [[w:My Secret Life (memoir)|''My Secret Life'']], showing lengthy chapter titles]]
But according to G. Norman Knight, "at that period, as often as not, by an 'index to a book' was meant what we should now call a table of contents."<ref name=Knight>Knight, G. Norman (1979) ''Indexing, the Art of: A Guide to the Indexing of Books and Periodicals'' (HarperCollins), pp. 17–18</ref> Until about the end of the nineteenth century, books, fiction as well as non-fiction, sometimes had very detailed chapter titles, which could be several sentences long.

Among the first indexes – in the modern sense – to a book in the English language was Leonard Mascall's  <ref>{{cite book |last= Mascall|first= Leonard|date= 1575|title= A booke of the arte and maner how to plant and graffe all sortes of trees|url= https://archive.org/details/bookeofartemaner00masc/page/n5/mode/2up|location= London|publisher= John Wight}}</ref> "A booke of the arte and maner how to plant and graffe all sortes of trees" printed in 1575. Another was one in [[Plutarch]]'s ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', in Sir [[Thomas North]]'s 1595 translation.<ref name=Knight /> A section entitled "An Alphabetical Table of the most material contents of the whole book" may be found in [[Henry Scobell]]'s ''Acts and Ordinances of Parliament'' of 1658. This section comes after "An index of the general titles comprised in the ensuing Table".<ref name=Knight /> Both of these indexes predate the index to [[Alexander Cruden]]'s ''Concordance'' (1737), which is erroneously held to be the earliest index found in an English book.<ref name=Knight />

== Etymology and plural ==
The word is derived from [[Latin]], in which ''index'' means "one who points out", an "indication", or a "[[Index finger|forefinger]]".

In Latin, the plural form of the word is ''indices''. In English, the plural "indices" is commonly used in [[Indexed family|mathematical]] and [[Database index|computing contexts]], and sometimes in bibliographical contexts – for example, in the 17-volume ''[[Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia]]'' (1999–2002).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Commire |editor-first=Anne |editor-link=Anne Commire |title=[[Women in World History: a biographical encyclopedia]] |date=1999–2002 |publisher=Yorkin Publications |place=Detroit |ISBN=0-7876-3736-X }}</ref> However, this form is now seen as an archaism by many writers and commentators, who prefer the anglicised plural "indexes". "Indexes" is widely used in the publishing industry; in the International Standard [[ISO 999]], ''Information and documentation – Guidelines for the content, organization and presentation of indexes''; and is preferred by the ''[[Hart's Rules|Oxford Style Manual]]''.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=R. M. |editor-last=Ritter |title=[[Hart's Rules|The Oxford Style Manual]] |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |page=772 }}</ref> ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' allows both forms.<ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Chicago Manual of Style]] |chapter=7.6: Alternative plural forms |edition=16th |place=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2010 |ISBN=978-0-226-10420-1 }}</ref>

G. Norman Knight quotes [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s lines from ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'' (I.3.344) – "And in such indexes ..." – and comments:

"But the real importance of this passage is that it establishes for all time the correct literary plural; we can leave the Latin form "indices" to the mathematicians (and similarly "appendices" to the anatomists)."<ref name="Knight" />

== Indexing process ==

=== Conventional indexing ===

The indexer reads through the text, identifying indexable concepts (those for which the text provides useful information and which will be of relevance for the text's readership). The indexer creates index headings to represent those concepts, which are phrased such that they can be found when in alphabetical order (so, for example, one would write 'indexing process' rather than 'how to create an index'). These headings and their associated locators (indicators to position in the text) are entered into specialist [[indexing software]] which handles the formatting of the index and facilitates the editing phase. The index is then edited to impose consistency throughout the index.

Indexers must analyze the text to enable presentation of concepts and ideas in the index that may not be named within the text. The index is intended to help the reader, researcher, or information professional, rather than the author, find information, so the professional indexer must act as a liaison between the text and its ultimate user.

In the United States, according to tradition, the index for a non-fiction book is the responsibility of the author, but most authors do not actually do it. Most indexing is done by freelancers hired by authors, publishers or an independent business which manages the production of a book,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asindexing.org/about-indexing/frequently-asked-questions/ |title=Frequently Asked Questions |website=asindexing.org |publisher=The American Society for Indexing |access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> publishers or [[Book-packaging|book packagers]]. Some publishers and database companies employ indexers.

Before indexing software existed, indexes were created using slips of paper or, later, [[index card]]s. After hundreds of such slips or cards were filled out (as the indexer worked through the pages of the book proofs), they could then be shuffled by hand into alphabetical order, at which point they served as [[manuscript]] to be typeset into the printed index.

== Indexing software ==
{{Main|Indexing software}}
Software is available to aid the indexer in building a book index.<ref name=software>{{Cite web |url=http://www.asindexing.org/reference-shelf/software/ |title=Software |website=asindexing.org |publisher=The American Society for Indexing |access-date=2016-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.indexers.org.uk/member-resources/indexing-resources/running-the-business/equipment-technology-and-software/ |title=Equipment, technology and software |website=indexers.org.uk |publisher=[[Society of Indexers]] |access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref> There are several dedicated indexing software programs available to assist with the special sorting and copying needs involved in index preparation.

=== Embedded indexing ===

Embedded indexing involves including the index headings in the midst of the text itself, but surrounded by codes so that they are not normally displayed. A usable index is then generated automatically from the embedded text using the position of the embedded headings to determine the locators. Thus, when the pagination is changed the index can be regenerated with the new locators.

[[LaTeX]] documents support embedded indexes primarily through the [[MakeIndex]] package. Several widely used [[XML]] [[Document Type Definition|DTDs]], including [[DocBook]] and [[Text Encoding Initiative|TEI]], have elements that allow index creation directly in the XML files. Most [[Word processor|word processing software]], such as [[StarOffice Writer|StarWriter]]/[[OpenOffice.org Writer]], [[Microsoft Word]], and [[WordPerfect]], as well as some desktop publishing software (for example, [[FrameMaker]] and [[InDesign]]), as well as other tools (for example, [[MadCap Software]]'s Flare), have some facility for embedded indexing as well. TExtract and IndexExploit support embedded indexing of Microsoft Word documents.<ref name=software/>

An embedded index requires more time to create than a conventional static index; however, an embedded index can save time in the long run when the material is updated or repaginated. This is because, with a static index, if even a few pages change, the entire index must be revised or recreated while, with an embedded index, only the pages that changed need updating or indexing.

== Purpose ==

Indexes are also designed to help the reader find information quickly and easily. A complete and truly useful index is not simply a list of the words and phrases used in a publication (which is properly called a [[concordance (publishing)|concordance]]), but an organized map of its contents, including [[cross-reference]]s, grouping of like concepts, and other useful intellectual analysis.

Sample back-of-the-book index excerpt:

:sage, 41–42. ''See also'' Herbs ← directing the reader to related terms
:Scarlet Sages. ''See'' ''Salvia coccinea'' ← redirecting the reader to term used in the text
:shade plants ← grouping term (may not appear in the text; may be generated by indexer)
::hosta, 93 ← subentries
::myrtle, 46
::Solomon's 
:sunflower, 47 ← regular entry

In books, indexes are usually placed near the end (this is commonly known as "BoB" or back-of-book indexing). They complement the [[table of contents]] by enabling access to information by specific subject, whereas contents listings enable access through broad divisions of the text arranged in the order they occur. It has been remarked that, while "[a]t first glance the driest part of the book, on closer inspection the index may provide both interest and amusement from time to time."<ref>Robert L. Collison, ''Book Collecting'', London, 1957, p. 121.</ref>

== Index quality ==

Some principles of good indexing include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adobe.com/devnet/robohelp/articles/online_help_pt2_06.html|title=Creating Online Help (Part 2): Strategies and Implementation|publisher=Adobe.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419113301/http://www.adobe.com/devnet/robohelp/articles/online_help_pt2_06.html|archive-date=2009-04-19}}</ref>
* Ensuring each topic/section includes a variety of relevant index entries; use two or three entries per topic
* Understanding the audience and understand what kind of index entries they're likely to look for
* Use the same form throughout (singular vs. plural, capitalisation, etc.), using standard indexing conventions

Indexing pitfalls:
* Significant topics with no index entries at all
* Indexing 'mere mentions': "But John Major was no Winston Churchill..." indexed under 'Churchill, Winston'
* Circular cross-references: 'Felidae. ''See'' Cats'; 'Cats. ''See'' Felidae'
* References to discussions of a single topic scattered among several main headings: 'Cats, 50–62'; 'Felidae, 175–183'
* Inconsistently indexing similar topics
* Confusing similar names: Henry V of England, Henri V of France
* Incorrect alphabetization: 'α-Linolenic acid' under 'A' instead of 'L'
* Inappropriate inversions: 'processors, word' for 'word processors'
* Inappropriate subheadings: 'processors: food, 213–6; word, 33–7'
* Computer indexing from section headings: e.g. 'Getting to know your printer' under 'G'

== Indexer roles ==
Some indexers specialize in specific formats, such as scholarly books, microforms, [[web indexing]] (the application of a back-of-book-style index to a [[website]] or [[intranet]]), [[search engine indexing]], [[Index (database)|database indexing]] (the application of a pre-defined [[controlled vocabulary]] such as [[Medical Subject Headings|MeSH]] to articles for inclusion in a database), and periodical indexing<ref>Weaver, Carolyn. "[http://www.asindexing.org/site/Weaver.pdf The Gist of Journal Indexing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029145224/http://www.asindexing.org/site/Weaver.pdf |date=2008-10-29 }}", ''Key Words'' 10.1 (Jan./Feb. 2002), 16–22.</ref> (indexing of newspapers, journals, magazines).

Some indexers with expertise in controlled vocabularies also work as [[Taxonomy (general)|taxonomists]] and [[ontology|ontologists]].

Some indexers specialize in particular subject areas, such as anthropology, business, computers, economics, education, government documents, history, law, mathematics, medicine, psychology, and technology. An indexer can be found for any subject.

== References in popular culture ==

In  "[[The Library of Babel]]", a short story by [[Jorge Luis Borges]], there is an index of indexes that catalogues all of the books in the library, which contains all possible books.

[[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s novel ''[[Cat's Cradle]]'' includes a character who is a professional indexer and believes that "indexing [is] a thing that only the most amateurish author [undertakes] to do for his own book." She claims to be able to read an author's character through the index he created for his own history text, and warns the narrator, an author, "Never index your own book."

[[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s novel ''[[Pale Fire]]'' includes a parody of an index, reflecting the insanity of the narrator.

[[Mark Danielewski]]'s novel ''[[House of Leaves]]'' contains an exhaustive 41 page index of words in the novel, including even large listings for inconsequential words such as ''the'', ''and'', and ''in''.

[[J. G. Ballard]]'s "The Index" is a short story told through the form of an index to an "unpublished and perhaps suppressed" autobiography.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://johntranter.com/00/index-the-ballard.shtml|title=The Index|work=johntranter.com|first = J.G.|last = Ballard|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140402174009/http://johntranter.com/00/index-the-ballard.shtml|archive-date = 2 April 2014}}</ref>

[[Barbara Pym]]'s novel ''[[No Fond Return of Love]]'' involves two characters, Dulcie Mainwaring and Viola Dace, who work as professional indexers. Indexing is described throughout the novel as a "thankless task."

== Standards ==
* [[ISO 999]]:1996 Guidelines for the Content, Organization, and Presentation of Indexes (this is also the national standard in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand)
* [https://www.niso.org/publications/z394-2021-indexes ANSI/NISO X39.4-2021 Criteria for Indexes]

== Societies ==
The [https://www.asindexing.org/ American Society for Indexing, Inc.] (ASI) is a national association founded in 1968 to promote excellence in indexing and increase awareness of the value of well-designed indexes. ASI serves indexers, librarians, abstractors, editors, publishers, database producers, data searchers, product developers, technical writers, academic professionals, researchers and readers, and others concerned with indexing. It is the only professional organization in the United States devoted solely to the advancement of indexing, abstracting and related methods of information retrieval.

Other similar societies include:
* Association of Southern African Indexers and Bibliographers (ASAIB)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asaib.org.za/|title=ASAIB – Home|work=asaib.org.za}}</ref>
* [[Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anzsi.org/|title=Home – Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers|work=anzsi.org}}</ref>
* [[British Record Society]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishrecordsociety.org/|title=Home – British Record Society|work=britishrecordsociety.org}}</ref>
* China Society of Indexers<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnindex.fudan.edu.cn/introduce_01.htm |title=中国索引学会 |publisher=Cnindex.fudan.edu.cn |access-date=2014-02-23 |archive-date=2019-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218034711/http://www.cnindex.fudan.edu.cn/introduce_01.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* German Network of Indexers/Deutsches Netzwerk der Indexer (DNI)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d-indexer.eu/|title=German Network of Indexers: Welcome|first=German Network of|last=Indexers|work=d-indexer.eu}}</ref>
* [[Indexing Society of Canada]]/Société canadienne d'indexation (ISC/SCI)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexers.ca|title=Home Accueil – Indexing Society of Canada|work=indexers.ca}}</ref>
* Nederlands Indexers Netwerk (NIN)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexers.nl/|title=NIN – Nederlands Indexers Netwerk|work=indexers.nl}}</ref>
* [[Society of Indexers]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexers.org.uk/|title=Home :: The Society of Indexers|work=indexers.org.uk}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Concordance (publishing)]]
* [[Indexing and abstracting service]]
* ''[[Index, A History of the]]''
* [[Subject (documents)]]
* [[Subject indexing]]
* [[Table of contents]]
* [[Web indexing]]
* [[Codex]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book | title=Indexing Concepts and Methods | last=Borko |first=Harold | last2=Bernier | first2=Charles L. | publisher=[[Academic Press]] | isbn=0-12-118660-1 |location=New York | publication-date=1978 | ol=6686373W | ol-access=free}}
* {{cite book | last=Browne | first=Glenda | last2=Jermey | first2=Jon | title=The Indexing Companion | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-521-68988-5}}
* {{cite journal | last=Diodato | first=Virgil | last2=Gandt | first2=Gretchen | title=Back of book indexes and the characteristics of author and nonauthor indexing: Report of an exploratory study | journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science | publisher=Wiley | volume=42 | issue=5 | year=1991 | issn=0002-8231 | doi=10.1002/(sici)1097-4571(199106)42:5<341::aid-asi4>3.0.co;2-7 | pages=341–350}}
* {{Cite book |title=Indexing Books |last=Mulvany |first=Nancy C. |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-55276-7 |edition=2nd |publication-date=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0Eqm8FbiTMC}}
* {{Cite journal |title=The oldest printed indexes |journal=The Indexer: The International Journal of Indexing |last=Wellisch |first=Hans H. |date=1986 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=73-82 |author-link=Hans Wellisch |publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]] |doi=10.3828/indexer.1986.15.2.5 |issn=0019-4131 |eissn=1756-0632 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal | title=The Beginnings of Indexing and Abstracting: Some Notes towards a History of Indexing and Abstracting in Antiquity and the Middle Ages | journal=The Indexer: The International Journal of Indexing | last=Witty | first=Francis J. | publisher=Liverpool University Press | date=1973 | volume=8 | issue=4 | pages=193–198 | doi=10.3828/indexer.1973.8.4.1 | doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite conference | title=Can back-of-the-book indexes be automatically created? | conference=CIKM'13: 22nd ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management | last=Wu |first=Zhouhui | last2=Li | first2=Zhenhui | last3=Mitra |first3=Prasenjit | last4=Giles | first4=C. Lee | date=2013-01-01 |pages=1745-1750 | publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery]] | publication-place=New York, NY |doi=10.1145/2505515.2505627 | isbn=978-1-4503-2263-8 | conference-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/2505515}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Indexes}}
* [http://www.theindexer.org/ The Indexer (the international journal)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070630163910/http://www.bwa.org/articles/considerations_in_indexing_online_documents.htm Consideration in Indexing Online Documents]
<!-- *[http://www.asis.org/annual-96/ElectronicProceedings/weinberg.html Complexity In Indexing Systems] -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090325172412/http://www.theindexer.org/files/22-2-olason.pdf Usability studies for indexes]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070406044604/http://www.bayside-indexing.com/author2.htm Reflections on Authorship and Indexing]
* [http://www.theindexer.org/files/22-3/22-3_119.pdf "The Definite Article: Acknowledging 'The' in Index Entries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325172409/http://www.theindexer.org/files/22-3/22-3_119.pdf |date=2009-03-25 }}", Glenda Browne, The Indexer, vol. 22, no. 3 April 2001, pp.&nbsp;119–22.
* [http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=97989&dl=ACM&coll=portal The role of indexing in technical communication]
* [http://www.backwordsindexing.com/Intro.html Indexing FAQ/Intro] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923181417/http://www.backwordsindexing.com/Intro.html |date=2015-09-23 }}
* [http://taxonomist.tripod.com/indexing/authorindexing.html Author-Created Indexes]
* [http://www.backwordsindexing.com/Authors.html Should Authors Index Their Own Books?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205135523/http://backwordsindexing.com/Authors.html |date=2016-02-05 }}

{{Book publishing process}}
{{Book structure}}
{{Authority control}}

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