Ah yes … You mean a person does that? Many people assume that you can get a program to make an index. Or that you can simply use your search function to find specific words.
However, an indexer creates an index that points to the information that will be useful to the reader. A good index (done by a real person!) does two things that a computer can’t:
- points the reader to concepts (not just the specific keyword)
- omits passing mentions (that give no information to the reader)
This means that I will give the reader information on where to find discussions of a concept that might not actually use the specific word that is used in the index. For example, you might be looking for a discussion of the colour blue, so you look up blue in the index. I may have gathered page numbers of discussions of teal, turquoise, navy (where the word blue may not have arisen). In other instances, there may be mentions of blue that don’t really have any substantive information. The author may be discussing something and include a long list of colours, one of which is blue. If this doesn’t add to the information about the discussion of blue, I don’t put that page number in the index.
Indexing Society of Canada talks about what an indexer will bring to your project.
In addition to back-of-the-book indexing – for print, I create embedded indexes for ebooks. This means that instead of page numbers in the index, I produce something that is linked back to a place in the text where the word or concept is written about. I use Index Manager to create these indexes.
“Alex produced an intuitive and comprehensive index for my book in jig time. She thoroughly anticipated even the odd or strange items I wanted indexed without my saying so. Upon reviewing the index, I found her work to be completely accurate, organized, and conceptually astute both categorically and in terms of relevant cross-references. I was genuinely thrilled with her work, have already referred her to other scholars who are nearing the end of their own books, and will most certainly enlist her services in the future. Thank you, Alex, for a great experience at the end of a journey for which an index is the final chapter! — Frances J. Latchford, Steeped in Blood: Adoption, Identity and the Meaning of Family
Projects
- The Educational Assistant’s Guide to Supporting Inclusion in a Diverse Society, Massing et al., Brush Education, 2024
- Tappan Adney, Keith Helmuth (editor), Goose Lane Editions, 2024
- Mainstreaming Porn, Elaine Craig, MQUP, 2024
- The Adaptable Country, Alasdair Roberts, MQUP, 2024
- The Lives of Lake Ontario, Daniel Macfarlane, 2024
- Not All Fun and Games, Legault and Weststar, Concordia University Press, 2024
- What the World Might Look Like: Decolonial Stories of Resilience and Refusal, Susie O’Brien, MQUP, 2024
- Nietzsche as Stylist, Martine Béland, MQUP, 2024
- Zaatari, Karen E. Fisher, Goose Lane Editions, 2024
- Technology, Mythology, and the Search for Meaning, Douglas Francis, 2023
- Chicago Guide to Freelance Editing, Erin Brenner, 2023
- Systemic Team Coaching, John Leary-Joyce, 2023
- Infant Formula, Michelle Newman, NS Health, 2023
- Wheeling in Good Hands, Christine Sutherland, Brush Education, 2023
- Roosting Box, Kristen den Hartog, Goose Lane Editions, 2023
- Citizen Soldier Responds, Paul Ritchie, Goose Lane Editions, 2023
- Fiscal Federalism in Canada, André Lecours et al., University of Toronto Press, 2023
- In Perpetuity, Goose Lane Editions, 2023
- Mary Pratt, Anne Koval, Goose Lane Editions, 2023
- Mischief in High Places, Ted Rowe, Breakwater, 2023
- Maurice, David Greven, MQUP, 2023
- Fictions of Gender, Orian Zakai, MQUP, 2023
- Exclusive Memory, Tom Sherman, Goose Lane Editions, 2023
- India’s Bangladesh Problem, Navine Murshid, CUP, 2022
- Beginner’s Guide to Eco Renovation, Judith Leary-Joyce, 2022
- Putting Federalism in Its Place, Scott L. Greer et al., University of Michigan Press, 2022
- Friendly Sovereignty, Penn State University, 2022
- Immaculate Conception of Data, Kelly Bronson, MQUP, 2022
- Fragment, Image, and Absence, Penn State University, 2022
- Youth without Representation, Daniel Stockemer, Michigan State University, 2022
- From Charity to Change, Hilary Pearson, MQUP, 2022
- Red Mitten Nationalism, Estée Fresco, MQUP, 2022
- In Light of Rome, Penn State University, 2022
- Bombs and Barbed Wire, Goose Lane Editions, 2022
- Death in the Snow, W. George Lovell, MQUP, 2022
- Climate Change, Interrupted, Barbara Leckie, 2022
- Seven Democratic Values, Penn State University Press, 2022
- Kenya’s Engagement with China, Anita Plummer, Michigan State University, 2022
- Unravelling Research, Fernwood Publishing, 2022
- Loving Your Baby, Shari Morash, 2022
- Leaving Home, Andrew Saltarelli, K-Selected Books, 2022
- Ǫ da gaho dḛ:s, Timothy Leduc, MQUP, 2022
- Flora’s Fieldworkers, Ann Shteir, MQUP, 2022
- Villain, Vermin, Icon, Kin, Stephanie Rutherford, MQUP, 2022
- Late-Life Homelessness, Amanda Grenier, MQUP, 2021
- Fair Trade Handbook, Fernwood, 2021
- Grandma’s Breads, Formac, 2021
- L.M. Montgomery and Gender, Laura Robinson and E. Holly Pike, MQUP, 2021
- Fairtrade Handbook, Fernwood Publishing, 2021
- Soccer in Mind, Andrew Guest, 2021
- Aleep in the Deep, Goose Lane Editions, 2021
- Nationalism, Secessionism, and Autonomy, André Lecours, 2021
- Clinical Research in Psychiatry, Marina Altmann, 2021
- Best East Coast Jams, Pickles, Reserves, and Breads, Formac, 2021
- Constitutional Politics, André Lecours, MQUP, 2021
- Change Through Time in Psychoanalysis, Fitzpatrick Hanley, Routledge, 2021
- Alexa, Stephen Kimber, GooseLane Editions, 2021
- Dying in Good Hands, Christine Sutherland, Brush Education, 2020
- Who’s Coming Out to Play, Claire Carter, MQUP, 2020
- Canada Waste Flows, Myra Hird, MQUP, 2020
- Animals as Legal Beings, Maneesha Deckha, UTP, 2020
- Cautiously Hopeful, Marie Carrière, MQUP, 2020
- Sport Media Vectors, Laurel Walzak, 2020
- Grandma’s Cookies, Formac, 2020
- More Powerful Together, Fernwood, 2020
- Quality Agriculture, John Kempf, 2020
- NOlympians, Fernwood, 2020
- Hiding in Plain Sight, Fernwood, 2020
- The Spatiality of the Hispanic Avant-Garde, Brill, 2020
- Against the Current, MQUP, 2019
- Shakespeare On Stage and Off, MQUP, 2019
- When Poverty Mattered, Fernwood, 2019
- Truth about Fraud, The Artful Editor, 2019
- Good Governance in Economic Development, UBC Press, 2019
- The Transcultural Streams of Canadian Chinese Identities, MQUP, 2019
- Golf Favourites, Firefly, 2019
- Pan American Silver, Paula Shackleton, 2019
- Mental Fitness, Pat Thomas, 2019
- Steeped in Blood, Frances Latchford, MQUP, 2019
- Class Politics of Law, Fernwood Publishing, 2019
- Outside In, A Political Memoir, Libby Davies, Between the Lines Books, 2019
- Dis/Consent, Fernwood Publishing, 2019
- Iroquois in the West, Jean Barman, MQUP, 2019
- The Montreal Shtetl, Zelda Abramson, Between the Lines Books, 2019
- On This Patch of Grass, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- Staying Alive While Living the Life, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- Canadian Justice, Indigenous Justice, McGill-Queens University Press, 2018
- Bombardier Abroad, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- The Criminalization of Migration, Idil Atak and James C. Simeon, MQUP, 2018
- From Suffragette to Homesteader, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- The Hands’ Measure, Inhabit Education, 2018
- Basketball’s Greatest Stars, Firefly Books, 2018
- The Universe Explained, Firefly Books, 2018
- Racism and Anti-Racism in Canada, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- Pressing Interests, Phoebe Musandu, MQUP, 2018
- Speculative Harvests, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- White Gloves Off, Second Story Press, 2018
- Game Misconduct, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- Change a Life, Change your Own, Fernwood Publishing, 2018
- Putting Trials on Trial, Elaine Craig, MQUP, 2017
- Understanding Violence and Abuse, Fernwood Publishing, 2017
- The Embodied Violinist, Gwen Thompson-Robinow, 2017
- Rising Seas, Firefly Books, 2017
- Agroecology, Fernwood Publishing, 2017
- Mapping Geographies of Violence, Fernwood Publishing, 2017
- Policing Black Lives, Robin Maynard, Fernwood Publishing, 2017
- The Roots of Culture, The Power of Art, Monica Gattinger, MQUP, 2017
- Common Sense and Legal Judgment, Patricia Cochran, MQUP, 2017
- Look It Up, Pierre Pluye, MQUP, 2017
- Thou Shalt Do No Murder, Inhabit Education, 2017
- Critical Inquiries for Social Justice in Mental Health, Morrow, UTP, 2017
- Too Many People, Inhabit Education, 2017
- Wash, Wear, and Care, Pat Armstrong, MQUP, 2017
- Drone Nation, Erin Steuter, 2017
- Screening Justice, Fernwood Publishing, 2016
- About Canada: The Environment, Fernwood Publishing, 2016
- Toronto Island Summers, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- No More Junk Food, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- Canada Since 1960, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- Gastro Blast, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- Outdoor Adventures, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, Volumes 4, 5, and 6, MQUP, 2015–2016
- Rum, Blood and Treasure, Formac/Lorimer Publishing, 2016
- Why Multimodal Literacy Matters, Rachel Heydon, 2016
- Shapiro Indexing Services, various projects, 2015–2016
- Strength of Conviction, Dundurn Press, 2015
- Negotiating Water Governance, Alice Cohen, 2015
- Loving Your Baby, Shari Morash, 2014
- Second indexer for The Letterbooks of John Evelyn, edited by D. C. Chambers and D. Galbraith
- Partial index for Survival Songs, text by Stephanie Sieburth, March 2014
- Interviews for Harbord Village Residents’ Association, Oral History Project, 2013
“To put it simply, I look at the indexes and see great minds at work on a great work. I’m grateful to everyone who was involved with the project and particularly to the thorough and thoughtful indexers who worked so hard and so quickly to help this report’s information reach as many people as possible.” — Ryan Van Huijstee, managing editor, MQUP (publisher, Truth and Reconciliation Reports)